What is a Nutrition Calculator?

A nutrition calculator is a helpful tool that calculates the totals of various components of foods, including calories, fat and protein, to give the user an idea of what makes up a specific food item. This can be especially useful for those on a particular diet, whether it be because of a specific health condition or because they are trying to lose weight. There are portable and online nutrition calculators as well as cell phone applications that do the same job.

The nutrition calculator allows for the user to put in a certain food or an entree from a specific restaurant and get the nutrition facts for that particular item. Some may have an extremely organized system where the user can choose among restaurant or food brand names, which in turn will pull up a list of possible food choices to enter. Others require a specific food to be entered, including restaurant or brand name, to get all the possible information. Some restaurants offer nutrition calculators on their website for direct information.

The portable nutrition calculator is useful for those who dine out often. The tool is about the size of a small math calculator and can easily fit into a purse or pocket. Prices can range from the inexpensive to those that are more elaborate and may have more features.

Another option for those who eat out often is to have an application on their phone that serves as a nutrition calculator. This can be useful for easy transitioning, from keeping track of information when eating at home to eating out instead of having to write the information on a piece of paper to put in later. The application may or may not have a cost.

Online nutrition calculators can be slightly inconvenient for those often on the go. This typically means that the user may have to write the foods on a piece of paper to later enter into the site. A website that offers the calculator may also have an abundant amount of diet and health information to correspond with the particular information entered.

When choosing a nutrition calculator, it is important to consider which option would be easier depending on lifestyle. When using it for a condition or weight loss, it can be an especially good and useful tool to help stay on track. They are typically easy to use, so even people who have difficulty with technology can learn how to use it.