Nutrition Resources & Links
The internet is abundant with nutrition resources. However, finding relevant nutrition information for specific needs can be overwhelming. To help put you in contact with the resources that are most helpful to you, this list was compiled to provide reputable resources categorized by topic. We hope that you will find this helpful in connecting you, your patients and/or students with the information you need.
CANCER
Cancer Prevention. Visit the ACS Stay Healthy site for current nutrition and activity guidelines for cancer prevention, as well as videos and an online program to help you adopt healthy lifestyle habits.
Then take a quick quiz to find out if you are making healthy lifestyle choices. (Nutrition and Activity Quiz )
Cancer Treatment and Recovery. The ACS site also provides valuable information and suggestions for meeting the nutritional needs of persons with cancer.
- Nutrition during Cancer Treatment for Adults
- Nutrition for Children with Cancer
- Nutrition and Physical Activity During and After Cancer Treatment: Answers To Common Questions
American Institute for Cancer Research
Learn about the New American Plate concept to plan meals that will reduce your risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.
National Cancer Institute
Visit this site for a comprehensive overview of nutrition in cancer care that is written at two levels – for patients and for health professionals. Click on multiple tabs on the left side of the screen to learn about nutrition screening/assessment and nutrition therapy for patients with cancer, as well as the effects of cancer and its treatment on dietary intake.
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Visit the AHA Getting Healthy site for links to the Nutrition Center, Physical Activity, Weight Management, Stress Management, Fats & Oils, or Quit Smoking for information and strategies for adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Also check out the American Heart Association’s Start! site for personalized walking plans and daily trackers that will help you make positive lifestyle changes.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
The NHLBI site provides health professionals with many tools for assessing and counseling patients with or at risk for hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, heart disease and obesity. By clicking on "Interactive Tools and Resources", you will find downloadable applications for Palm OS and Pocket PC devices, Power Point slide shows, menu planners, and other valuable assessment tools.
DIABETES
This website is a comprehensive site on diabetes for professionals and consumers. You will find information on nutrition, recipes and weight loss, as well as the most current ADA Clinical Practice Recommendations. Click on Food & Fitness for tips on healthy eating, meal planning and exercise. My Food Advisor allows you to track your daily intake, find recipes and substitute healthier options in recipes.
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
This National Institutes of Health site includes the following categories: Health Information, Research Programs & Information, Grant & Funding Opportunities, and News & Events. Fact sheets are available for many dietary supplements.
FOOD SAFETY
This FDA site includes information and tips related to food safety, dietary supplements and nutrition labeling for consumers, health professionals and educators. Click on the “Food” tab to access this information.
This U.S. Department of Health & Human Services site is the "gateway" to information about food safety, regulations and programs for consumers and health professionals, with links to appropriate government sites.
International Food Information Council Foundation
This site provides balanced information on controversial issues in nutrition and food safety, such as food allergies, biotechnology and artificial sweeteners. Check out the educational brochures, fact sheets and newsletters.
ETHNIC NUTRITION
African American Style Heart Healthy Cooking
In this document you will find recipes for healthy versions of traditional dishes (e.g., yams, okra, and oven-fried chicken) along with nutrient values of the recipes.
The Interactive Wok at Joselin Diabetes Center
Place Asian foods into the wok to discover their calorie and nutrient content. Available in English, Chinese and Japanese languages.
GENERAL DIETARY GUIDELINES
This is a valuable website for reliable nutrition information. You will find daily nutrition tips, fact sheets, nutrition reading lists and in-depth looks at current nutrition issues.
- Find a Dietitian This tool allows consumers and businesses to find a registered dietitian in their locale.
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
This site provides access to relevant USDA documents, such as the USDA MyPyramid, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the Healthy Eating Index. "Nutrition Insights" discusses current topics related to Americans' diets.
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Read reports and news releases about the latest developments in nutrition policies. Browse through articles from the Nutrition Action Healthletter for a discussion of "hot" topics in nutrition.
Deliciously Healthy Eating Recipes
The Deliciously Healthy Eating Web site features recipes, a searchable database, healthy shopping and cooking tips, and video clips.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Review the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans for the latest recommendations for healthy eating that are based on current scientific evidence for health promotion and disease prevention. You will find the entire document as well as an executive summary and a handout for consumers.
Eating on a Budget
- Eat Right When Money's Tight - (PDF) This information sheet has tips for grocery shopping and planning healthy meals when money’s tight (English and Spanish versions).
- Fruits and Vegetables on a Budget Check out these cost-saving tips for shopping, preparing and storing fruits and vegetables.
- Recipe Finder Find over 100 low-cost, healthy and tasty recipes.
Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC)
This USDA site may be the most valuable nutrition site with multiple links to a vast number of reliable resources. You will find educational materials, teaching tools, government reports, research papers and more. Here are a few quick links to information on the FNIC site.
- Dietary Assessment Tools – links to nutrient analysis, menu planners, calorie counters, fat screeners, fruit & vegetable screeners and more!
- Dietary Reference Intakes – links to the most recent DRI tables from the Institute of Medicine. Click on the RDA and AI tables for recommended levels of energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Click on the UL tables for the Tolerable Upper Intake Level – the highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects.
- Interactive Tools – links to interactive tools to check your health risk, design a diet, experience an interactive playground, use calculators and counters and test your knowledge
- Lifecycle Nutrition – links to nutrition for infancy, childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, breastfeeding and older adulthood, as well as sports nutrition and vegetarian diets
- Diet and Disease – links to nutrition for allergies, AIDS/HIV, cancer, diabetes, digestive diseases, eating disorders, heart disease, osteoporosis and obesity
- Food Labeling – links to an interactive tool and a video about food labeling, as well as information on organic foods
- Dietary Supplements – links to information on vitamins, minerals, herbals, ergogenic aids and alternative medicine
- Nutrition Assistance Programs – links to domestic food assistance programs (such as WIC, School Lunch Program, and the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program), food security and community food systems
- Surveys, Reports & Research – links to nutrition surveys, legislation & policy, reports, research studies and research tools (searchable databases)
- Professional Resources – links to nutrition-related art/images, conferences, on-line learning, list servs, lesson plans, software, grant information, ethnic/cultural resources and more!
Discover the benefits of fruits and vegetables, as well as tips and recipes for including them in our diet. Check out Analyze My Plate and Recipe Remix, interactive tools that are both fun and educational!
Visit this site for information about more than 1600 medical conditions, as well as tips for healthy living.Just type in the topic and you will be directed to information and tools from multiple government websites. Click on “Quick Guide to Healthy Living” for information on nutrition and fitness, including healthy snacks, shopping lists and conversation starters for talking about weight issues.
Read about the science-based national objectives for improving the health of our nation. Under the tab 2020 Topics & Objectives, select Nutrition and Weight Status for objectives, clinical recommendations, community interventions and consumer information related to these topics.
Need to quickly find the calories and food group for a specific food? Check out this site. You can also compare the caloric value of two foods.
This updated interactive website is loaded with useful information about diet and physical activity for you and your patients. On the right-hand side of the home page, click on “I want to get a personalized plan” to determine your recommended amount of calories and foods. Click on “I want to analyze my diet” to evaluate your personal diet and activity patterns.
National Center for Health Statistics
This CDC site is a rich source of information about the health of Americans, trends in aging, growth charts and Healthy People 2020. You can download reports on nutrition surveys and government reports.
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
Read the IOM's reports for unbiased, evidence-based information and advice about health policies and issues, such as childhood obesity, dietary supplements and the WIC program.
This website helps people find answers to nutrition questions. It is a comprehensive source of information from multiple government agencies and provides links to information about nutrition and health issues, meal planning and food assistance programs.
This US Department of Health and Human Services site provides more than 100 tips for making small changes toward a healthy lifestyle. You will also find interesting facts and healthy recipes.
Check out fun activities to help kids develop healthy lifestyles too.
GERIATRIC NUTRITION
This USDA site provides links to books, websites and reliable sources related to nutrition for older adults.
This NIH site offers information on 50 health topics related to older adults. For age-appropriate recommendations for healthy eating and activity, click on Eating Well As You Get Older and Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults. Find information about the loss of taste and its potential health consequences by clicking on Problems with Taste.
These short videos address common health-related topics for older adults. Click on Eating Well As You Get Older and Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults for videos about the importance of healthy lifestyle habits for seniors.
PEDIATRIC NUTRITION
Eat Smart - Play Hard Healthy Lifestyle
This site provides information and resources to help parents and caregivers choose a healthy diet, increase physical activity and act as role models for their kids.
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
FAAN, a non-profit organization, promotes awareness of food allergies through education, research and policymaking. This site contains information about common allergens and how to manage food allergies.
This Office of Women’s Health site includes information for young girls on a wide variety of subjects from fitness and nutrition to safety and the environment. Click on “Nutrition” for relevant topics such as vegetarian diets, fast food tips and food allergies.
This American Heart Association website includes a vast amount of information and activities to help kids adopt healthy eating and activity habits. Read about fast food, snacks, portions, physical activity around the house and more…..
This site has information for parents, children and teens about a wide variety of kids’ health and safety issues including food and fitness.
Find practical suggestions for improving the eating and activity habits of American youth on this U.S. Department of Health & Human Services site. Information is geared toward a variety of groups, including kids, parents, schools, community organizations and health care providers.
Milk Matters is a public health education campaign to promote calcium consumption among children and teens. This site offers information and classroom activities about calcium for professionals and teachers, and games, puzzles, coloring books and fun for kids.
MyPlate for Preschoolers
MyPlate for Children
Find daily food plans and tips for helping children to develop healthy food and physical activity habits.
This CDC website contains pediatric growth charts that are used by health professionals and parents to track the growth of infants, children, and adolescents in the U.S.
Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity and Nutrition (We Can) is a childhood obesity prevention program. Visit this site for information, tool and resources for health professionals and parents about healthy nutrition and physical activity habits for kids.
Weight Control Information Network (related to children)
Visit this page of the NIH site to find information and tips for parents about nutrition, physical activity and weight control in children.
PREGNANCY & LACTATION NUTRITION
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding: Lifecycle Nutrition
On this FNIC site, find reliable sources of information about the nutritional needs during pregnancy. Also discover the nutritional needs and benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and infants.
Take a quiz about this nutrient plays essential roles for health, especially during pregnancy.
WEIGHT CONTROL
This NHLBI site contains practical suggestions and ideas for weight management. You will find assessment tools, tips for healthy eating and activity, menu planners, diaries and more! Especially for health professionals - the Aim for a Healthy Weight Education Kit contains everything you need to start a weight management program for your patients.
Calculate Your Body Mass Index (Adults)
Calculate your BMI by entering your personal data on this National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute site. You can also assess your risk for obesity-related diseases with information about your BMI, waist circumference, and risk factors for certain diseases/conditions.
NOTE: To calculate BMI of children and adolescents, click here.
Take two quizzes on Portion Distortion that compare the portions today with the standard portions available 20 years ago. You will find the amount of physical activity needed to burn off the extra calories provided by today's portions. You may be surprised by the answers!
Founded in 1994 by Dr. C. Everett Koop, this non-profit organization strives to educate the public about the importance of achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight through increased physical activity and healthy eating. The site offers helpful tools for developing fitness plans and meal plans (see Cyperkitchen) that meet your personal caloric needs.
Weight Control Information Network
This NIH site contains up-to-date, science-based information on weight control, obesity and physical activity for all ages. You will find publications and a newsletter (WIN Notes) covering practical information related to obesity and weight control.