Searching the Database (cross posting b/c it's helpful here)
SuperSexyDork
Posts: 1,669 Member
There are a lot of conflicting database entries so I thought I'd help out those who are struggling with this.
Firstly, for meats, fruits, vegetables, oils, flours, etc, you should be looking in the database for entries without an asterisks (*). This denotes that the entry was not added by a user and is based on the USDA database.
However, finding these can sometimes be a bit tricky as the wording is sometimes unusual. So, here's a formula that you can generally use to generate non-user entered entries.
1. Type of fruit/vegetable/animal- if it's a fruit/vegetable, it's usually pluralized. If it's a meat, it's not.
2. Space, hyphen, space (For example, Asparagus - raw)
3. Followed by the method used to cook it or raw if it's uncooked (for vegetables) or the part/cut of the meat (for meats)
Examples/tips
-When searching for chicken breast, use Chicken - breast, cooked
-For Nuts, use the word nuts prior to the type of nut, ie: Nuts - Macadamia nuts, raw.
-For flour, put the type of grain first, ie: Wheat flour - White will turn up all the kinds of white flour, including blead, unbleached, etc.
Finally, if you're having trouble finding the right wording to use, search http://nutritiondata.self.com/ They use the exact same phrases 99% of the time but there are no user entered foods to crowd the search.
I hope this helps.
Firstly, for meats, fruits, vegetables, oils, flours, etc, you should be looking in the database for entries without an asterisks (*). This denotes that the entry was not added by a user and is based on the USDA database.
However, finding these can sometimes be a bit tricky as the wording is sometimes unusual. So, here's a formula that you can generally use to generate non-user entered entries.
1. Type of fruit/vegetable/animal- if it's a fruit/vegetable, it's usually pluralized. If it's a meat, it's not.
2. Space, hyphen, space (For example, Asparagus - raw)
3. Followed by the method used to cook it or raw if it's uncooked (for vegetables) or the part/cut of the meat (for meats)
Examples/tips
-When searching for chicken breast, use Chicken - breast, cooked
-For Nuts, use the word nuts prior to the type of nut, ie: Nuts - Macadamia nuts, raw.
-For flour, put the type of grain first, ie: Wheat flour - White will turn up all the kinds of white flour, including blead, unbleached, etc.
Finally, if you're having trouble finding the right wording to use, search http://nutritiondata.self.com/ They use the exact same phrases 99% of the time but there are no user entered foods to crowd the search.
I hope this helps.
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Replies
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:drinker:0
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:flowerforyou:0
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BUMP. Thank you so much. I've noticed if I search using the APP on my phone I get better results than when I use the website database. I have not figured out why.0
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BUMP. Thank you so much. I've noticed if I search using the APP on my phone I get better results than when I use the website database. I have not figured out why.
Huh.
I hate using the app because it doesn't have the "confirmations" or the asterisks/no asterisks to help determine which entries are correct.
I do like the barcode scanner when I have something with a barcode though. Although it's not 100%.0 -
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Thank you. I wish there was a way to favorite a topic or sticky it on our blog.0
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THANK YOU! Ugh. I just realized I've been logging wrong for a few weeks. So frustrating.0
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:drinker:0
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jumping on to keep this in memory!0
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Thanks! :flowerforyou:0
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