Looking for a good way to track your food intake? Check out the USDA’s SuperTracker. If you are interested in knowing how many calories you consume, whether your food intake is balanced enough, whether you get enough Vitamin D, calcium or iron, or if you eat enough fiber, SuperTracker is a very useful tool. The site does not contain advertisements and the database is solid. The main screen helps you visualize whether you are consuming enough grains, vegetables, dairy, protein and fruit. It also tracks saturated fat intake and added sugars. In addition to food tracking, SuperTracker has a Physical Activity Tracker to help you assess your minutes of Moderate Intensity Exercise. A “Food-A-Pedia” allows you to assess the nutritional content of various foods and compare two foods’ nutrients side-by-side. The site creates meal plans for your particular calorie intake and gives suggested foods for that meal plan.
SuperTracker also offers access to many other sites such as My Plate where you can find recipes and other nutrition resources for all ages. SuperTracker is a great jumping off point for exploring other government nutrition information sites as well. You can feel confident that the information on these sites is straightforward and as scientifically-sound as possible. Choose to use all of the resources or maybe just the areas that are most helpful to you!
Beth Young, MS, RDN, Nutrition Consultant and President of Princeton Health Systems, Inc., 9 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ