Find out who did math before trusting nutrition numbers

	Find out who did math before trusting nutrition numbers
Bookmarks USDA Data Test Labs Reliability Resources MasterCook Citation	Jodie Shield, Dietician Chicago Tribune 2000 January 26 Since last April [1999], Kristie Carlson from Kildeer, Ill., has lost more than 35 pounds. The secret to her success? She walks 45 minutes every day and she watches what she eats. Carlson diligently reads food labels to help her count calories, but she's skeptical about the nutrition information. "How can a tiny half-cup serving of snack mix have 150 calories?," she asked. "I'd love to know who makes this stuff up." [USDA data] Hard as they may be to swallow, the nutrient numbers on food labels, some restaurant menus, and at-tached to cookbook, newspaper and magazine recipes are not pulled out of a hat. Most of them come from the United States Department of Agriculture. Whose facts are these, anyway? "We currently have the largest database in the world, with information on 100 nutrients for over 7,500 foods," says Joanne Holden, research leader at the USDA's Nutrient Data Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. For more than a century, the lab and its predecessors have been providing information on the nutrient content of foods consumed in the United States. The lab's main purpose is to manage databases, including the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, the "gold standard" for nutritionists, the food industry and just about anyone who wants to know about the nutrients in the food they're eating. [Test Labs] The Nutrient Data Laboratory gets its facts in four ways, Holden said. The lab will hire independent labs to analyze a particular food. A second source is commodity groups such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council or the National Egg Board, which conduct updates on their products. (For example, a few years ago the Nutrient Data Laboratory collaborated with the Egg Board on a study that revealed eggs were 22 percent lower in cholesterol than previously listed.) The lab also takes data from scientific literature and occasionally derives nutrient values for certain mixed-dish foods such as chicken pot pie or beef stew using its own data. "With the food supply constantly changing and chemical analysis procedures constantly improving," Holden said, "we update foods based on industry changes and consumer requests." The government is not the only source of accurate food databases. Many large food companies maintain their own. As a nutrition research scientist for Quaker Oats' snack group division, Sara Murphy oversees a product's development and its nutrient analysis. She also helps maintain a database for each product, which helps the company comply with labeling requirements. As can other companies, Quaker can submit nutrient data to the government's Standard Reference database. Can you trust the numbers?	[reliability] Constance Geiger, an assistant professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Utah, where she has become an expert on food labeling, loosely grades the trustworthiness of nutrition information based on where it appears. The database numbers start out being quite accurate, she said, but their ultimate helpfulness "really depends on how they're used and where the actual numbers came from." Geiger gives this guidance for reading and interpreting nutrition information in places where it's most likely to appear. * Food labels: "You can believe with confidence the numbers you see on the Nutrition Facts panel of food labels," Geiger said, because food manufacturers have to comply with strict legal guidelines on how nutrients must be listed. It is possible for a product to publish data slightly different from the USDA's because labeling laws allow rounding up or down. * Restaurant menus: Geiger also believes that the nutrition information on restaurant menus is trustworthy. "If an item makes a nutrient claim, the FDA does require the restaurant to display the nutrition information" for that particular nutrient. For example, if a menu offered low-fat lasagna, the restaurant would have to list the grams of fat in the lasagna. The most reliable nutrition data comes from major fast-food chains, Geiger says, because they hire independent labs to conduct nutrient analysis; other restaurants likely rely on the Standard Reference database or a consultant using a software program. * Recipes in cookbooks, newspapers and national magazines: These sources have the potential to be least reliable, Geiger said. If you see nutrition information, investigate who provided the numbers." Were the nutrient values calculated by a registered dietitian with access to current information? Does it list as its source the 12th edition of the USDA's Standard Reference? If not, who knows where the numbers came from? Reliable Resources: In addition to food labels, other sources of accurate nutrition numbers exist. WEB SITES USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/). This site contains all of the current databases maintained by the government, including the 12th edition of the Standard Reference. COMPUTER PROGRAMS Food Processor Dietary Analysis Program (version 7.3) by ESHA (503585-6242). This CD-ROM program has an extensive database that includes the Standard Reference. It costs $549 plus $12 shipping, plus an annual update fee of about $150. [MC] MasterCook by Sierra. This is one of the easiest and most cost-effective programs. The database, based on the Standard Reference, contains more than 2,500 foods and can analyze recipes as well as diets. Cost about $50. BOOKS "Bowes and Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used," 17th edition. By Jean A.T. Pennington (Lippincott). This is a standard on dietitians' shelves, It includes data for most major foods and includes supplemental tables for hard-to-find nutrients. About $36 at bookstores. "The Complete Book of Food Counts," by Corinne T. Netzer (MJF Books). This book is handy but includes data for only a few main nutrients: calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, cholesterol, sodium and fiber. It costs $7.50 at bookstores.

Headline and text printed in Las Vegas Review-Journal, Wednesday, January 26, 2000

About Jodie Shield, M.Ed., RD, LD - Dietary and Nutrition Expert. As a registered dietician and mother of three, Jodie Shield knows the challenges of maintaining a healthy diet for adults and children alike. A former national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (1989-1995), and consultant in the field of nutrition for 18 years, Ms. Shield has worked extensively to help people understand the importance of getting the right amount of nutrients everyday. As a key spokesperson, she has worked with the Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago and taught nutrition and medical dietetics at the University of Illinois.

Ms. Shield has authored more than 100 articles for consumer magazines and professional journals such as: Healthy Kids, American Baby, Shape Magazine's Fit Pregnancy, American Health, Restaurants and Institutions, Weight Watchers Magazine, and the Journal of The American Dietetic Association. In addition, she has written several online articles and authored a column called Ask The Nutritionist for Disney. Currently she writes the monthly column Ask the Nutritionist for Bean Sprout, the Web site run by pediatricians for pediatricians, parents and childcare providers. Ms. Shield also develops recipes for Weight Watchers and provides nutrition analyses for the Chicago Tribune. She is in the process of writing a book in conjunction with the American Dietetic Association and publisher John Wiley and Sons that focuses on nutrition for school-age children.

Jodie Shield lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three children. She is an associate, complementary faculty member at Rush University in Chicago.