Device Measuring Nutrient and Caloric Compositions of (Mixed) Foods

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Till__I__Collapse
Till__I__Collapse Posts: 20
in Food and Nutrition
I was bought a scale. I am autistic, and I do not understand why we do not have a device to measure the nutrient and caloric composition of foods we are eating. There are multiple entries for the same foods in the search function, and so it is difficult to choose which is the correct measurements for foods. This would make is so much easier to count calories and monitor macros/micros. Is there a device?

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  • shai74
    shai74 Posts: 512 Member
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    other than some fancy equipment in a lab somewhere, no, there's no device. You need to log individual items and work it out.
  • Till__I__Collapse
    Till__I__Collapse Posts: 20
    edited November 2014
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    shai74 wrote: »
    other than some fancy equipment in a lab somewhere, no, there's no device. You need to log individual items and work it out.

    Okay. How do you choose which entry is correct? How many confirmations assures accuracy?
  • sunburntgalaxy
    sunburntgalaxy Posts: 455 Member
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    There are some scales that will do this for you but you would still have to find the correct info in the database. When I am not sure which to go with I check the USDA website to see if I can find what I am looking for and then try to find the one that matches in the MFP database. Usually the items that don't have a star next to them are more accurate because they are not user-entered, they are based on the USDA info. I am not sure if the apps show the stars because I usually use the website for food entry. The USDA database is here:

    ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/
  • Till__I__Collapse
    Till__I__Collapse Posts: 20
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    sunburntgalaxy wrote: »
    There are some scales that will do this for you but you would still have to find the correct info in the database. When I am not sure which to go with I check the USDA website to see if I can find what I am looking for and then try to find the one that matches in the MFP database. Usually the items that don't have a star next to them are more accurate because they are not user-entered, they are based on the USDA info. I am not sure if the apps show the stars because I usually use the website for food entry. The USDA database is here:

    ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

    Thank you for the link. This is helpful.
  • raysputin
    raysputin Posts: 142 Member
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    I do not know of such a device. I am also mildly autistic and find the choices difficult as well. I find that, if I take my time and double-check, I can usually find the correct one.

    The database can be a bit confusing because MFP has people from many different countries and one food item may not be the same from one country to the next. Also we have some people measuring in metric quantities and some still stuck with the old imperial system.

    Once you have selected an item, it appears in your list and so you don't have to go back to the database all the time. If you are unhappy with the choices in the database, you can add your own with information off the food label and then you are sure.

    It IS important to measure and record and so I encourage you to press on through the pain. Practice will help.
  • Christi102012
    Christi102012 Posts: 87 Member
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    sunburntgalaxy wrote: »
    There are some scales that will do this for you but you would still have to find the correct info in the database. When I am not sure which to go with I check the USDA website to see if I can find what I am looking for and then try to find the one that matches in the MFP database. Usually the items that don't have a star next to them are more accurate because they are not user-entered, they are based on the USDA info. I am not sure if the apps show the stars because I usually use the website for food entry. The USDA database is here:

    ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

    Thank you for that link! I'm going to start using it like you do.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Too many choices is a challenge? I didn't realize that would be for autism, that makes the food search options here horrendous.

    One thing you can do is add the term "raw" to your search, and it will generally bring you the USDA entries. Also, any entry that has an asterisk to the left of it was entered by a user. It's not going to generally be as valid as a USDA entry for single items. That might help.
  • Till__I__Collapse
    Till__I__Collapse Posts: 20
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    dbmata wrote: »
    Too many choices is a challenge? I didn't realize that would be for autism, that makes the food search options here horrendous.

    One thing you can do is add the term "raw" to your search, and it will generally bring you the USDA entries. Also, any entry that has an asterisk to the left of it was entered by a user. It's not going to generally be as valid as a USDA entry for single items. That might help.

    Perfect! I will use raw. Oh, I will look for the asterisk, too. Thank you so much for the help. I get so overwhelmed with so many choices, and I just want to make sure I am matching what I actually eat to the correct choice. You gave me tools to make it easier. Thanks, again.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Yeah, just remind yourself though, try to be as accurate as you can be. You can't have 100% accuracy using this system, but you can get 80%.

    work towards that. :)

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