>It would be interesting to know what the people on the Caloric
>Restriction list have identified as the most nutrient-dense
>foods.  Since their way of eating depends upon getting maximum
>nutrients out of minimum calories, I'd expect that they have some
>sort of a nutrient scoring system.
>
>Todd Moody

I guess this is a question for me :)

There isn't an official "scoring" system for nutrients that I am aware
of.  However, using computer programs to do the sorting is fairly
common.
Dr. Roy L. Walford is the big promoter of calorie restriction, and it
is
largely his books that provide the guidance for CRers.  Roy and Lisa
Walford (his daughter) developed a good software package that helps do
all this sorting.  It is a generalized diet planning type program, not
specific to calorie restriction or any other specific diet.  You can
input whatever your own customized needs are for each nutrient (~30
covered), then when you look at foods/menus you see how well it meets
your needs.  Like if I want 300 IU of vitamin E, it will tell me that
today I got "X"%, etc.

The general idea is to eat the most nutrient dense foods, and keep the
calories low/moderate.  Unfortunately, considering the diet on this
list
(and my own paleo attempts) much of the foods Walford recommends are
off
limits.  But as I try to eek out my own unique diet, I look for the
positive aspects of information from all sources.  Walford recommends
cutting out sugar, white bread, white rice, white, excess fat, etc.
where
you get alot of calories, and basically no micronutrients.  Same with
Neanderthin.  In fact, I look for the areas where both philosophies
overlap, which I think encompasses most of Neanderthin, some of
Walford's
CR.

Example foods that Walford recommends (in the right amounts of
course):
Sardines, salmon, mackerel, other fish
Lean meats, including beef, and especially pork (lower in fat usually,
I
think)
Nutrient packed organ meats, including liver, etc.  Although I don't
think most CR practitioners eat these, they would follow the same
guidelines, and they are given in the books as okay examples.
Seaweeds, shitake mushrooms.
Lots and lots of veggies, especially leafy green, cruciferous, and the
lower GI foods.  Walford mentions GI somewhat, but it isn't the
primary
area of focus in his recommendations.
Also recommended would be wheat germ, brewer's yeast, whole grains,
beans, soy products, etc.  These foods do look great on paper for
nutrients, but aren't in the main paleo diet.
Sweet potatoes, and a few nuts (need to watch the calories, but they
have
good nutrients).

Also of interest might be the specific nutrient guidelines.  He is
relatively conservative regarding micronutrient supplementation, and
says
it is okay if you want to take a multi-vitamin, but its not a big deal
apparently.  However, some nutrients have strong evidence of providing
benefits beyond average/minimum levels.  These are, on a daily basis:

Vit E - ~300 IU
Vit A (as beta carotene) - up to 25,000 IU, no real upper limit
Vit C - ~500 mg
Magnesium - keep calcium and magnesium at about a 1:1 ratio.  Usually
means supplementing.
Bioflavanoids - 100 mg, no upper limit
CoQ10 - if you want, I think he says about 30 mg
Selenium - 100 ug

Other nutrients he recommends at least the RDA levels.  Other
guidelines
(maximums) are:

Cholesterol - 100 mg
Sodium - 500 mg
Fat - 10% to 20% recommended

The exact caloric level is an individual thing, the recommendation is
to
start at 1800/day and see what happens.  Most are below this, some are
above.

The overall guidelines (except vit E) follow the paleo food nutrition
so
closely that I was amazed when I saw it.  That is partly why I am
persuing a paleo influcenced approach to my diet.  The one or two good
sources of a H/G nutrient breakdown I found followed Walfords
recommendations so closely, that you couldn't match it better if you
tried.

>In fact, it would be even more interesting to compare nutrient
>scores per 100 *calories* versus scores per 100 grams.

Both comparisons are useful, and don't give the same results as you
can
imagine.  Checking against grams seems good (and I do it sometimes)
with
the intention of getting the most bulk for my nutrients (hopefully
giving
the most food to eat, etc.).

One last comment:  I always thought I was getting a balanced diet, and
thought you could get all your nutrients from food.  Actually you can,
but it is not paleo, and is exceedingly difficult.  I resisted
supplementation for years based on this assumption.  Not until I
monitored my diet for ~90 days every day did I reveal some consistent
nutrient gaps.  I can recommend to anyone that they take a look at
this
and become more educated regarding their nutrition.  Taking an "I
don't
really care" or "I am sure I do okay" attitude is pretty risky IMO.

James Crocker
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"The future cannot be predicted, but futures can
 be invented." - Dennis Gabor
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