Have you ever wanted to view food sources of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in your diet? The National Agricultural Library’s Food and Nutrition Information Center now houses 36 tables of foods according to their nutrient content. The tables are available for vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and macronutrients and are listed in household measure from the highest to lowest in nutrient content. For those with accessibility needs, a CSV format is also available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, SR Legacy (PDF, 174 KB) contains data on 7,793 food items and up to 150 food components and serves as the basis for the 36 individual nutrient lists now hosted on Food and Nutrition Information Center website. These lists can be found in the Food Composition section of the website and are grouped by the nutrient’s contribution to the human body: macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fiber, fats and cholesterol, water), phytonutrients (i.e., lycopenes), and vitamins and minerals. For people who would like to consume a food source rather than a dietary supplement to increase their intake of, for example, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, an eight-page list of food sources is available in the Phytonutrient group. For a simple list of high calorie vs. low calorie foods, a Total Kilocalories list is available in the Macronutrient group.
The next time you would like to search for a good food source of potassium, vitamin D or leucine, for example, visit the Food and Nutrition Information Center to find out which food can offer a generous supply. Alternatively, if you’re trying to reduce your intake of cholesterol or sodium, you can now view the website’s nutrient content lists to minimize your intake. As Francis Bacon once said, “Knowledge is power.”
