Imagine a world where food on grocery store shelves is ranked by its healthiness, with simple, research-backed scores. In some countries, that world already exists.

Nutrient profiling systems, or NPSs, support clear front-of-package labels that assess food quality based on nutrient content. Nutri-Score in France is a rainbow-colored system grading foods from A to E. Health Star Rating in Australia is a five-star system rating foods in half-star increments. And the Traffic Light System in the U.K. labels nutrient levels as green, yellow or red.

In contrast, the U.S. lacks a front-of-package ranking system for food. Food Compass was recently developed out of Tufts University to help address this gap and shortcomings in other systems. But it uses nutritional information not currently available for most foods and consumers.

As a gastroenterologist and physician-scientist, I focus on making the latest microbiome and nutrition data more accessible to the public. Drawing on this research, I developed Nutrient Consume Score, or NCS, which rates foods from 1 to 100 using nutritional information available for all foods and incorporates factors important for a healthy microbiome.

But how do nutrient profiling systems work? And how do they compare to other nutrition guides for consumers?

Nutrient cyphers

Each nutrient profiling system uses different scoring algorithms, but most assign positive points to nutrients and foods that are typically underconsumed, such as fiber, fruits and vegetables. Conversely, negative points are given to overconsumed nutrients like sugar, saturated fat and sodium, which are often added to processed foods. These points are combined into a single score: higher scores indicate healthier foods, while lower scores indicate less healthy options.

For example, kale – rich in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats, while low in sugar, sodium and saturated fats – would earn a high score. In contrast, Twinkies, which are high in sugar, sodium and saturated fats, but low in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats, would receive a low score. A food like black olives, high in fiber but also high in sodium, would fall somewhere in between.

Nutrient profiling systems work similarly to the Nutrition Facts labels on the back or sides of food packages in helping consumers make informed choices. These labels provide information about a food’s nutrient content, including calories, macronutrients, and key vitamins and minerals. The values are determined through laboratory analysis and nutrient databases based on standardized serving sizes regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

But NPSs differ in that they combine nutrition information into a single actionable score. This means you don’t have to spend time deciphering Nutrition Facts labels, which are often in small print and can be confusing to interpret.

Ultraprocessed profiling

Nutrient profiling system algorithms are all quite similar in their high ranking of unprocessed foods – beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and low ranking of processed foods like hot dogs, soft drinks, cakes and cookies. They help people rebalance their diets that have been skewed by food processing, or the degree to which the ingredients have been altered.

They complement the NOVA classification system developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo, which categorizes foods based on their level of processing. This system introduced the term “ultra-processed foods,” which are foods that have undergone significant industrial processing and contain ingredients not typically found in home cooking.

While NOVA has linked ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes like obesity, worse mental health, cancer and early death, it treats all such foods equally, overlooking differences like amount of sugar, sodium and other additives.

Nutrient profile systems help provide nuance by identifying healthier options within the ultra-processed category. For example, plant-based milks, such as almond or soy milk, may be classified as ultra-processed under the NOVA system, but they can have relatively higher NPS scores if they contain minimal added sugars and salt.

Ratios and bioactives in balance

While nutrient profiling systems can be useful for choosing healthier options, current systems have limitations. They don’t always align perfectly with other research, often overlook the bioactive chemicals that regulate microbiome and body processes, and may rely on incomplete data. Current systems also don’t account for the caloric and health effects of alcohol.

The Nutrient Consume Score I designed aims to address these gaps by incorporating these neglected components of food. For example, it uses food categories as proxies for areas with limited data, including bioactive compounds like polyphenols, omega-3 fats and fermentable fibers. Proxies for bioactive compounds found in unprocessed foods – such as fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and seeds – are integrated into the score’s core algorithm, which uses nutrient ratios to measure the degree of food processing.

Nutrient ratios – including carbohydrate-to-fiber, saturated fat-to-unsaturated fat and sodium-to-potassium – reflect the natural balance of nutritional content of the cells in unprocessed foods, which research has shown correlate with cardiometabolic health.

For example, the cell walls of plants provide structural strength and are rich in fiber, while their energy vesicles store carbohydrates. Fiber reduces sugar absorption and is fermented into the compound butyrate, which maintains blood sugar and regulates appetite.

The fat profiles of unprocessed foods are similar to the fat composition in cell membranes. Saturated fat-to-unsaturated fat ratios capture how different types of fat, affect inflammation and weight.

Finally, the potassium-to-sodium ratio reflects the natural function of cell membrane pumps, which concentrate potassium inside cells while transporting sodium out. This affects blood pressure as well as microbiome and metabolic health.

Research currently under peer review shows that the Nutrient Consume Score compares favorably with other systems. Derived from nutrition data from nearly 5,000 Americans, NCS sores are linked to blood pressure, waist circumference and weight. NCS has also been incorporated into a smartphone app intended for public use, currently in beta testing.

Empowering smart choices

While nutrient profiling systems are a promising tool for healthier food choices, they come with important caveats. Most studies testing how well they work focus on how two factors relate to each other rather than whether one directly causes the other. Correlation doesn’t prove causation.

Further studies are needed to assess whether these systems influence buying habits, consumption trends, and health outcomes like weight and blood pressure. Additionally, individual dietary needs can vary, and personalized algorithms could help refine these scores for tailored recommendations.

Despite these considerations, nutrient profiling systems are promising tools to combat rising rates of metabolic disease. Their use in Europe demonstrates their potential to shift consumer purchasing habits and inspire food companies to create healthier products.

Americans may one day see similar front-of-package labels in the U.S. Until then, smartphone technologies can offer a practical way to help consumers make smarter choices today.

Christopher Damman, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, University of Washington

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Holidays are often depicted as picture-perfect moments: families blissfully united around a table filled with seasonal food favorites against an immaculate backdrop. For many parents, attempting to meet such unrealistic expectations can undermine their self-worth – and their sanity.

In the real world, parents are juggling more activities than there are candles on the menorah after eight nights of Hanukkah. It’s all too easy to fall into survival parenting, an approach where the focus is on simply getting through the day. When those holiday cookies need baking, there’s no time to teach a child how to crack an egg.

As mothers ourselves, we understand that these occasions can feel like anything but a holiday. We are both child psychologists and mental health experts who work with kids, adolescents and their families to support realistic and healthy approaches to parenting. We know what’s on parents’ lists, and, fortunately, this wish list is easier to fulfill than many moms and dads realize.

The current state of parenting

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory in August 2024 calling for a rapid resuscitation of parental well-being. Murthy – along with scientists and parents – sees that the current stress of parenting is seriously affecting the physical and mental health of caregivers.

Dr. Vivek Murthy states his concern over reports that most days, nearly half of all parents feel overwhelmed by stress.

Mothers and fathers today are busier and more isolated than ever. According to a report released in April 2024 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both parents are employed in nearly 2 in 3 U.S. households led by married couples. For single-parent households, the number of employed parents rises to just over 3 in 4 families led by mothers and over 4 in 5 families led by fathers.

Additionally, data from a 2022 Household Pulse Survey found that the majority of parents – including 35% with children under 5 and 54% with children between 5 and 11 – have no formal child care support. This is undoubtedly driven, at least in part, by the rising costs and increasing scarcity of day care options.

Our experience as both clinicians and moms is that kids are similarly busier than ever between school and extracurricular activities. It’s no wonder parents move into survival mode, simply trying to get through all that needs to be done and requiring their kids and others to do the same.

The science behind ‘survival parenting’

Our research shows that focusing only on getting through the day with your kids is linked to more stress and harsher parenting behaviors.

When a mom or dad is in survival mode, they tend to be more prone to yelling demands and criticizing their children’s behavior, as opposed to thinking through the impacts of these behaviors. Stressed-out parents are quicker to criticize little things that get in the way of accomplishing immediate goals, such as spilling flour on the floor. And they are slower to notice and acknowledge their child’s strengths, such as their interest in helping in the kitchen.

The result is more stress and less joy in their parenting.

As good research ideas often do, this one came from our own experiences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed that even the most well-meaning fathers and mothers – ourselves included – struggled to stay out of the survival parenting trap amid the isolation, overscheduled time and life stresses. We found ourselves frantically trying to get everything done in our day without any support, so we pushed our children to hurry up, stop dawdling, not make mistakes. We were living moment to moment rather than thinking through the potential long-term impacts of our behavior.

Recent epidemiological studies show that we were not alone – parents with children at home were, and continue to be, depressed, anxious and burned out. These challenges negatively affect their relationships with their children and the children’s mental health.

In fact, research from one of our teams suggests that when parents have strong reactions to stress and experience symptoms of depression, their kids are more likely to struggle with managing their strong emotions and with depression.

Ironically, this is the very opposite outcome of what parents are working so hard for.

Strategies for enjoying the holidays with your children

Fortunately, bringing joy back to parenting this holiday season – and any time of the year – is more straightforward than most recipes on Pinterest.

In our research and in our clinical practices, we have found some strategies that can help parents slow down, rest more and tend to their own needs. If you find yourself moving into survival mode, it’s time to step back from the to-do list and try the following:

• Shift your thinking from reacting to what is going on in the moment to focusing on the larger experiences and future you’re trying to create for yourself and your family. For example, if your goal is to enjoy time with your child, try including them in the holiday preparations. If you remind yourself of what you’re really trying to get out of each activity, then the fact that the cookies are burned doesn’t really matter as long as you burned them together.

• Reconnect with your friends and relatives who are also in the parenting trenches to lighten each other’s loads, both physically and emotionally. This might mean batch cooking, carpooling or delivering coffee to a friend. Interacting with people you genuinely enjoy for the purpose of laughter, joy and connectedness goes a long way in supporting overall wellness. Build time into your day – not week or month – to connect with your social support system. Even better, allow it to replace an unnecessary to-do list task that drains you.

• Notice if you’ve become beholden to the dreaded “shoulds” – “I should be able to get all of this cooking done myself,” or “I should be able to finish this task in an hour with two kids in tow.” Shoulds can motivate, but they give way to a sense of parenting failure if you don’t meet the standards you’ve set. Instead, replace “should” with “am trying” or “would like to,” as in, “I am trying to finish wrapping gifts today,” or “I would like to play with my child for 10 uninterrupted minutes.”

• Envision what you want your holidays – and specifically your relationship with your child – to look like five, 10, even 20 years from now. What do you see and hear? Who’s there? How do people feel about each other and interact? Forthcoming research from our team suggests that broadening the time horizon and considering how current actions shape the future improves parenting behaviors.

In five years, it’s unlikely that your kids will remember the cleanliness of the floor, but they may remember the emotions of the moment.

Memories of cookies accidentally baked with salt instead of sugar age better when they are accompanied by laughter and love, rather than frenzied rebaking.

The secret is taking the pressure off surviving the moment and refocusing on the future you want to create.

Julia Felton, Assistant Professor of Public Health, Michigan State University and Crystal Cederna, Clinical Psychologist & Associate Professor of Public Health, Michigan State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.