Lemons rank higher than strawberries and oranges in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nutrient density study, TheCoolist reported.
Lemon leads familiar fruits
While an orange or a bowl of berries feels more like fruit to eat, you may keep a lemon in the kitchen for its juice. In this ranking, the lemon came out ahead with a nutrient density score of 18.72.
Jennifer Di Noia of William Paterson University led the study of 47 foods, which appeared in the CDC’s journal Preventing Chronic Disease in 2014. That put lemon above strawberry at 17.59 and orange at 12.91.
Did you know? The score counted nutrients in relation to calories by looking at the average share of daily values supplied for 17 nutrients per 100 calories.
Score counts nutrients per calorie
Researchers calculated each food’s score using a specific qualifying standard. Based on the study’s qualifying criteria, a food had to provide an average of at least 10% of the daily value for those 17 nutrients per 100 calories to make the powerhouse list, according to the study’s qualifying standard. Of the 47 foods examined, 41 met it.
Lemon cleared that mark and earned the highest score among the citrus and berries. Instead of reflecting how large a place a food usually has in your fruit bowl, the ranking measured how many of the evaluated nutrients it provided relative to its calories.
Blueberries miss the list
Blueberries did not meet the study’s cutoff for its powerhouse list. They fell short alongside raspberries and cranberries.
Tangerines, garlic, and onions completed the group of six foods studied that did not qualify. Lemon, orange, and strawberry all made the list, with lemon scoring highest among those three.
Watercress holds top spot
Lemon was not the highest-scoring food in the entire study. Watercress held that spot with a score of 100.
Tomato, pumpkin, and red pepper also scored above lemon. Those items are commonly grouped with vegetables in discussions of the results.
Why blueberries and other foods missed the list
Why did blueberries miss the powerhouse list?
Blueberries fell short of the study’s cutoff, which required foods to supply an average of at least 10% of the daily value for 17 measured nutrients per 100 calories. Raspberries, cranberries, tangerines, garlic, and onions also missed the final list of 41 qualifying foods.
What was the highest scoring food overall?
Watercress held the top spot in the 2014 study with a score of 100. Tomato, pumpkin, and red pepper also scored higher than the lemon.
How were the food scores calculated?
The score for each food was determined by researchers using the average portion of daily values delivered for 17 nutrients per 100 calories. The study examined a total of 47 foods.
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