James Fitzgerald Therapy PLLC

Reliable and Accurate Nutrition Information Websites

Disclaimer:

The contents of this activity lesson are only to be used by active clients of James Fitzgerald Therapy, PLLC and/or as part of the health and wellness life coaching program “Strengthening Your Conscious Self.” (Copyright 2022) The information in this lesson was adapted for this media from books and websites about Nutrition Science. I encourage you to read nutrition information books and journals with reliable and accurate material for yourself for more in depth learning about nutrition. I am offering my clients this list of resources so that every person can confirm and fact check the material in my program lessons (handouts) and activities (worksheets) for themselves.

US Department of Agriculture: National Agriculture Library

Once upon a time, the USDA offered a single comprehensive database allowing anyone to look up any food at any time. Over the past few years, the agency has expanded and upgraded its offerings. Today, the USDA Food Composition website (www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/food-composition) is a multi-site website with nine specific subcategories covering everything anyone would ever want to know about food. In descending order as they appear on your screen when you click on, the categories are: 

• Food Data Central: Expanded nutrient profiles plus links to related agricultural and experimental research from the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. 
• Nutrient Lists from Standard Reference Legacy (2018): This is essentially the old USDA Nutrient Database list, which allows you to pick a food, any food, and find out its exact nutrient values. 
• USDA Food Surveys Research Group: Up-to-date surveys on what Americans eat and drink. 
• Total Diet Study Analytical Results: Data on toxic elements such as industrial chemicals in specific foods. 
• Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory: A detailed explanation of the mission of the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. 
• Nutrient Information: A link to the American Society for Nutrition, which serves up facts about recent research and references for further information on vitamins and minerals, food sources, diet recommendations, and clinical information such as deficiencies and toxicity. 
• Food FYI: Links to other sites addressing foods, most often fruits and vegetables. International Food 
• Composition Resources: Databases, journals, conference proceedings, and websites across the world.

Topics: Animal Health and Welfare

Positive health and welfare are important for an animal’s mental and physical needs. Find selected resources on humane animal care (e.g., proper nutrition, housing, and environment, as well as, prevention of pain, suffering, disease, and disability).

Discover Detailed Resources

• Alternatives in Education: Vet Medicine
• Wildlife Research
• Housing, Care and Welfare of Animals
• Farm Animal Diseases
• Animal Use Alternatives (3Rs)
• Laws, Regulations, and Guidelines

In the United States, concern about the care of animals is reflected in public policy & legislation.

• Animal Welfare Act
• Horse Protection Act
• Humane Methods of Slaughter Act
• Twenty-Eight Hour Law
• Audit and Certification Programs

Topics: Farms and Agricultural Production Systems

Are you looking for information on a type of farming system or how to get started with your own farm? Find Library materials, USDA websites, and other important links to help answer your question.

Discover More Detailed Resources

• Heirs’ Property
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Organic Production
• Irrigation Techniques
• Beekeeping
• Urban Agriculture
• Hydroponics
• Aquaculture
• Raising Snails

Key Library Products

Sustainable Agriculture Education and Training Directory

Find academic and training programs in sustainable, alternative, and organic agriculture including undergraduate and graduate programs, university research programs, college farms, and related training programs and opportunities.

History of Organic Agriculture

Trace the origins of the organic agriculture movement through historic publications and reports, oral histories, video archives, USDA legislation and regulations, and other published resources.

Organic Roots Digital Collection

Access historic USDA documents published before 1942 (before synthetic chemicals became widely used) that contain information and data that is still pertinent for today’s agriculture.

Topics: Human Nutrition and Food Safety

Browse information on various nutrition and food safety topics including food security, nutrient composition, food defense, and local food systems.

Discover Detailed Resources

• Diet and Health
• Dietary Guidance
• Food Composition
• Food Entrepreneurship
• Food Labeling
• Food Safety
• Food Security
• Gleaning and Food Recovery
• Life Stage Nutrition
• Local and Regional Food Systems
• Nutrition Security
• Nutrition Tools and Curricula

Key Tools and Products

DRI Calculator for Healthcare Professionals

Calculate daily nutrient recommendations based on the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) established by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. 

Food Safety Research Projects Database

The Research Projects Database provides users with information on current food safety research projects from both U.S. and international government and non-government organizations.

Food Safety Research Publications

An automated feed of the latest food safety research publications released from more than 200 peer-reviewed journals, including FDA/USDA specific publications.

Nutrition Publications

View recent food and human nutrition research articles from a selection of peer-reviewed journals.

Nutrient Lists from Standard Reference Legacy (2018)

View legacy food composition data for macronutrients, micronutrients, phytonutrients, and other compounds from the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

Food Data Central

Explore the nutrients and components in foods using this USDA database.

Topics: Natural Resources, Conservation, and Environment

Are you researching how climate change, conservation practices, the environment, invasive species, or natural resources play a role in agriculture? Find Library materials, USDA websites, tools, and other important resources to guide your research.

Discover More Detailed Resources

• Climate Change
• Water Issues and Agriculture
• Conservation Practices
• Agricultural Environment Management
• Environmental Justice
• Soil

Key Tools and Products

National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC)

The Library’s NISIC maintains Invasivespeciesinfo.gov, a gateway to information about species considered to be invasive.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

LCA is a method of assessing environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life. The LCA collection on Ag Data Commons provides a catalog and archive of data, tools, and resources.

Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Scientific Articles

CEAP is a multi-agency effort to quantify the environmental effects of conservation practices and programs and develop science-based management strategies in agriculture. 

Plant Production and Gardening

Farmers and gardeners grow crops, plants, vines, or trees in home gardens, farms, orchards, groves, greenhouses, and nurseries.  On this page, find curated resources and information available from NAL on gardening, growing specialty crops, seeds, and plant breeding.

Discover More Detailed Resources

• Home Gardening
• Community Gardening
• Seeds and Plant Breeding
• Raising Specialty Crops

Key Tools and Products

Organic Roots Collection

The documents in this NAL digital collection were specifically chosen for their relevance to today’s sustainable and organic farmers.

Terrestrial Invasive Plants

NAL’s National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC) provides species profiles on non-native plants  that grow in non-aquatic habitats.

Medicinal and Culinary Herbs

Do you want to grow, market or learn more about herbs? Discover new varieties, cultivation techniques, sources of market information and herb lore.

Rural Development and Communities

Rural development helps improve the economy and quality of life in rural  America.  Find information and tools that benefit first responders, Native Americans, downtown revitalization efforts, citizen housing, and other initiatives.

Detailed Resources

• Tribal Communities
• Rural Emergency Response
• Rural Housing
• Downtown Revitalization
• What is Rural?

Key Library Products

Housing in Rural America: A Digital Exhibit

A snapshot of rural America is captured in this online exhibit featuring material from the National Agricultural Library (NAL) General and Special Collections. 

The Dirt Roads of Rural America

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued publications in the early 1900s that provided guidance on the best ways to build, maintain, and improve the earth roads that were common in rural America at that time. 

Rural Development Publications Collection

This digital collection contains publications relating to historical rural development in America, including Rural Development Research Reports, Rural Development Perspectives, Agricultural Economic Reports, and Agriculture Information Bulletins.

Research Tools

• NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA): Over 5 million records encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines and covers current literature to printed works as far back as the 15th century.
• Ag Data Commons: A data catalog and repository helping the agricultural research community share and discover USDA-funded research data and meet Federal open access requirements.
• PubAg: Contains full-text articles and citations to peer-reviewed journal articles in the agricultural sciences with links to sources for full-text access, when available.
• National Agricultural Library Thesaurus NALT 2022: a state-of-the-art multi-scheme concept space with added structural features for enhanced scalability and machine readability.
• LCA Commons: a central point of access to a collection of data repositories for use in Life Cycle Assessment.
• i5k Workspace @ NAL: A platform for communities around ‘orphaned’ arthropod genome projects to access, visualize, curate and disseminate their data.
• Food Data Central: Search for food terms to find expanded nutrient profile data and links to related agricultural and experimental research.
• Food Safety Research Projects Database: Locate food safety projects funded by federal, non-federal, private, and non-profit food safety organizations.
• Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical databases: Databases facilitate in-depth plant, chemical, bioactivity, and ethnobotany searches using scientific or common names.

USDA Website PoliciesDigital Rights and CopyrightMost information presented on the USDA Web site is considered public domain information. Public domain information may be freely distributed or copied, but use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested. Attribution may be cited as follows: “U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

Some materials on the USDA Web site are protected by copyright, trademark, or patent, and/or are provided for personal use only. Such materials are used by USDA with permission, and USDA has made every attempt to identify and clearly label them. You may need to obtain permission from the copyright, trademark, or patent holder to acquire, use, reproduce, or distribute these materials.Freedom of Information ActThe Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which can be found in Title 5 of the United States Code, section 552, was enacted in 1966 and provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. All agencies of the United States government are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those records that are protected from disclosure by the nine exemptions and three exclusions of the FOIA. This right of access is enforceable in court. The federal FOIA does not, however, provide access to records held by state or local government agencies, or by private businesses or individuals. All states have their own statutes governing public access to state and local records; state agencies should be consulted for further information about them.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Entering the U.S. FDA website at www.fda.gov is like opening the door to the world’s biggest nutritional-information toy store. So much stuff is on the (virtual) shelves that you hardly know which item to grab first. Luckily, in this store, all the toys are free, and plenty of links to other helpful information means you can linger here happily for days, weeks, years, maybe forever. 

The FDA’s charter includes drugs as well as food, so at the top of the home page, you can click links to information on medicines for people and pets, poisons and side effects, medical devices (think: pacemakers), and products that give off radiation. 

The link for Food will open up a page with several links, from recalls and outbreaks to dietary supplements and packaging and labeling, plus tidbits about animals, vaccines and other meds. 

Products regulated by the FDA

• Food
• Drugs
• Medical Devices
• Radiation-Emitting Products
• Vaccines, Blood, and Biologics
• Animal and Veterinary
• Cosmetics
• Tobacco Products

FoodLabeling & NutritionNutrition Facts Label, Label Claims, Menu & Vending Machine Labeling, Gluten-Free Labeling Ingredients & PackagingFood & Color Additives, GRAS, Food Allergens, Food Contact Substances, New Plant Varieties Food DefenseProtecting the Food Supply, Intentional Adulteration, Food Defense Plan Builder Dietary SupplementsProducts & Ingredients, New Dietary Ingredients Notification Process, Structure/Function Claim Notifications Science & ResearchLaboratory Methods, Whole Genome Sequencing, Risk Analysis, Total Diet Study, Consumer Research Compliance & EnforcementReportable Food Registry, Warning Letters, Inspections, Compliance Programs, Adverse Event Reporting International & Interagency CoordinationInternational Outreach, Visitor’s Program, Trade Agreements, Interagency Agreements Chemicals, Metals & Pesticides in FoodAcrylamide, Arsenic, Chemicals, Metals, Toxins & Pesticides in Food

DrugsDrug Information, Safety, and AvailabilityMedication Guides, Drug Safety Communications, Shortages, Recalls Drug Approvals and DatabasesDrugs@FDA, Orange Book, National Drug Code, Recent drug approvals Drug Development and Review ProcessDrug applications, submissions, manufacturing, and small business help Guidance, Compliance, and Regulatory InformationGuidance, warning letters, drug compounding, international information, registration and listing Regulatory Science and ResearchCDER research programs, initiatives, and resources Emergency PreparednessPrepare and respond to natural disasters, nuclear and chemical attacks Updates, News, Events, and TrainingRecent approvals, meetings, workshops, blogs, podcasts, stay connected About the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)Our role, mission, organization, history, leadership, job openings

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND)

The website for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (www.eatright.org), formerly the American Dietetics Association, features nutrition recommendations, research, policy, and the world’s largest membership group of nutritional professionals, primarily registered dietitians. (For a quick rundown on who’s who in nutrition science and practice, see Chapter 1.) The AND home page does serve up links to categories, such as Professional Development, that are clearly meant to appeal to association members. But the rest is tilted toward consumers with daily nutrition tips and nutrition position papers. In other words, if you can bend your brain around the much-too-adorable net address (“eatright”? Give me a break!), this site, written and reviewed by nutrition professionals, is well worth a visit. 

The American Heart Association (AHA)

The indisputable link between diet and the risk of heart disease, not to mention the AHA site’s user-friendly approach, makes this site (www.heart.org) a must-stop on your nutritional tour of the web. Starting at the home page, click Healthy Living at the top. When the next page arrives, click Healthy Eating. Then start with Eat Smart for facts about actual food and meals. Do not leave the site without checking into Heart-Check Foods, which describes what you find when you see the AHA “seal of approval” at the supermarket: Foods that have at least 10 percent of one or more important nutrients and are low enough in sodium and “bad” fats to meet AHGA standards. All in all, a thoroughly valuable series of clicks. 

American Cancer Society (ACS)

Once upon a time, the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) was barely a blip on the screen of nutrition sources. Today, with a growing number of well-designed studies to demonstrate that some foods and diet regimens may reduce your risk of certain types of cancer while others may put you in harm’s way, the ACS website offers solid reporting on this area of nutritional research. Click the Stay Healthy link at the top of the ACS home page. Then scroll down to Stay Healthy Topics, then click on Eat Healthy and Stay Active for info about cancer and diet (plus exercise, of course). 

Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)

FARE (www.foodallergy.org), formerly the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, is a nonprofit membership organization whose participants include families, doctors, dietitians, nurses, support groups, and food manufacturers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The group provides education about food allergies in addition to support and coping strategies for people who are allergic to specific foods. From the home page, you can link to updates, daily tips, newsletter excerpts, and all the usual service-oriented goodies. The site’s best feature is a no-charge email alert system. Scroll down to the site’s best feature, a form you can fill out to connect to an early warning system with allergy-linked news and information about recalls of troublesome products, such as bags of cashews that may mistakenly contain peanuts. 

Mayo Clinic

When you go to the Mayo Clinic web page at www.mayoclinic.org, type nutrition into the Search box, that search may pull up 2,000 plus entries, ranging from basics (what food labels mean) to the moderately exotic (Is yerba mate safe to drink?). Of course, nutrition information isn’t all this award-winning site has to offer. In fact, the virtue of a site created by one of America’s premier medical centers is that it’s packed with, well, medical links, many nutrition-related. For example, when you’re done with nutrients, return to the home page. and click Patient Care and Info to bring up an A-B-C box that enables you to check out any one of hundreds of diseases, medical conditions, symptoms, tests, and procedures. Is it any wonder that this site picks up awards every year or so? 

Science Daily

Think of this one as your daily nutrition newspaper packed with reports and studies and snippets of strange and unusual but serious stuff gathered from across the entire world of healthful eating. Where else, for example, would you find on one day on one “page” an assortment of info ranging from how to fuel your walking and cycling with low-carbon foods to a protein that cleans up your muscles after a workout and the absolutely fascinating facts about how pickles can promote dental health? Nowhere, that’s where, except for this exceptional, entertaining, and thoroughly professional site: www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/nutrition/ Enjoy! 

WebMD

WebMD (www.webmd.com), the net’s all-purpose medical information site, has scores of information on health and nutrition. To start, click Living Healthy from the home page. Here, you find lists of subjects too numerous to type in one simple entry here. As on all WebMD-related sites (Medscape, Medscape Reference, MedicineNet, eMedicineHealth, RxList, First Aid, WebMD Magazine, WebMD Health Record, and Physician Directory), the material is current, accessible, and sound. 

Food Safety News

To prove that lawyers can be your nutrition friends, Seattle food-safety attorney Bill Marler created Food Safety News (www.foodsafetynews.com) in 2009 and assembled a staff to provide timely reporting on, well, food safety. The well-written, well-chosen, news-heavy reporting includes notices of recalls, safety measures, and legislation. The very best clickables are Find Your Health Department (a complete list of each state’s agency) and Restaurant Inspections in Your Area (something not always readily available if your state, city, or town doesn’t have the ABC ratings decals). You can find both of these links on the right-hand sidebar on the home page.