Take the 4Leaf Survey

It may very well be the world’s first survey of its kind (soon to be an app)

Twelve questions—2 or 3 minutes. A quick and easy way to estimate how healthy you are eating…without counting calories or computing percentages.

Take the 12-question survey now 

Click the link above for a printer friendly one-page form, complete with scoring instructions. It only takes 2 or 3 minutes. For more information about the survey, scroll down

What are we measuring? 4Leaf for Life is based on the simple premise put forth by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, “The closer we get to eating a whole foods, plant-based diet, the healthier we will be.” We know that the closest that we could possibly get would be 100% of our calories from those healthiest of foods.

So, for 4Leaf for Life, we set the top bar at 80%—meaning that if you consume 80% or more of your calories from whole plants, you’ll be eating at the 4Leaf level . From 60 to 79%, the score is 3Leaf and so forth. So where do most people score? How healthy is the typical Western diet?

Our standard American diet is not very healthy. Most people in the USA and other Western countries are consuming the very un-healthful “typical Western diet,” with meat, dairy, eggs and/or refined carbs at every meal. As you might guess, this harmful  diet does not score well on our 4Leaf scale.

We see six overall levels of eating—with the majority of the people eating a very unhealthful diet. With more information, we find that most people will voluntarily make improvements in their diet. Here’s our estimate of how the population of the USA is currently eating:

1. 4Leaf level—Top 1% of the population (80 to 100% from whole plants)
2. 3Leaf level—Top 3%% of the population (60 to 79% from whole plants)
3. 2Leaf level—Top 6%% of the population (40 to 59% from whole plants)
4. 1Leaf level—Top 10%% of the population (20 to 39% from whole plants)
5. Better than Most—25% of the population (10 to 19% from whole plants)
6. Unhealthful Diet—65% of the population (less than 10% from whole plants)

Is 4Leaf the same as vegetarian? Not necessarily. Some vegans and vegetarians derive a very small percentage of their calories from whole plants. Although they’re not eating animal flesh, they’re getting most of their calories from refined carbohydrates (white pasta, bread, etc.), olive oil, cheese, salty snacks, soda—and none of those are health-promoting foods.

The key to vibrant health is consuming lots of the healthiest foods…whole plants.

Our survey measures what you ARE eating. It was designed to estimate the approximate percentage of your calories that are derived from whole plants. The higher that percentage, the greater your chances of achieving vibrant health—while providing your body with the maximum amount of protection from chronic disease.

Please send me your score, comments or questions to jmorrishicks@me.com Let me know how accurate you think it was in assessing your approximate 4Leaf level. Here are links to three more printer-friendly PDF one-pagers that might be helpful as you move up the 4Leaf scale:

• The 4Leaf Chart for your refrigerator
• 4Leaf Top Ten Lists — the “Why” and the “How”
• Did you eat 4Leaf yesterday? Try taking the 4Leaf Survey—Daily Reporting Version
• Using 4Leaf Survey results to improve your health

Tips for improving your score. In the last link, you can easily see how your own answers to twelve simple questions will enable you to see exactly what you need to do to take charge of your own health.

Go easy on the fat. Regardless which level of 4Leaf eating you choose, we recommend that you strive to keep your percentage of calories from fat below 20%. The average American gets close to 40%. So if you’re trying to lose weight, you should go easy on even the vegan foods with high fat content. Nuts, avocado, olives and tofu all derive well over 50% of their calories from fat. And, of course, olive oil (all oils) are 100% fat.

Twelve questions—2 or 3 minutes. A quick and easy way to estimate how healthy you are eating…without counting calories or computing percentages.

Take the 12-question survey now

The Bottom Line. We know that everyone may not care about reaching the 4Leaf level of eating. But, for those who do, we think that this incredibly simple tool will help. Check out this feedback from a reader on 3-27-12, just two months after reading our book:

Mr. Hicks, It is with pleasure that I fill out the surveys again. We are now solid 3Leaf-ers and very proud!  My husband, at first, was just a hostage to my cooking, but he has come around.  He now orders only veggies even when we go out to dinner.  I am totally committed.

We do still add milk to our coffee.  It amounts to approx 4 TBS/day of 1%.  We have switched to Almond Milk instead of dairy with meals. Our blood tests came back yesterday….my total cholesterol dropped 51 points from 202 to 151.  Dave’s dropped from 182 to 159.

Since we read your book, our goal has been to eat better for ourselves and our planet.  I think we are achieving this….even though I see spots that can certainly be improved upon.  One is milk with coffee.

Thanks for the improved survey, it makes much more sense to me and enables me to see the “holes” that I need to fill. Best, Darcy

More help needed? For additional help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information below at our 4Leaf page and in Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

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