Understand the nutritional database

The MyDietAnalysis nutritional database, powered by ESHA Research, contains more than 103,000 foods and ingredients from many different sources. These sources include the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA ), the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS), manufacturers and restaurants.

Each source provides varying amounts of nutritional data for foods and ingredients. Government databases (e.g. USDA and FNDDS) include data for more nutrients than other sources. Manufacturers are only required to list 14 mandatory nutrients on product labels. This means that some nutrients, such as thiamin, niacin, magnesium or Vitamin E, are not included in manufacturer-sourced information.

Incomplete data affecan affect the accuracy of nutritional totals for the MyDietAnalysis dietary assessment. When you add foods to a diet, it's important to select items from the database that include the data that needs to be tracked. For example:

• If your goal is to assess dietary intake for Calories or protein, then any food from any source in the database will provide this data.
• If you drink a brand name bottled water such as DASANI®, it will not count toward your water nutrient goals because the manufacturer is not required to provide all nutrient data.

When you need to consider nutrient intake, it’s best to use data from the USDA if possible. You can ensure that you are using USDA data by selecting the USDA filter when you search for foods to add to a diet.