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Three components are necessary
to investigate the relation between nutrition and health:
- measuring the intake of food
- converting the intake of food measurement into the intake of nutrients (which is usually based on national nutritional databases)
- statistical analysis of the foods and nutrient intake data
Food composition tables were studied
from each of the EPIC countries (except Norway), and comparisons made on the
basis of availability, definition, analytical methods, and mode of expression
of the nutrients of interest. Most of the nutrients in the tables are analysed
and expressed in a compatible way but for some nutrients common methods and
definitions or modes of expression have not yet been agreed upon, so values
are not comparable.
In the tables that were compared
the nutrients can be separated into 3 groups:
- Those with comparable values, although the definition and analytical methods may be slightly different:
nitrogen, lactose, alcohol, water,
cholesterol, fat, fatty acids, retinol, vitamin D, tocopherols, tocotrienols,
thiamin, riboflavin, vitamins B6 and B12, calcium, iron and potassium
- Those which are not readily comparable due to the calculation or mode of expression but which may be easily converted to a comparable mode of expression:
protein, carbohydrates, starch, sugars,
energy, carotenes, vitamins A and E
- Those which are not comparable between all
the tables studied due to the methods or definition used:
folate and fibre (more from table below)
This has important implications
for EPIC and it is, therefore, necessary to develop a standardized nutrient database in order to manage the food composition of the 10 participating
countries. Existing software is being adapted to standardize and evaluate the
data from these countries according to common rules, enabling a single database
with comparable nutrient values from these 10 countries to be compiled.
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