What's New In FoodFocus Version 3.3

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Version 3.4

Version 3.4 was released in January, 2008. It offers some significant enhancements:

1. Latest Canadian Data Nutrient data from the Canadian Nutrient File (CNF 2007 Release May, 2007) is used for FoodFocus version 3.4. This CNF update with data on over 5500 food items includes expanded Vitamin E and B12 entries, updated information for pork, beef, margarines, maple syrup products and Canadian Traditional Native Foods.
2. Updates Related to Canada’s Food Guide The rainbow is updated to reflect that the Vegetables and Fruit group is now the longest arm in the rainbow. The Canadian Nutrient File release was timed to coincide with the 2007 update to Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating. It included portion sizes to be consistent with the Food Guide Serving sizes (75 g for cooked meat, poultry, fish; 60 ml for nuts and seeds, 175 ml for cooked legumes, etc).
3. More Nutrients Displays and reports now include 30 nutrients (or nutrient groups). Vitamin D has been included because recent studies revealed Vitamin D deficiency even among apparently healthy Canadians. Vitamin E has been added as well as a variety of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
4. Dietary Reference Intakes Health Canada has provided dietary recommendations consistent with scientific reports on Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). DRIs are more complex than previous Canadian recommendations as they consist of Estimated Average Recommendations (EARs), Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs), Adequate Intakes (AIs) and Upper Limit (UL) recommendations. FoodFocus minimizes the additional complexity by usually only displaying the most relevant recommendation but full DRI detail is also available to interested users.
Dietary recommendations for macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat) are expressed as Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDRs). AMDRs also apply to subgroups of polyunsaturated fatty acids because of increased recognition of the important role of these various types of fat on human health.

American Heart Association guidelines are included where DRIs are not quantitative (ie for saturated fat and cholesterol).
5. Customized DRIs Dietary Reference Intakes are calculated based on age, sex, height, weight, special needs (vegetarian, smoker, pregnancy, breast feeding) and the activity level information entered by the user. In order to avoid inappropriate concentration on a student’s actual height and weight, typical values can also be selected. The resulting nutrient recommendations can be viewed as a summary form and, if necessary, the detailed DRI components can also be viewed.
6. Omega-6 and Omega-3 Fats Dietary Reference Intakes provided by Health Canada include a recommended intake for long chain omega-3 fats (EPA and DHA). The sums of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are calculated and the ratio (RATIO N-6/N-3) is also calculated because of its importance in realizing the benefits of polyunsaturated fats.
7. Improved “by Nutrient” Control The previous “by Nutrient” menu item allowed the selection of foods that had the largest quantity of a selected nutrient. The revised “by Nutrient” search allows searching all foods or limiting the search to foods with a high fat content as well as separating the search for “Good Source” foods from the identification of foods that you may wish to avoid due to a “high content” of a selected nutrient.
8. Expanded “by Sort” Control The “by Sort” menu selection on the main FoodFocus display has been expanded to allow sorting using the newly added nutrients including various polyunsaturated fats (including the n-6/n-3 ratio). The “by Sort” on the temporary lists of foods has the same added capabilities.
9. Expanded Analysis Display Previous versions of FoodFocus had two basic divisions for nutrients(“should be more than 100%” and “should be less than 100%” of guideline). However, Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDRs) add a third division (“should be within a range as a % of energy”).
10. More Measures Up to ten portion sizes are now available to accommodate the portion sizes in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating.
11. Compatibility with Version 3.3 Food Lists Food lists created with FoodFocus version 3.3 can usually be loaded into version 3.4. If there are situations in which a food or quantity is no longer available, FoodFocus will advise you of such conflicts and you can usually add a similar food or revise the quantity of food after the import if necessary.