Cron-o-meter food/nutritional counter

[A New Me]

A mention of this free, open source software was hidden in a thread on the board. I downloaded it to check it out. I couldn't find any other mention of it in a search of posts here.

You can enter what you've eaten during the day, and it can give a nutritional tally of each food, as well as a running count, of various measurements (protein, fats, carbs, fiber, micronutrients, vitamins) You can set your own daily requirements, or use the commonly accepted RDA's, and see what your trend is, if you are getting enough of everything.

Entering my consumption for the day, it tallied that I had low intake on some of the B vitamins (utilizing the preset RDA values). While I pretty much adhere to the philosophy that my body will guide me to what it needs, it still seems like a neat gizmo.

Here is the address: http://spaz.ca/cronometer/

[sport]

I have been praising it a lot here lately. I am having a lot of fun with it and I am learning a lot about the nutritional content of various foods.

[Factoid]

That looks great! I am just looking at this quickly on a computer that is not my own. Is it free?

[sport]

That looks great! I am just looking at this quickly on a computer that is not my own. Is it free?

Yes it is free

[A New Me]

Hi Sport. I did a search of the entire site, archived posts and all. Huh. Maybe the search thingy isn't so hot? Or I'm not doing it right?

Anyway, I was wondering what others thought of it. Do you trust the nutrient contents for various foods to be accurate? What kind of nutritional goals do you shoot for? Do you change the default RDA values? Has the cronometer helped you in any way? If you've posted elsewhere about it, maybe you can direct us to those threads.

[sport]

Hi Sport. I did a search of the entire site, archived posts and all. Huh. Maybe the search thingy isn't so hot? Or I'm not doing it right?
Anyway, I was wondering what others thought of it. Do you trust the nutrient contents for various foods to be accurate? What kind of nutritional goals do you shoot for? Do you change the default RDA values? Has the cronometer helped you in any way? If you've posted elsewhere about it, maybe you can direct us to those threads.

I suppose that you can not trust anything fully but at least it will point you in the right direction.
I have changed some of the values but I do think that it is a very good overall indicator.
An example would be that I am usually low in selenium but as little as 4 brazil nuts a week is enough to bring me up to the required level.
Another surprise was the high levels of nutrients in my favourite foods, melons.

[sport]

I believe that the CRON stands for Calorie Restriction Optimal Nutrition and it was devised for the people who are on calorie restricted diets and those guys take their nutrition seriously.

[passioneer]

It's helped me to pin point some possible places for deficiency (namely reminding me that I need to supplement B12), though I'm yet to adjust the RDA values. I have altered the macro-nutrient ratio a bit though. The notes option is good for jotting your feelings/cravings and adding those foods that aren't listed in the database for personal reference (goji berries!).

Out of interest I created several "users", one of which was me before raw. I got fairly high percentages for all vitamins and minerals but my protein, fat and carb intake were on average in excess of 500%. On raw they're all down to just over 100%, and my iron intake has jumped from an average of 70% to 120%. Also made a few hypothetical users for my family, and got my beliefs confirmed - too much protein, carbs, fat, cholesterol, sugar, and an average of 50-60% for all vitamins and minerals.

Oddly enough now that I've messed with it a bit I find myself worrying about getting TOO much, given that vitamin A, K and omega 3 are way, way higher than "100%".

[DopeRawAbundance]

Pretty kewl.

[sport]

I
Oddly enough now that I've messed with it a bit I find myself worrying about getting TOO much, given that vitamin A, K and omega 3 are way, way higher than "100%".

If you are not getting them from supplements then you need not worry. Your body knows what to take out of real food and to discard the rest. The difference between the uptake of iron from meat and greens is proof of that.

[christinajade]

Neat!!:D:)

[A New Me]

Good responses, thanks. I'll have to tinker with it a bit. Yes, the reminder to get some more of the B's is a good one for me. I also showed excess of A...not gonna worry about it!

Passioneer--what are your protein sources, that you can keep it near 100%, if I may ask?

Do you guys think the protein values given for raw fruits and veggies are valid?

[Factoid]

free- thanks! I have been v interested in what those calorie restricted peeps do. Will check out..