The Nutrition Value Assessment and Replacement of Iranian Fruit and Vegetables Based on the Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis

Despite the physicians and nutritionists recommendations to consume the fruits and vegetables, they point much less on how to choose fruits and vegetables in daily meals. In this study, with a novel approach, fruits and vegetables have been classified on the basis of their similar characteristics and the amount of certain nutrients. One of the goals of diet is the diversity and balance of nutrition; therefore the classification of fruits and vegetables on the basis of their nutritional value makes balancing the nutritional intake of these important food groups and also finding a suitable replacement for them feasible. In order to meet the nutritional needs, using principal component analysis and cluster analysis, fruits and vegetables are classified into several groups. MATLAB software was used for doing this classification.