On Tuesday, January 09, 2001 12:34 PM, Dori Zook [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
wrote:
> Norm,
>
> >Here's a listing of paleo foods that contain at least 50 grams of
calcium
> >per 100 gram portion, sorted by calcium content.
>
> Do you have some sort of computer program that lets you gather such
> information in an easily digestable (no pun intended) info table?  If so,
is
> it something I could afford?
>
> Dori 'El Cheapo' Zook
> Denver, CO

Hi, Dori.

I'm using the USDA database in Microsoft Access format.  It can be
downloaded for free from the USDA website ...
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR13/dnload/sr13dnld.html

Download item # 3, ACCESS.  The download will take about 20 minutes, with a
56 K modem.  It's a zipped (compressed) file, so it'll have to be unzipped
after you download it.

You'll need to have Microsoft Access 2000 in order to use it.  Access 2000
is the database software that comes with the Microsoft Office 2000 suite of
programs (along with Word, Excel and others).  MS Office sells for about
$200 in the US, I think (I'm in Canada).

The USDA Access file is pretty bare bones.  It contains all of USDA's data,
but has only a few predefined reports and queries -- you won't be able to
get much info out of the database with just that.  I know SQL (Structured
Query Language) that is used to extract, add, change and delete the data in
a relational database (I used to be an IT consultant) and that's what I
used to get the data that I've sent to the list.  You can also design
queries in Access without using SQL; if you're determined, you can take a
course to learn how to do that.

If you don't need that hassle, then there are diet tracking and analysis
software packages for sale out there.  The best one I know of is Diet
Power.  You can download it for a free 7-day trial -- it won't work after
that, unless you pay the company $49 for a code that will "unlock" it.  The
database is not as detailed as USDA's and the inquiries and reports are
fixed (you can't design your own), but it's not bad.  It allows you to
record your food intake and shows the nutrients and calories you've
consumed and how that stacks up to the recommended values, and it let's you
add your own recipes, which it stores and treats as just another food item.
 It also tracks your weight, target weight and target date, and adjusts
you're calorie limit accordingly -- it factors in your exercise, too.  Go
here ...
http://www.dietpower.com/

Norm