Q. What is the basis for the questions in the Nutrition GPA quiz?
A. The questions in the Nutrition GPA app are based on decades of research into the foods and eating patterns most strongly and consistently linked to overall dietary quality, nutrient intakes, and health outcomes. Click here to see some of the research underlying the Nutrition GPA™ concept.
These questions are designed not only to gather information about your intake of specific nutrients, but also to infer as much as we can about your overall diet quality, using as few questions as possible. So, for example, what other foods tend to go along with that food? Or, what might you NOT be eating because you’re eating this instead?
Answering these simple yes-or-no questions will give you a quick assessment of each day’s nutrition. Your daily grades are averaged to calculate your Nutrition GPA (grade point average), so that you can how your nutritional choices stack up over time, and which way you are trending.
I am gearing up to do daily Nutrition GPA, but this gets me to wonder, what happens if I don’t eat avocados or nuts every day? I feel fine and haven’t had either of these things for ages. I’m living in St Vincent and the only nuts here are peanuts, and the peanut butter has sugar. I will get sick of avocados everyday. Thanks for clarifying, or pointing me to your podcast episode that answers this. I learn a lot from you! Thank you!
The great thing about the nutrition GPA is that you don’t have to answer every question “correctly” every day. I go into a lot more detail in my 30-day nutrition upgrade program, but the goal here is simply to find a more consistent balance between those things that we eat because they improve our nutrition, and those less nutritious things that we may want to enjoy occasionally.
If you can keep your Nutrition GPA anywhere in the B range, you’re doing great. And for question 5, peanuts and peanut butter both count as nuts, even though they are technically legumes. Hope that helps.
Hi Monica! I enjoy listening to your podcast. Thanks so much for all you do in helping people improve on their nutrition/health. I was wondering whether someone with a slightly high blood pressure eat any of these foods in the list and see improvements immediate or does it take some time to lower bp. What advice will you give to someone who has a high bp and wants to lower it to the normal range? Thanks for your reply in advance!
What constitutes one serving of vegetables? Is it one cup or one-half cup or something else? I can’t take the quiz until I know what counts as one serving. Thanks!
If you tap the little “more info” next to the question, you’ll see some guidelines for different serving sizes. But it’s half a cup for most cooked vegetables, and one cup for raw leafy greens.
Hello! Thank you for this great, simple app. I’m curious why quantities/variety of fruit/berries/citrus are not included in the questionnaire?
I’m glad you’re enjoying the simplicity of the app. And this is a great question.
Fruit, including berries and citrus are great, nutritious foods. They don’t contribute DIRECTLY to your score because they aren’t as strongly associated with overall diet quality and health outcomes as vegetables are.
Most people who consume 5 servings of vegetables are also likely to be consuming a serving or two of fruit. (The reverse is not as true).
That said, fruit can INDIRECTLY affect your score if you choose it as an alternative to sweetened foods that are counted in Question 7.