Micronutrient balance, explained
How MVI works
FoodMaya's Recipe MVI asks whether a recipe supplies a balanced mix of micronutrients for the calories it contains. A higher score means the recipe is closer to supplying all 21 included vitamins and minerals in proportion to its energy.
MVI is a density score—not % daily needs.
A recipe can have a high MVI while supplying only a small share of a day's nutrients. Serving size changes the daily-intake percentages, but it does not change this calorie-normalized recipe score.
Compare nutrients with energy
For each micronutrient, FoodMaya compares the recipe's share of a daily reference amount with its share of a daily calorie target.
Cap abundance
Once a nutrient reaches the target density, extra amounts do not raise its component above 100. One abundant nutrient cannot make up for another that is scarce.
Reward balance
The 21 components are combined into a score up to 100. Low components pull the result down, so an even nutrient profile matters.
Why use a geometric mean?
An ordinary average can hide a weak spot: several nutrients at 100 could outweigh one very low nutrient. A geometric mean is more sensitive to imbalance, so each included nutrient has a meaningful voice in the result.
FoodMaya also caps each component at 100 before combining them. Together, the cap and geometric mean reward broad micronutrient density rather than a few standout values.
21 equally weighted nutrients
The current provisional score includes the same weight for every nutrient.
12 vitamins
- Vitamin A
- Thiamin (B1)
- Riboflavin (B2)
- Niacin (B3)
- Pantothenic acid (B5)
- Vitamin B6
- Folate (B9)
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
9 minerals
- Calcium
- Copper
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Selenium
- Zinc
Important limitations
MVI is provisional and has not been clinically validated. It is an informational recipe comparison, not a diagnosis or dietary recommendation.
Results depend on ingredient parsing, the selected USDA matches, portion estimates, USDA nutrient coverage, the reference profile, and its calorie target.
The score does not model bioavailability, nutrient interactions, cooking losses, individual health needs, supplements, or every effect of food processing.
MVI measures micronutrient adequacy-density only. It does not subtract points for sodium, saturated fat, sugar, calories, or nutrient amounts above upper limits.
Exact calculation
For nutrient i, let pᵢ be the recipe's percentage of its selected daily reference amount, expressed as a decimal. Let c be recipe calories divided by the selected daily calorie target.
aᵢ = max(0.01, min(qᵢ, 1))
MVI lower = 100 × exp((Σ ln(aᵢ)) / 21)
The 0.01 floor prevents a zero or unavailable reported amount from collapsing the geometric mean to zero. The 1.0 cap means density above target does not add extra credit. All 21 nutrients have equal weight, and the result is rounded to one decimal place.
For the upper bound, aᵢ is replaced with 1.0 when at least one matched food lacks a reported value for that nutrient; all other components stay unchanged. Unmatched input lines and matched lines awaiting a weight are not included in this uncertainty range because they are surfaced separately for correction. The bounds are each rounded to one decimal before their displayed width is tested.
If the rounded bounds match, that value is shown. If they differ by less than one point, their midpoint is rounded and shown as one score. Differences from 1 through 50 points are shown as a range; larger differences are marked unavailable.
Method note
FoodMaya MVI is a custom, provisional metric inspired by ideas in nutrition-quality research, including recipe-level nutrient density. It does not claim to implement or reproduce the published nutriRECIPE-Index.
See the original nutriRECIPE-Index paper in BMC Nutrition ( DOI 10.1186/s40795-021-00483-7) and its 2025 correction ( DOI 10.1186/s40795-025-01061-x).