How are products scored?

Sesame uses the latest clinical nutrition research to help you identify the best products for your health. In doing so, we use a variety of publicly available sources coupled with oversight from our in-house Registered Dietitian.

Read more: What are your sources?

Scoring Basics

Each product in our catalog is scored from 1 to 99 based on how its nutrients and ingredients align with your health conditions. The higher the score, the better the match.

A note on Poor Match products: Please understand that these products are not inherently bad, nor should they be completely avoided. They just don't align with the health conditions you have selected and should be eaten more sparingly than Good or Great Match products.

Understanding the Product Overview Screen

When you scan or tap on a product, a pop-up will appear with more details.

1. Score: By default, this reflects the overall score and match of your product across all health conditions selected. This score will update to a single condition score if you choose to view a specific condition tab.
2. Summary Tab: This provides a quick breakdown of your product's nutrients and ingredients, sorted into three sections: Benefits, Considerations, and Other.
3. Condition Tabs: This provides a condition-specific breakdown of your product, highlighting any nutrients or ingredients that have been linked to that condition in clinical research. Switching to one of these tabs will also update the score if you have more than one condition in your plan.

Scoring Factors

Nutrients

Sesame analyzes each product for over 40 nutrients. A nutrient can be either a "positive", "neutral" or "negative" contributor based on the condition being evaluated. For example, Total Carbohydrates is, by default, a "neutral" contributor for General Health and most other conditions; however it receives a "negative" tag for Diabetes. This is because Total Carbohydrates are not inherently something to limit, but overconsumption can pose a risk for diabetics.

In addition to status, nutrients also receive weights which are, again, based on health condition. For example, Magnesium receives medium weight for General Health, and a high weight for Depression as research has shown that Magnesium plays a critical role in neurotransmitter regulation and mood stabilization.

Ingredients

Sesame also assesses each product for ingredients that pose a general health risk or a risk to your health conditions. For general health, we break these down into two subcategories:

1. High risk (red): Ingredients that have been banned either in the US or abroad (e.g. Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Bromate, Brominated Vegetable Oil).
2. Moderate risk (yellow): Ingredients that are currently legal in the US, but carry warnings abroad (e.g. Red 40, Sucralose, Sodium Nitrate, etc.).

Apart from these ingredients, we also identify ingredients that might improve or worsen symptoms for your health conditions. For example, some red and yellow food dyes, based on research, have been linked to adverse effects on activity and attention in children. Consequently, we highlight these ingredients, specifically noting their relevance in the context of ADHD.

After the ingredient analysis is complete, each high, moderate, or condition-specific ingredient updates the total score.

Scoring & Practicality

As mentioned earlier, there's no such thing as inherently bad food, but some options may be more beneficial to your body than others. Our aim in scoring products isn't to dictate what you can or cannot eat, but rather to offer insight into how the products you choose align with your individual goals and preferences.

If you've read this far and would like to share your thoughts on the Sesame project, we'd love to hear from you - feedback@sesameapp.com.