Table 2.

Food groupings used in the dietary pattern analyses

Food groups	Dietary components
Leafy vegetables	Cauliflower, lettuce, cucumber, onion, green bean, mushroom, pepper, garlic, turnip, others
Fresh fruits	Melon, watermelon, honeydew melon, plums, prunes, apples, cherries, sour cherries, peaches, nectarine, pear, fig, date, grapes, kiwi, pomegranate, strawberry, banana, persimmon, berry, pineapple, oranges, others
Dried fruits	Dried apricots, Dried berries, raisins, and other type dried fruits
Dairy	Milk, yogurt, yogurt drink (doogh), cheese, chocolate milk, crud
Tomato	Tomato
Carotene-rich vegetables	Yellow squash, carrot
Condiments	Condiments
Pickles	Pickles
Legumes	All type beans, peas,lentils, mung bean, soy
Whole grain	Dark breads (Iranian), wheat, barley
Starchy vegetables	Corn, eggplant, green peas, green squash
Vegetable oil	Vegetable oil
Natural juices	All fruit juices
Butter	Butter, margarine, mayonnaise
Olive	Olive and olive oil
Organ meat	Heart, kidney, liver, tongue, brain, offal
Read meat	Beef, lamb, minced meat
Fish	All fish types
Processed meat	Hamburger, sausage, delicatessen meat, pizza
Soft drink	Soft drink
Nuts	Almond, peanut, walnut, pistachio, hazelnut, seeds
Egg	Egg
Poultry	Chicken
Snack	Corn puffs, potato chips, French fries
Sweets and desserts	Cookies, cakes, biscuit, muffins, pies, chocolates, ice, honey, jam, sugar cubes, sugar, candies, others
Tea and coffee	Tea and coffee
Hydrogenated fat	Hydrogenated fats, animal fats
Salt	Salt
Potato	Potato
Refined grain	White breads (lavash, baguettes), noodles, pasta, rice