[PHNUTR-L] in need of nutrition software

[Joanne Larsen]

Jacqueline,

I have designed nutrition software and nutrient databases since
1989. I don't currently work for any of the nutrition software publishers.

Here are a few questions I would suggest asking of any nutrition
analysis software vendor since your professional reputation depends
on the quality of their nutrition software and nutrient database.
* Is a dietitian or someone with a nutrition degree involved in 
designing the formulas in the
software that determine body weight, BMI, calorie calculations, etc?
* What is the source of the nutrient data - USDA? How often is it updated?
* Does the nutrient database contain manufacturer's data from the
Nutrition Facts panel? Does the manufacturer's data come directly
from the food manufacturer or another source? How often is it updated?
* What percent of foods in the nutrient database contain blank or
missing data?
* Is any nutrient data imputed? This means adding data for
nutrients with blank or missing values which can underestimate
nutrient intake.
* Do they validate the nutrient database to ensure that any
manually entered data does not contain any data entry errors?
* How often do they update their nutrient database? What is the
fee for receiving annual database updates? New foods enter the
grocery market every year and others are discontinued so you need to
update the nutrient database yearly.
* Do they provide customer support either as online chats, email,
or a toll free number?
* Can you return the software within 30 days if it does not meet
your needs and get a full refund?
IMHO

There is one that I would recommend - Food Processor by ESHA as First 
DataBank got out of the nutrition analysis software business and sold 
or licensed their software to another company.

Joanne Larsen MS RD LD
Ask the Dietitian
www.dietitian.com


At 03:46 PM 3/10/2007 -0600, JACQUELINE LITTLE wrote:

>HELP!! Can anyone make any recommendations or point me to some/a 

>good nutritional software that they feel has helped with their 

>clinical client base?? I would really appreciate the input.

>

>Thanks,Jacqueline of NutritionWise

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