NAT Tools for Good Health: About NAT

History of NAT

When I was an undergrad in the mid 1970s at Southern Illinois University I became intrigued with the nutrient data that was being assembled by the USDA. New sections were being added to Handbook #8 every few years. Nutrition students and health professionals that were interested in analyzing the nutrient content of foods had to look up food in tables and transfer the data to a sheet of paper and physically add up the amounts of each nutrient. This was tedious and sometimes inaccurate.

By the early 1980s crude computerized nutrient analysis programs were available to those that had a personal computer. In the early 1980s I started a company called Nutrition Analysis Inc. It was ahead of its time and it received very little use.

In 1996 Chris Hewes and I developed the Nutrition Analysis Tool (NAT) at the University of Illinois in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. Chris was the sole programmer on Version One of NAT. By April of 1999 Nat was receiving close to 1,000,000 hits per month, representing interest from over 80 countries (for more information on the statistics of NAT, click here.) In 1998 a team of developers (listed below) began working on Version Two. Version Two was placed on-line in July of 1999. Version Two includes more information on fast foods and specific brand name foods.

Regards,
Jim Painter Ph.D., R.D.

To view a short video clip on the development of NAT, click on the start button of the controls below.

Technical Information:
NAT uses tables extensively. NAT can be used with most browsers that do not support tables but the visual results may not be what were intended.

Note to Users:
Please be aware that due to heavy usage, there is a certain lag time before the NAT scripts can return computed information back to you and your browser. We are experiencing even greater loads on the server because some users do not seem to realize this and are sending the same request to NAT over and over again. Please refrain from hitting a submit button more than once (the server only goes slower the more you hit the button.) Thanks!

Database Credits:
Main Nutrient Database: USDA Handbook #8
Ostrich Data provided by:

James Sales, Ph.D., Nutrient Composition of Ostrich Meat

Texas Agricultural Extension Service Ostrich Meat Industry
Other Data provided by Kraft Foods and Betty Crocker

Credits:
Created by: Jim Painter, Ph.D., R.D.
Programmer for Version One: Chris Hewes
Development Team for Version Two: Jim Painter, Milind Basole, Jessica Clark, Mary Connors, and Becky Sabbert

NAT disclaimer:

By using this tool, you agree that neither the University of Illinois nor any of the NAT creators shall have any liability for any use or misuse of the information which you obtain from using NAT. The information provided through NAT is not meant as a replacement for the advice of a healthcare professional such as a physician or dietitian. Nutrition analysis is not an exact science, and while the creators of NAT have tried to make the information as accurate as possible, the creators and the University make no representations that the information will be complete or accurate and accept no liability for any omissions or inaccuracies in the information obtained from NAT.

Funding:

Future Developments to NAT include:

Links to the energy calculator so that users may have an accurate calorie goal or requirement to compare to the actual calorie intake shown in NAT.
A way for users to add foods and nutrients that are unique to their diet that are not currently found in the database to help them analyze their daily food records more accurately.
Graphical representations of the output of NAT to make the information more understandable.
Further expansion of the database to include more fast foods, ethnic foods, and other specialty foods.
More extensive information on dietary advice.
Expand the "Related Links" section to include step-by-step suggestions and resources for improving your intake of fruits and vegetables, fat, and fiber.

We welcome your suggestions and comments for future versions or additions to NAT. Contact us at NAT comments and questions.

Awards:
NAT has received numerous awards and recognition since it was developed. The following are a few of the awards:

Featured on YAHOO!

Featured in magazines and journals such as Good Housekeeping,

Bon Appetite, and Fitness.

Featured on Med411.com

The Diet Channel Top Pick for Food, Recipe and Diet Analysis Tools

Featured on Study Web