Quantifying Nutrient Profile Similarity Among Foods Using Cosine Similarity of Multidimensional Nutrient Profiles

Background

Food substitutions can be used for improving dietary performance in different domains, e.g., human health, environmental impact, affordability or cultural preferences. However, the criteria to justify food substitutions are often inconsistent and based on single nutrients such as maintaining volume, protein, energy or culinary equivalence. Such approaches neglect the broader and more complex nutrient profiles that define a food’s overall nutritional value.