For doctors, dietitians and nurses
Measured Plate sets no limits. It shows what is in a portion of food, beside the limits you gave your patient.
What it does
- Shows the sodium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fiber, saturated fat and calories in the portion a person chooses.
- Lets the person type in the daily limits their own clinician gave them, and shows each figure as a share of that limit.
- Adds up a day, on the person’s own device.
- Works out a packaged food from its label, and points out the words “phos” and “potassium chloride” in an ingredient list.
What it never does
- It never suggests, derives or pre-fills a limit. Every limit field starts empty.
- It never calls a food or a day good or bad, and it uses no colours or scores to judge one.
- It never answers a health question. It points the person back to you.
- It never shows a zero for a figure it does not have.
Where the figures come from
Every food figure comes from a record in USDA FoodData Central (Foundation Foods, SR Legacy, or the survey foods database). One food maps to one record, and each food page shows the record number. Figures are calculated from unrounded values per 100 grams and rounded once, for display. Where the numbers come from
When a figure is missing
If the source record has no figure for a nutrient, the page says “not reported”. A day’s total that includes such a food reads “at least”, with the number of items not reported. This matters most for phosphorus, which United States labels are not required to list.
What it keeps
No account is needed. Limits and meals are stored in the browser on the person’s own device, and they can export or erase them at any time.
Who wrote it
Written and checked by Rafiq Khan, MD, PhD.
A handout for your patients
One page to print. It has blank lines for you to write the person’s limits by hand.
There is no charge for this, nobody will contact you, and nobody is paid for recommending it.