How to use the Nutrient Search Tool (better)

Q. I love the idea of the Nutrient Search Tool, especially that I can search for foods using multiple criteria, but I don't understand how the rankings work for multiple nutrient searches? Can you explain?

A. The Nutrient Search Tool is a terrific way to find the foods that fit your dietary needs. And a better  understanding of how the tool works will make it ten times more useful.  The two things you need to know to get the most out of this tool are 1) how the results are ranked and 2) how to get the most useful results from your searches

How the results are ranked

When you conduct a nutrient search, your results will be ranked according to the criteria you selected.  If you search by a single criterion, such as foods highest (or lowest) in a given nutrient, the food with the most (or least) of that nutrient will be at the top of the list.  Remember that you can limit your search to foods in a single category or search across the whole database.

For example, here's what you would enter to search for nut and seed products highest in calcium.

And here are the results you would get. (Click here to see the entire list.)

You can see that sesame seeds (#2) are a better source of calcium than almonds (#14). The results also tell you exactly how much calcium the serving size you selected (either 100 grams or 200 calories) contains.

But let's say that you want to search by multiple criteria, such as foods high (or low) in more than one nutrient, or foods high in certain nutrients but low in others. In this case, we determine a composite score by multiplying the rankings for each individual criterion.

For example, if you search for foods that are high in both calcium and magnesium, a food ranked #1 for calcium and #10 for magnesium would have a composite score of 10. Another food that ranked #5 for calcium and #5 for magnesium would have a composite score of 25.    The results are then ranked according to these composite scores, so the first food would rank higher in your search.

As you saw in our example, sesame butter ranks #4 for calcium. A search for nuts and seed products high in magnesium shows that sesame butter ranks #23 for magnesium.  The composite score would be #92.   A search for nut and seed products high in calcium and magnesium shows sesame butter as #8, which means that there were 7 foods that had a lower composite score (and therefore a higher rank).

How to get more useful results to your searches

One more tip will allow you to get the most useful results from your multiple nutrient searches. As a general rule, you will get better results if your criteria include only one thing that you want ("highest in"), but all the things you don't want ("lowest in"). 

Huh?

For example, let's say you wanted to find foods that are high in protein, high in fiber, and low in sodium.  High-protein foods tend to be of animal origin, which are also very low in fiber. High-fiber foods tend to be plant-based and relatively low in protein. So most of the results from a search for foods highest in protein and fiber and lowest in sodium are going to be a compromise of those goals.

In this case, it would be much more effective to do two searches -- a search for foods highest in protein and lowest in sodium, and a second search for foods highest in fiber and lowest in sodium.  Choosing a combination of foods from both lists will deliver a diet that is high in fiber and protein and low in sodium.

Which portion should you choose?

Finally, remember that the nutrient search tool gives you the option of searching by a 100-gram portion or a 200-calorie portion.  If your search results are foods that are relatively low in calories, searching by 100-gram portions makes more sense. (A 200-calorie portion of celery is 33 stalks, but a 100-gram portion is just two and a half!).  If your results are foods that are very calorie dense, the 200-calorie portion will probably be more useful. (A 100-gram portion of olive oil is about 8 tablespoons, whereas a 200-calorie portion is just two tablespoons.)

When all else fails, if your results aren't helpful, try simply searching by the OTHER portion.