NIMARSTI™ Food Priority Matrix

Evidence-Governed Nutrition Guidance for Longevity, Disease Prevention & Healthy Aging

The NIMARSTI™ Food Priority Matrix is the governing nutrition reference within the Health Architecture.

It translates nutritional science into clear, evidence-based food priorities, designed to reduce disease risk, slow biological aging, and support long-term human resilience across decades—not weeks.

This matrix does not ask what is popular, traditional, or convenient.
It asks one question only:

Which foods, when consumed consistently over time, are associated with the best long-term human health outcomes?

What This Matrix Is

This matrix governs all applied nutrition guidance across NIMARSTI™.

The Food Priority Matrix is:

  • A decision framework, not a diet
  • A risk-reduction tool, not a permissive food list
  • A long-term reference, not a short-term strategy

Foods are classified according to their association with real-world human outcomes, including:

  • All-cause mortality
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Cancer risk
  • Metabolic health
  • Functional aging and frailty
  • Quality of life across the lifespan

Each classification reflects the best available human evidence, prioritized according to the evidence hierarchy and evaluated for safety and sustainability over decades.

What This Matrix Is Not

This matrix is not:

  • A meal plan
  • A calorie or macro prescription
  • A culinary or cultural endorsement
  • A moderation-based compromise
  • A performance or physique strategy

Foods are not treated as interchangeable, and “balance” is not assumed to be protective when credible long-term risk exists.

How Foods Are Classified

Foods are grouped by priority tier, based on their long-term safety and outcome profile:

  • FOUNDATIONAL
    Safe and supportive for daily, lifelong use
  • CONDITIONAL — FAVORABLE
    Acceptable and potentially beneficial, but not required
  • CONDITIONAL — NEUTRAL
    Acceptable; no clear longevity benefit
  • CONDITIONAL — DISCOURAGED
    Inferior options; minimize use
  • EXCLUDED
    Increased disease or cancer risk without compensatory longevity benefit

Higher-priority tiers should dominate intake over time.
Lower-priority tiers are included only when contextually necessary—or avoided entirely when risk outweighs benefit.

The Design Mandate

This matrix is governed by a single mandate:

Maximal disease prevention, longevity, and healthy aging through risk reduction, biological safety, and dietary patterns sustainable over decades.

When credible evidence indicates increased risk without a compensatory longevity benefit, exclusion prevails—regardless of cultural acceptance, tradition, or popularity.

How to Use This Matrix

  • Build most meals from FOUNDATIONAL foods
  • Use CONDITIONAL foods deliberately, not automatically
  • Do not “balance” EXCLUDED foods—remove them
  • Judge success by patterns over years, not perfection in days

This matrix provides the rules of the system.
Supporting tools—such as the Fridge Guide and Daily Foundations—exist to make these rules visible and actionable in daily life.

Position Within the Architecture

The Food Priority Matrix sits downstream of the Nutrition Framework and upstream of daily behavior.

  • The Nutrition Framework explains why nutrition matters biologically
  • The Food Priority Matrix defines which foods best support that biology
  • Applied tools translate those priorities into daily choices

This separation preserves clarity, coherence, and long-term governance.

This is not a diet.
It is a nutritional decision system, designed to support health for a lifetime.

NIMARSTI™ FOOD PRIORITY MATRIX

Version 1.1 — Governing Reference

Governance Standard

All classifications prioritize long-term human outcome data
(all-cause mortality, disease incidence, functional aging, frailty, and quality of life)
over mechanistic hypotheses, short-term biomarkers, cultural norms, or performance-only outcomes.

Design Mandate

Maximal disease prevention, longevity, and healthy aging through:

  • Risk reduction
  • Biological safety
  • Dietary patterns sustainable over decades

Classification System

FOUNDATIONAL
Safe and supportive for daily, lifelong use

CONDITIONAL — FAVORABLE
Acceptable and potentially beneficial, but not required

CONDITIONAL — NEUTRAL
Acceptable; no clear longevity benefit

CONDITIONAL — DISCOURAGED
Inferior options; minimize use

EXCLUDED
Increased disease or cancer risk without compensatory longevity benefit

CATEGORY 1: FATS & OILS (v1.0)

🟢 FOUNDATIONAL

Primary daily fat sources

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Avocado
  • Olives
  • Nuts (especially walnuts)
  • Seeds (chia, hemp, pumpkin, sesame)

🟡 CONDITIONAL — FAVORABLE

Minimal use; cold or low-heat only

  • Flaxseed oil
  • Chia seed oil
  • Walnut oil
  • Hemp seed oil
  • Avocado oil (low heat only)

🔴 EXCLUDED

  • Butter, ghee
  • Lard, tallow
  • Coconut oil
  • Palm oil
  • Refined industrial seed oils
  • Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils

Principle: Prefer unsaturated, polyphenol-rich fats associated with lower cardiovascular and mortality risk. Exclude saturated and industrial fats.

CATEGORY 2: PROTEINS (v1.1)

Protein Adequacy Targets Supported

  • ~1.2 g/kg/day — general adult population
  • ~1.6 g/kg/day — regular or intense exercise

🟢 FOUNDATIONAL PROTEINS

Plant-Based Foundations

  • Soy foods: tofu, tempeh, edamame
  • Legumes: beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas
  • Nuts and seeds

Animal-Based Foundations (Outcome-Positive Subset Only)

  • High omega-3 fish: salmon, sardines, mackerel

Rationale:
Plant-dominant protein intake is associated with lower all-cause mortality, reduced cardiovascular disease, and improved metabolic outcomes. Soy foods are uniquely well-studied and outcome-positive. Small, fatty fish show consistent cardiovascular mortality benefit not generalizable to animal protein as a class.

🟡 CONDITIONAL — SUPPLEMENTAL PROTEINS

Used only to meet protein targets when whole foods are insufficient

  • Plant-based protein powders (preferred): soy, pea, blended plant proteins
  • Whey protein (acceptable but secondary)

Constraint: Supplemental use only; do not replace whole foods or fiber-rich meals.

🟠 CONDITIONAL — DISCOURAGED (Harm-Reduction Substitutes)

  • Plant-based meat analogues (burgers, sausages, mince)

Use case: Transitional or occasional replacement for red or processed meat
Limitations: Ultra-processed, sodium-dense, often high in saturated fat (e.g., coconut oil)

🔴 EXCLUDED

  • Red meat (beef, pork, lamb)
  • Processed meat (all forms)

CATEGORY 3: CARBOHYDRATES (v1.1)

🟢 FOUNDATIONAL

Vegetables

  • Non-starchy vegetables
  • Starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash)

Whole Fruit (Intact Structure)
Encouraged for regular, abundant consumption

  • Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries) — highest priority
  • Apples, pears
  • Citrus fruits
  • Kiwi
  • Stone fruits (plums, peaches, cherries)

Guiding Principles:

  • Eat fruit whole and intact
  • Consume fruit daily and liberally, alongside vegetables
  • Prioritize berries for maximal benefit density
  • Fruit does not require restriction, including in diabetes
  • Benefits are strongest when fruit adds to a vegetable-dominant pattern rather than replacing it

Outcome Rationale:
Whole fruit consumption is associated with reduced all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease risk, and type 2 diabetes incidence. Controlled human studies demonstrate no adverse metabolic effects even at high fruit intakes when fruit is consumed whole. Berries consistently demonstrate the strongest protective associations per serving.

Additional Foundational Carbohydrates

  • Legumes
  • Whole intact grains
  • Traditional whole-grain sourdough and sprouted breads

🟡 CONDITIONAL — FAVORABLE

  • White rice when cooked, cooled, and eaten cold or reheated (resistant starch formation)

🟡 CONDITIONAL — NEUTRAL

  • Refined pasta (occasional, paired with vegetables and legumes)

🔴 EXCLUDED

  • Refined sugars
  • Ultra-processed baked goods

Principle: Structural integrity and fiber content outweigh glycemic index alone.

CATEGORY 4: SWEETENERS (v1.0)

🟢 FOUNDATIONAL

  • Whole fruit (primary source of sweetness)

🟡 CONDITIONAL — FAVORABLE

  • Dates (whole)
  • Dried apples
  • Dried plums (prunes)

🟡 CONDITIONAL — NEUTRAL

  • Date sugar (culinary use only)
  • Dried figs
  • Maple syrup
  • Raw honey

🔴 EXCLUDED

  • Refined sugar
  • High-fructose corn syrup
  • Artificial sweeteners
  • Sugar alcohols
  • Sweetened beverages

CATEGORY 5: BEVERAGES (v1.1)

🟢 FOUNDATIONAL

  • Water (still or sparkling)
  • Unsweetened tea
  • Black coffee (unsweetened)
  • Unsweetened soy milk (food-like beverage)
  • Vegetable & fruit smoothies (fiber-retained, thick, slow-consumed)
  • Vegetable soups / broths (low-sodium, whole-plant-food based)

🟡 CONDITIONAL — FAVORABLE

  • Mixed fruit smoothies (occasional; inferior to whole fruit)

🟠 CONDITIONAL — DISCOURAGED

  • Rapid-consumption smoothies (gulped as drinks)

🟡 CONDITIONAL — RARE

  • Fresh fruit juice (small amounts, non-habitual, with meals only)

🔴 EXCLUDED

  • Alcohol (all forms)
  • Sugar-sweetened beverages
  • Artificially sweetened beverages
  • Energy drinks

CATEGORY 6: HERBS, SPICES & FLAVORINGS

🟢 FOUNDATIONAL

  • Fresh and dried herbs
  • Spices (turmeric, ginger, garlic, cinnamon)
  • Vinegars (apple cider, balsamic)

🟡 CONDITIONAL

  • Fermented condiments (miso, tamari — low sodium)

🔴 EXCLUDED

  • Sugar-laden sauces
  • Ultra-processed flavor enhancers

CATEGORY 7: DAIRY

🟡 CONDITIONAL

  • Yogurt (unsweetened)
  • Kefir

Optional and limited; neutral long-term outcome profile

🔴 EXCLUDED

  • Butter
  • Cream
  • High-fat cheeses

SYSTEM-LEVEL SUMMARY

  • Plant-dominant, whole-food dietary pattern implicitly supported
  • Protein adequacy protected without reliance on red or processed meat
  • Risk reduction overrides permissiveness
  • Foods are not interchangeable
  • When credible risk exists without compensatory longevity benefit, exclusion prevails

This is not a diet.
It is a nutritional decision system, designed to support health for a lifetime.

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