Google adds nutrition info for foods to search results
Knowing the nutritional content of food is really important, and many of us want to know exactly what is in various foods so we can make informed decisions about what to buy and eat to stay healthy. There are resources like The Daily Plate or CalorieKing, but now you can find the results in a simple Google search.
Google announced on its Inside Search blog last week that now you can find nutrition information for over 1,000 fruits, vegetables, meats and meals -- from the simple banana to a multi-ingredient dish like a plate of chow mein.
[Y]ou can simply ask, “How much protein is in a banana?” or “How many calories are in an avocado?” and get your answer right away. You'll hear the answer to your specific question, see relevant nutrition information under an expansion, and be able to switch to other related foods or serving sizes.
You can ask a range of questions on a Google search to get to this data. For example, you can ask, "How many calories are in... "; or, "What nutrients are in...."; or even "How many carbs are in...." and all will lead you to the nutrition data for the item in question.
We of course would love to see the carbon footprint of food be part of the data given, but as we know that is a calculation that is tough to make, as it depends on factors like where food is grown, how far it travels to get to you and using what form of transportation, the farming practices of the place it was grown or raised and so many more variables. But for now we're happy to have even more simple ways to find out the nutrition in food items and use that data to make smarter, healthier decisions about what we eat.
Google will be adding more features and foods over time, and will also eventually provide the feature in more languages.