I nformation guide

Although we certainly need macronutrients like protein, fat and carbohydrates, for those to be utilised properly, in the most protective way, they need to be supported by micronutrients. A nutrient deficiency will leave us vulnerable to disease, but a steady supply of nutrients in our food will help keep us in good health by enhancing and enabling our body’s internal processes. In fact the Nutritional Research Foundation has indicated that it is micronutrient deficiencies that are leading many people towards obesity, as this is what is creating the hunger pangs that cause them to continue to indulge in junk food.

Most people who are experiencing this kind of ‘hidden hunger’ don’t even realise that a micronutrient deficiency is the real root of the problem and so never take steps to correct it. In some cases, they even resort to drugs or surgery, which will only provide short-term solutions much of the time. Although such measures may sometimes be necessary, there’s a lot we can do to protect ourselves in your daily life, just by making subtle but effective changes to our diets. Indeed, when nutrition is at its most effective, the results can often seem like magic, as tiny changes can deliver huge results on a molecular and cellular level.

Along with the essential vitamins and minerals most of us are familiar with, a major part of the research into nutrition involves plant chemicals called ‘phytochemicals’. These are the chemicals that plants use to defend themselves against disease. For example, plants protect themselves against bacteria, fungi, viruses and cell damage with phytosterols, carotenoids, flavonoids, isothiocyanates and similar chemicals. Research has shown that these same chemicals can prove equally beneficial to the human body, helping in areas like cancer, heart disease and diabetes prevention. For example, cabbage, onions and berries which are now called ‘super foods’, haven’t earned the title for their vitamin and mineral content, but rather for their phytochemical content.

The science behind nutrition is very complex and can seem quite inaccessible to most newcomers. At checkyourfood.com we have summarised the world’s available science and given links back to the source information which whilst being very technical may be of interest to the more scientifically minded amongst us.

The history of nutritional science began in 1747 with the first clinical trial being carried out by James Lind a Scottish physician showing that citrus fruits cured scurvy.

This then led to the adoption of citrus fruits by the British navy to prevent scurvy. Hundreds of years later, scientists were able to come to the conclusion that it was a ‘Vitamin C’ deficiency that was the cause of scurvy.

Nowadays nutritional clinical trials are more complex as the deficiency symptoms being studied such as heart disease and cancer are built up over many years meaning the studies have to be carried out over long time periods to show results. We have summarised the results of many of these studies along with the research done in laboratories into the effects of nutrients.

As a result, we are very much in the early days of phytochemical research, but the findings in laboratory testing have already yielded great things. Indeed this research and awareness has contributed to the concept of the ‘five a day’. It has been confirmed by various observational and epidemiological studies that people who eat plenty of fruit and vegetables are less prone to problems like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart disease; the next step is to identify which phytochemicals are most effective in this regard.

Checkyourfood.com takes into account realistic portion sizes and the effects of various cooking methods to give you accurate amounts of nutrients in both ingredients and meals, something no other site on the internet does.

You can search for a nutrient such as vitamin D and access the science on the effects of vitamin D plus the ingredients and meals that are highest in that nutrient.

You can browse through Ingredients and meals and discover the macronutrient, vitamin, mineral, phytochemical, amino acid and fatty acid content, so you can see exactly what you’re eating and – more importantly – make adjustments where appropriate to optimise your diet.

You can search for any ingredient or meal and access their page with the top 8 nutrients clearly displayed and below these a ‘heat map’ showing the amounts present of all the nutrients in that ingredient or meal.

Along with the effects of various cooking methods the site also takes into account your recommended daily amount (RDA) for different nutrients and how well each meal/ingredient fulfils these. The meal tracker will then keep a record of what you have eaten so you can see how close you are to hitting your RDA’s from month to month, so you can make any necessary adjustments to your diet. RDA’s have been set by the National Academy of Sciences not just to avoid deficiency but to also protect against chronic disease.

For example, an average sized baked potato (250g) after cooking can give an average adult 24% of their RDA for Vitamin B6, 37% of their RDA for thiamin (B1) and 34% of their RDA for vitamin C.

Checkyourfood.com is using data from the latest food composition tables which give the nutrient content of raw ingredients provided by the UK Institute of Food Research and the US Department of Agriculture.

In terms of the science, you can go as deep as you like. If you’re particularly scientifically minded and would like to understand more about the principles of nutrition, the site links back to the appropriate pages on the Linus Pauling Institute website along with other resources.

The purpose of the site is to help you discover what works for you, not force you to adhere to a predetermined diet that may not actually provide you with all the nutrients you specifically need.

The site combines the very latest scientific research with the emerging knowledge from some of the world’s most forward thinking nutritionists.

The data we have used is completely free of commercial interests, so you will always receive a completely impartial, objective analysis of how you can best utilise nutrients to improve your health.

There is no product advertising on the checkyourfood.com website.

Furthermore, a percentage of the profits from the site will be donated to leading institutions in order to fund ongoing research into nutrition.