Foodwatts

Foodwatts is a guide to the nutrients contained in food.

Did you know:

A Big Mac contains on average 563 kcal, enough energy for about

• 2 hours and 10 minutes of brisk walking,

• just under an hour of running,

• 1 hour and 10 minutes of cycling,

• one and a half hours of swimming,

• six and a half hours of light office work

• or just over 13 hours of sleeping?

By weight, Camembert cheese contains more than twice as much sodium as it does calcium? And Brie has three times as much?

Dandelion greens are high in vitamin K?

Instant tea contains more caffeine than instant coffee?

Ready-to-eat rice puddings contain 0.3% ethyl alcohol?

Horsemeat is generally leaner than beef?

Tea contains traces of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids?

Tap water is only 99.9% water? The remaining 0.1 per cent? It's a residue of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, copper and fluoride.

For every food listed, Foodwatts gives a list of minerals, vitamins, lipids, amino acids, calories and other constituents.

It also indicates the times needed to use up the energy contained in each food, for various physical activities.

Once you've downloaded Foodwatts, you will have your own personal database - you won't need an internet connection to use it.

Sometimes it's fun just to look at the huge variety of foods available.

The data comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, representing over a centuary of research. http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl