Jamaican food · nutrient efficiency index

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58 Jamaican foods ranked by nutrient efficiency — combining glycemic index (GI), NRF 7.2 nutrient density score, and a composite efficiency metric calibrated to Caribbean dietary standards.

† Protein/fat foods have negligible carbs (GL ≈ 0) — GI set to 5 for efficiency calculation only · shown as — in table · ranked within zones by NRF 7.2

Green — sweet spot efficiency > 50
Gold — caution 5 to 50
Black — limit flag −10 to 5
Orange-red — limit −100 to −10
Crimson — avoid < −100
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Food · Preparation
GI
NRF 7.2
Efficiency
GI sources: Bahado-Singh PS et al. (2006) Br J Nutr 96:476–481 (Jamaica) · Francis RD et al. (2019) Pharmacovigil & Pharmacoepi 2:13–16 (Jamaica) · Atkinson FS et al. (2021) Am J Clin Nutr — UoSyd International Tables
Nutrient data: Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute / PAHO (2000). Food Composition Tables for the English-Speaking Caribbean: Supplement · USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) · McCance & Widdowson's The Composition of Foods (7th ed.)
NRF 7.2: Adapted from Drewnowski A (2009) Nutr Rev 67:483–488 · Encourages protein, fibre, vitamins A & C, calcium, iron, potassium · Limits saturated fat and sodium (each capped at 1.0 penalty unit) · PAHO Caribbean RNIs (2020) as denominators · Per-100-kcal basis
Ackee sat. fat: Samuda PA et al. (1998) J Food Comp Anal 11:262–273 — palmitic (25%) + stearic (13%) applied to CFNI total fat · Efficiency: Composite metric; protein/fat foods assigned GI = 5 · Relative ranking only
Full methodology available on request