Nutrition Data Sources

The calorie and nutrient figures shown in Diat (on foods you search for, foods you scan, and recipes) are compiled from the published food composition databases listed on this page. Each one is maintained by a government body, a university, or a national research institute, and each is linked below so you can check the underlying data yourself.

Please report any problem with a food directly to us at contact@diat.app rather than to these publishers. They are not able to correct data as it appears in Diat.

Laboratory-analysed data

These datasets are built from laboratory analysis and published research, and carry the most complete nutrient profiles in the app.

• National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 28 (USDA SR28), United States Department of Agriculture. Long-standing reference data for generic foods, now published through FoodData Central. US Government work, public domain.
• Canadian Nutrient File (CNF 2015), Health Canada. Canadian foods, including items and preparations not covered by the US datasets. Open Government Licence, Canada.

National food composition databases

These cover foods specific to a single country's food supply, including preparations and products that the datasets above do not list.

• McCance and Widdowson's Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID), Public Health England (United Kingdom). Foods from the UK food supply. Open Government Licence v3.0.
• Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel (German Nutrient Database) (BLS), Max Rubner-Institut (Germany). The German national nutrient database. CC BY 4.0. Published by the Max Rubner-Institut.
• Frida Food Data (Frida), National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. The Danish public food composition database. Published free of charge by DTU Food; credited on use.
• FoodData Central: Foundation Foods (FDC Foundation), United States Department of Agriculture. Nutrient values with the underlying analytical data and sampling details published alongside them. US Government work, public domain.

Recipes

Every recipe in Diat is read, edited, and reviewed by our team before it is published to the app. We check that the ingredient list is complete, that the quantities make sense, and that the method is clear enough to cook from. No recipe reaches you automatically.

The calorie and nutrient figures on a recipe are given per serving and are an estimate. A cooked dish is not a fixed quantity the way a packaged food is: the size of a vegetable, how much oil stays in the pan, and how generously you divide the portions all move the real number. Treat a recipe's figures as a close guide rather than a measurement.

If you need an exact figure for something you have cooked, log its ingredients individually instead. Foods added that way are drawn from the food composition databases listed above.

Estimated values

Some entries in Diat are not drawn from the databases above. When you photograph a meal, and for some foods added by search, Diat estimates the nutrition rather than looking it up. These are marked in the app so you can tell them apart at a glance.

An estimate is a useful starting point, not a measurement. If accuracy matters for a particular food (because of a medical condition, or because you are tracking closely), prefer an entry from one of the databases above, or check the nutrition label on the packaging and enter the values yourself.

Guidelines behind the targets

Diat also shows daily targets and limits (calories, protein, carbs, fat, fibre, sugar, sodium, and others) alongside body measurements such as BMI. Those figures come from published health guidance rather than from food composition data, and each one is cited inside the app under Profile → Medical & nutrition sources.

Not medical advice

Diat provides general wellness information. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for care from a qualified professional. Talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian before making changes to your diet, particularly if you have a health condition, are pregnant, or are taking medication.