Nutrient Scores scoring question

Steverino

I've been using Cronometer daily and religiously for 3 years now but every now and then I realize you've added a great new feature, like the Nutrient Target scores. There's a great article by Karen explaining it but I'm still a little confused on the scoring. I eat only a 99% whole foods diet and use NCCDB logging exclusively, so my data is good. But why do I still see less than 100% for most scores, such as this one for anti-oxidants?

Karen_Cronometer

Hi Steverino,

One of the limitations of the Nutrition Scores is that it is dependent on the quality of the data we have available. It looks like we don't have lycopene values available for some of the foods you have logged? There are 11 nutrients used to compute the score, so they each contribute roughly 9% of the score - looks like it's just lycopene that is the culprit.

Steverino

OK, so the percentage score on the home page is a combination of did I meet the targets and how sure can Crono be that I met those targets (since not every micro-nutrient is spec'd in nccdb)?

Karen_Cronometer

Hi Steverino,

The score is based on whether you met the targets, without going over the UL (if there is one). If NCCDB doesn't have data for a particular nutrient and don't reach your target as a result, then it will impact your score.

The Data Confidence score is calculated separately, but gives you an idea if your nutrient values may be higher than they appear, due to missing data.

Steverino

Thanks, that's probably what it is. Do you if the targets are my personal targets vs. the USDA RDA? I've adjusted several of my targets, eg. 5g-7g of sodium per day.

Karen_Cronometer

If you have custom targets set, these will override the RDA values used by default in the Nutrition Scores calculation. This doesn't apply to the nutrient ratios, though.

Nutritarian

Hi Karen,

I had the same difficulties with the targets. If I put in 300g tomato puree, 300g kale, 100g carrots, 1 tsp wheat germ oil, 300g cooked lentils. 200g red bell peppers, 1 Brazil nut, 200g mushrooms, all subtargets are on green and the confidence score is 100%. The Antioxidant target is still only at 91%.
I don`t understand how this score is calculated.

Thanks!

Karen_Cronometer

Hi Nutritarian,

In addition to the single nutrients in the score, some scores factor in the relevant Nutrient Balances. The Antioxidant score includes the ratio of zinc:copper; keeping them in the range of 9-11 mg zinc per mg copper will maximize your score.

Nutritarian

Thanks so much Karen! Good to know!