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The Query Function
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The Value of the Query Function

A "query" is a Boolean AND search that you can conduct across your nutrient database. This function lets you locate all the foods that meet all your criteria.

For instance, you can locate all the foods that have at least 2 grams of Protein AND no more than 360 mg of Sodium AND no more than 30% of its calories from Fat AND no more than 2 grams of Saturated Fat, AND at least 10 IU's of Vitamin E, and so on.

You can specify as many or as few nutrients as you wish. You can even specify upper or lower limits for every nutrient in the database if you wish.

A query will let you locate any food items based on virtually any criteria. Here are a few things you can do with the Boolean AND search implemented in the best products:

  • Locate and display all frozen entrees with less than, say, 20 grams of Fat.
  • Locate and display all the breakfast cereals with more than, say, 7 grams of dietary fiber.
  • Locate and display all restaurant foods with less than 5 grams of Sat Fat, fewer than 350 calories, and at least 5 grams of dietary fiber.
  • Locate and display the fresh fruit that is highest in a particular nutrient. (This compares all fresh fruit, regardless of serving size.)
  • Locate and display the fresh fruit that is richest in a particular nutrient. (This compares all fresh fruit of a particular serving size, say, 100 grams.)
  • Locate and display all the entries for a particular restaurant or brand name.
  • Locate and display all the entries for a group of restaurants or brands.

For experienced diet software users, the Query is the tool of choice for "mining" the nutrient database.

Note: This description is a feature that is available in at least one nutrition and fitness software product. In some cases, this feature may be available in a variety of nutrition software products. When this feature is available, it will be implemented in different ways by different products. The description provided here is an accurate description of how this feature works in at least one of these products.

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