ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ A p ril 1 9 9 8 / 2 6 5 Nutrition and vegetarianism Sites to really sink your teeth into by H e a th e r K. M o b e rly and A m y L. Paster N utrition may be defined as the science of food and its nutrients, and their rela­ tion to health. This covers a wide variety subject areas including, but not limited to, physiology, chemistry, agriculture, toxicol­ ogy, and microbiology. This may also in­ clude subtopics such as food preparation, diet analysis, and special-interest topics, such as vegetarianism. This article focuses on nu­ tritional content and analysis tools, associa­ tions and organizations, government infor­ mation, collocative Web site resources, and specialty sites. As a field of study, nutrition includes such a breadth o f topics that it is important to remember the many different general direc­ tories that are available such as N o rth e rn Light (A ccess: http://www.nlsearch.com) or Y a h o o (A ccess: http://www.yahoo.com ). We recommend Northern Light because it organizes the results of the search into “fold­ ers,” such as education sites, comm ercial sites, personal pages, etc., in addition to pro­ viding the usual straight list. Northern Light also offers the option o f searching, and ac­ cessing, more than two million articles in their “Special Collection,” many o f which are from serials commonly held in academic libraries. We have tried to be balanced in our choice of sites betw een those that include ready-reference type information (such as nutrient databases) and those that serve as starting points for researchers to explore the Internet for information about the varied o topics within nutrition. O f particular inter­ est in this article is the location of reliable f information about vegetarian issues. We have tried to be judicious in our choice o f sites, relying on those that most often offer reliable and scientifically sound information. L is ts e rv s There are a number of excellent listservs that cover nutrition from the very broad to th e v e ry s p e c i f i c . Lists o f lis ts e r v s , newsgroups, and usenets that are keyword/ keytopic searchable are available, such as Liszt: T he M ailing List D ire c to ry (A ccess: http://www.liszt.com/). Professional, rather than discussion, listserv nutrition topics may be very specific, for example: FNSPEC (for archives A ccess: http://hermes.ecn.purdue. edu/Links/fnspec_mg/) is for cooperative extension food and nutrition specialists, and F o o d S afe (A ccess.http://schoolm eals.nal. usda.gov:8001/cgi/bin/lwgate/FOODSAFE) is for food safety professionals. There are fewer vegetarian listservs. Sev­ eral o f the best informational, not just dis­ cussion, vegetarian listservs are Sei-Veg and V e g -N e w s. S ci-V e g ( A c c e s s : http:// www.waste.org/sci-veg) is devoted to so­ cial and natural science topics relating to vegetarianism. Many members are scientists working in health-related fields, and every post is by definition copyrighted by its au­ thor and protected under International Copy­ right law. Veg-News (A ccess: veg-new s@ A b o u t t h e a u t h o r s Heather K. M oberly is the Life Sciences librarian; e-mail: hkm@psulias.psu.edu; and Am y L. Paster is the acting head o f the Life Sciences Library at Penn State University; e-mail: alp@psulias.psu.edu http://www.nlsearch.com http://www.yahoo.com http://www.liszt.com/ http://hermes.ecn.purdue http://schoolmeals.nal http://www.waste.org/sci-veg mailto:hkm@psulias.psu.edu mailto:alp@psulias.psu.edu 266 / C&RL News ■ April 1998 envirolink.org) is not designed to be a dis­ cussion forum, but rather a public news wire providing news and information about veg­ etarian issues. N u tritio n a n a ly s is to o ls • N u tritio n A nalysis T ool. The Depart­ ment o f Food Science and Human Nutrition at th e U n iv e rsity o f I llin o is , U rb a n a - Champaign developed this web tool to as­ sist users in analyzing food for a variety o f nutrients. Users are guided (with or with­ out step -b y -step h elp ) through inputting quan­ tity, type o f food, and analyzing it for specific nutrients. The advanced features section offers al­ ternate food sources for correcting excesses or deficiencies in nutri­ ents. A cc es s: http:/ / spectre.ag.u iu c.edu / ~food-lab/nat or http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/ ~food-lab/nat. • T h e “V irtu al” N u tritio n C en ter. This is the nutrition com ponent o f Martindale’s Health Science Guide ’98. Among the cat­ egories o f resource links found at this site are: m etabolic pathways and genetic maps, interactive anatomy browsers, online jour­ nals, nutrition literature and patent searches, dictionaries and glossaries, online nutrition calculators, and courses, tutorials, and data­ bases. Martindale’s vast array o f reference sites is also found here. A ccess: http://www- sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/Nutrition. html#NN3. • F a st F o o d F a cts— In te ra c tiv e F o o d F in d er. The information in the database is based on the book F ast F o o d F a c ts by the Minnesota Attorney G eneral’s Office. This site provides a flexible search interface to a database o f fast-food restaurant nutritional information. The search may focus on a par­ ticular restaurant or particular nutritional com ponents across all or any o f the restau­ ran ts in th e d a ta b a s e . A c c e s s : http:// w w w .olen.com /food. A s s o c ia tio n s/ o rg a n iz a tio n s • A m e ric a n S o ciety f o r C lin ical Nu­ tritio n (ASCN). ASCN is the premiere or­ ganization for clinical nutritionists in the United States. This site provides a variety of information including position papers, press releases, house testimony, m eetings, em ­ ployment opportunities, and external links to other organizations and resources. Many o f the resources are full-text in HTML and PDF formats. A ccess: http://www.faseb.org/ ascn. • A m e r i c a n D i e t e t i c A s s o c i a t i o n (ADA). The ADA is the largest group o f food and nutrition professionals in the United States. This site provides access to ADA-pro­ duced resources, many o f them full-text, such as position papers, food pyramids, bib­ liographies, and nutrition fact sheets. Addi­ tionally, links to professional societies, as­ sistance in locating a dietitian, and em ploy­ ment opportunities are featured. The newly updated ADA position paper on vegetari­ anism is also available at the site. A ccess: http://www.eatright.org. • F o o d F o r All. Part o f the primary mis­ sion o f the Food and Agriculture Organiza­ tion o f the United Nations (FAO) is to “raise levels o f nutrition and standards o f living … o f rural p o p u la tio n s.” This site is the m ajor information dissemination point for FAO. Among the best features o f this multi­ lingual resource, the FAOSTAT database, a collection o f statistics primarily in nutrition and agriculture, is available at the site. Nu­ trition specific databases include: Commod­ ity Balances in Crops Equivalent or Livestock and Fish Equivalent, Food Aid, and Popula­ tion in Annual Time Series. The Food and Nutrition Division provides publications fo­ cused on food quality and nutrition. A ccess: http://www.fao.org. • I n t e r n a t i o n a l F o o d I n f o r m a t i o n C o u n cil (IFIC ). IFIC was established in 1985 to distribute scientifically based information about food and nutrition by food and bev­ erage com panies. It was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1990. Their pri­ mary mission is to disseminate scientifically sound information about food safety and nu­ trition. This site includes a variety informa­ tion, much o f it full-text, about food safety and nutrition; an extensive directory o f or­ ganizations, agencies, and associations; and envirolink.org http://spectre.ag.uiuc.edu/ http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/ http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/Nutrition http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/Nutrition http://www.olen.com/food http://www.faseb.org/ http://www.eatright.org http://www.fao.org C&RL News ■ A p ril 1 9 9 8 / 2 6 7 a glossary o f fo o d -related terms. One o f the best fea­ tures o f this site is that it in­ cludes information tailored to the needs o f reporters and educators. A ccess: http://ificinfo.health.org. • I n t e r n a t i o n a l V e g e ta r ia n U n io n (IVU). Established in 1893 and successor to the Vegetarian Federal Union, the IVU’s membership is comprised o f vegetarian so­ cieties worldwide for the purpose o f “pro­ moting vegetarianism as a means o f advanc­ ing … the well being o f mankind.” This multilingual site offers access to a variety o f resources including: an article index (for ar­ ticles produced by its m embers), extensive links to its member organizations, recipes, news, events, and special-interest com bina­ tions such as the Jew ish Vegetarian and Eco­ logical Society. It also features a listing of vegetarian phrases used around the world. The site includes a search engine. A ccess: http://www.ivu.org. • V egetarian R e so u rce G rou p (VRG). The VRG is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide the public with informa­ tion about vegetarianism and interrelated issues. The Veg-News listserv, V eg etarian J o u r n a l, and numerous other publications and software programs are produced by VRG and available through this site. The site also includes a number o f full-text documents about vegetarian nutrition and lifestyles, in­ cluding often-difficult-to-locate information about vegetarian choices at fast food res­ taurants, vegetarian food for institutions, and vegetarian options for travel. The site in­ clu d es a sea rch en g in e . A c c e s s : http:// w w w .vrg.org. G o v e rn m e n t in fo rm a tio n • USDA F o o d a n d N u tritio n I n f o rm a ­ tio n C e n te r (FN IC). FNIC is one o f the spe­ cialized information centers at the National Agricultural Library. Nutrition databases, publications, audiovisuals, and software that were developed by FNIC and other branches o f the USDA are available through this site. Specialized topics include information about healthy school meals, WIC, HACCP training materials, food safety, and foodborne illness education. Many o f the pu blications are available full-text. Extensive links to exter­ nal sources are well organized. The site in­ clu d es a sea rch en g in e. A ccess: http:// w w w .nal.usda.gov/fnic. FNIC is also the food and nutrition information specialist for the Agriculture Network Information Cen­ ter (AgNIC). A ccess: http://www.nal.usda. gov/fnic/cgi-bin/agnic. • USDA N u trie n t D a ta L a b o r a t o r y . This site provides access to a large number o f food composition databases. Individual databases include inform ation about the sugar, selenium, trans-fatty acid, carotenoid, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K content o f selected foods. The USDA Nutrient Database for Stan­ dard Reference Release 11-1 contains the nutrient content o f over 5,900 foods. These databases and their documentation may be searched by keyword and downloaded in a v a r ie ty o f f o r m a ts . A c c e s s : http:// www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp. • N u tritio n a n d Y o u r H e a lth : D ie ta ry G uidelin es f o r A m e ri­ c a n s , 1 9 9 5 - The USDA Dietary Guidelines, revised in D ecem ber 1995, are available full-text at this s ite . An HTML file (in c lu d in g graphics and tables) and a PDF version o f this publication are provided. Access: http:// www.nalusda.gov:80/fnic/dga/dga95.html . M eta site s • A rb o r N u tritio n Guide. This site in­ cludes links to clinical, applied, and food scien ce sites. Topics covered range from sports nutrition to nutrition-related diseases. There are also links to sites containing in­ formation about nutrition software, pictures, and multimedia. This guide features a free e-mail update option, which will alert users to new Internet nutrition resources as they are found. A no graphics version is also avail­ able. Intended audience seem s to be the n u tritio n p r o fe s s io n a l. A c c e s s : http:// w w w .arborcom .com /. http://ificinfo.health.org http://www.ivu.org http://www.vrg.org http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic http://www.nal.usda http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp http://www.arborcom.com/ 268 I C&RL News ■ April 1998 • A rizona H ealth S cien ces L ib rary Nu­ t r i t i o n a n d H e a lth P a g e T he Arizona Health Sciences Library has created an e x ­ tensive site that is easy to use and under­ stand. The subjects include herbs and herbal medicine, nutrition and food industry, and consumer information. A majority of the links include a brief description that is helpful when it com es to some o f the names of the sites. For exam ple the MAD S cien tist Net­ w o rk is described as “From Washington Uni­ versity School of Medicine. Collection o f sci­ entists provide online answ ers to young people’s questions about anything to do with science, which includes nutrition and food subjects.” A ccess: http://www.ahsc.arizona. edu/nutrition/. • B lonz Guide to N utrition , F o o d Sci­ e n c e an d H ealth. The Blonz guide is one of the larger meta sites for nutrition avail­ able today. In addition to the hundreds of links, there is a huge selection of search engines to choose from. The search engines are divided into various categories includ­ ing single engine searches, multi-site search e n g in e s , Usenet s e a rc h e rs and g o p h e r searchers. The guide itself is comprised of the traditional subject areas i.e., food re­ sources, companies and associations; nutri­ tion, food and health resources; and health, medical and wellness publications. This is a graphic-intensive homepage that may take a long time to load. A ccess: http://www. wenet.net/blonz/. • N u trition N avigator. The Tufts Uni­ versity Nutrition Navigator is a online rat­ ing and review guide to nutrition sites. The Web sites are reviewed by Tufts nutrition­ ists and are updated quarterly. The reviews include the date o f the review, site name (the URL is not listed but the site name is hot linked), sponsor, type o f organization, intended audience, the sections reviewed, ratings o f the content and usability, an over­ all rating, and commentary. Access.- http:// navigator.tufts.edu. • Useful Links to E x te r n a l F o o d -R e­ lated WWW R eso u rces. Produced by the University of Reading, (UK) Department of Food Science and Technology, this site's con­ tents are organized by geographic region and special topic areas. This is a good source of international information, food safety, and food engineering information. From this site you can jump to http://www.fst.rdg.ac.uk/ misc/sites.htm, which has links to academic sites and other broader areas of nutrition, including food manufacturers and retailers. A ccess: http://www.fst.rdg.a c .uk/peopl e/ swallopg/foodnet.htm. S p e c ia lty site s • N utrition Links. Nutrition Links is pro­ duced by the LJSDA Cooperative Extension Service at Kansas State University. The pur­ pose of the page is to “ provide links to various sites that focus on nutrition and nutrition-related areas.’' There are ten cat­ egories including lifespan nutrition, govern­ ment sites, and organizations. The organi­ zations site is further divided by nutritional, health, exercise and fitness, and other. A c­ cess: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/ext_F&N/ Nutlink/n2.htm. • O h iolin e—F o o d . Principally produced by Ohio State University Extension, this site contains full-text fact sheets, bulletins, and other educational materials. In addition to extension materials, it includes resources of the College o f Food, Agricultural, and Envi­ ronmental Sciences, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and the Agricultural Technical Institute. Ztccexs? http:// w w w .a g .o h io -sta te .e d u/~ohioline/lines/ food.html#FOODN. PEN pages. This site provides full-text information relating to the agricultural sci­ ences, human nutrition, aging, family, and other related issues. It contains over 13,000 research-based reports, newsletters, bibliog­ raphies, and fact sheets. The information is provided by researchers and experts in all areas o f Cooperative Extension from around the nation, including the Pennsylvania De­ partm ent o f A griculture, C olorado State University, Iowa State University, and The Pennsylvania State University, College of Ag­ ricultural S cie n ce s. A c c es s: http://www. penpages.psu.edu/. "Internet Resources" authors needed If you’d like to submit a topic for the “Internet Resources" column, please send your topic and a brief description o f your expertise in this area to Mary Ellen Davis, editor-in-chief, at medavis@ala.org. http://www.ahsc.arizona wenet.net/blonz/ navigator.tufts.edu http://www.fst.rdg.ac.uk/ http://www.fst http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/ext_F&N/ http://www.ag.ohio-state.ed penpages.psu.edu/ mailto:medavis@ala.org