Concerned about the nutritional information

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torregro
torregro Posts: 307
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone else been surprised by the nutritional information in the food diary?
I entered my breakfast as a test, and was shocked to see that egg whites came in at 30 calories each and 7 grams of protein.
I checked 5 different online sources to verify that it should be approximately 16 calories and 3 grams of protein for one large egg white. The nutritional information states "verified" by 11 people. If I can't even count on correct information for something as basic as an egg white, how much can/should I trust the rest of the nutritional information if I'm going to take the time to load in my meals? What am I missing?

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  • JenBrown0210
    JenBrown0210 Posts: 985 Member
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    I check everything before I enter it in. There are so many variations because people enter in food nutrion for ways they prepare food versus entering it as their own meal. There have been a lot of complaints about it.
  • torregro
    torregro Posts: 307
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    That is indeed disheartening, because if I have to look up every individual item myself, I"m not sure there's a point to using this site. While I understand differences in recipes or interpretations, a large egg white is a large egg white, and 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites should show any variation at all, certainly not DOUBLE the calories and protein. ;-(
  • LOVEsummer
    LOVEsummer Posts: 304 Member
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    the egg white was prob for liquid egg whites where 1/4cup = 30cal = about the same quantity wise as one whole egg... you have to double check and search a little but that is the beauty of the database being created by users, we get user error. If you find one that is inaccurate you can always correct it.
  • maherrera
    maherrera Posts: 4
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    that's my concern, too (the nutritional info). i just finished editing/correcting one item for my breakfast.
  • SMJohnson27
    SMJohnson27 Posts: 146 Member
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    I check several different foods when I enter mine and if i don't find one that matches exactly, I just make on. I am very very picky about that. I want to make sure I count every calorie. If I am going to spend the time to measure everything out, I want it to be accurate. I have found some things with as much as a 150 calorie difference. I have also found http://nutritiondata.self.com for more accurate information. And I have noticed that the info I get from that site is the same as the info put in the database by MFP creators. It also has a lot more of the nutritional info that the user created ones don't have ( I monitor my potassium, which isn't added on alot of the foods in the database). It also gives an estimated glycemic index number for every food on their site for those interested in knowing that. Hope this helps, it is more time consuming, but I have been able to calculate my nutrients much easier and accurately.
  • torregro
    torregro Posts: 307
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    Is there any way to modify the portion sizes of items?
    For instance.....I use SILK on my multi-grain Cheerios in the morning. The only portion size listed is 1 cup or an entire carton, but since I use 3/4 cup, I'd like the information to reflect that portion size.
  • SMJohnson27
    SMJohnson27 Posts: 146 Member
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    Just add .75 of 1 cup serving, it should come out accurate.
  • torregro
    torregro Posts: 307
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    Thanks, I didn't see that option before.
    Whew! 30 minutes later, I think I've got my perfect breakfast entered! LOL

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