Table 1.
Mexican Alternate Healthy Eating Index. Components and scoring criteria.
| Food Component | MxAHEI | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Score | Criteria for Minimum Score (0) | Criteria for Maximum Score | |
| Higher Intake Recommended | |||
| Vegetables | 9 | 0 servings | ≥5 servings |
| Whole fruit | 9 | 0 servings | ≥4 servings |
| Fiber from cereals | 9 | 0 g | ≥15 g |
| Legumes | 5 | 0 servings | ≥1 serving |
| Nuts | 5 | 0 servings | ≥1 serving |
| Long-chain (n-3) fatty acids (EPA + DHA) | 9 | 0 mg | ≥250 mg |
| Polyunsaturated fats a | 9 | ≤2% of total energy intake | ≥10% of total energy intake |
| Limited Intake Recommended | |||
| SSBs | 9 | ≥1 serving | 0 servings |
| Red and processed meat | 9 | ≥1.5 serving | 0 servings |
| Sodium | 9 | >2 g | ≤1.5 g |
| Trans fats | 9 | ≥4% of total energy intake | ≤0.5% of total energy intake |
| Alcohol | |||
| Women | 9 | ≥2.5 drinks | 0.5–1.5 drinks |
| Men | ≥3.5 drinks | 0.5–2.0 drinks | |
| Total score | 100 | ||
a Excluding long-chain (n-3) fatty acids. MxAHEI, Mexican Alternate Healthy Eating Index; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; SSBs, sugar-sweetened beverages.