Why we calculate 138 nutrients instead of 4

Four values are nothing.

Most tracking apps give you calories, carbs, fat, protein. That's it. If you want to understand why you're low on iron, whether you're getting enough Omega-3, or which amino acids are in your breakfast — those apps don't help.

138 nutrients, 11 categories

Zutato leans on the Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel (BLS), Germany's standard reference for nutritional data. Every food gets up to 138 individual values across 11 categories: energy, macros, carbohydrates, fatty acids, fiber, sugar alcohols, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, organic acids, and more.

Example: whole-grain oats

Standard app: 374 kcal, 58.7 g carbs, 7 g fat, 13.5 g protein. Done.

Zutato additionally shows you:

• Iron 4.6 mg (sourced)
• Magnesium 130 mg (sourced)
• Folate 87 µg (sourced)
• α-Linolenic acid 0.1 g (estimated, Omega-3)
• Linoleic acid 2.6 g (sourced, Omega-6)
• Tryptophan 200 mg (calculated)
• … and 130 more values

Source methodology per value

Not every one of the 138 values is equally certain. That's why Zutato tags every value with a small color-coded label showing where it came from:

• Sourced — pulled directly from a product label, an official nutrient database (currently BLS), or a lab analysis.
• Calculated — derived from other already-sourced values, e.g. kcal = protein × 4 + fat × 9 + carbs × 4.
• Estimated — transferred from similar products or interpolated, explicitly flagged with lower confidence.
• User-reported — your own entries, private, never public.

You decide the minimum tier shown. Details: 4 source levels – why each one matters.

Three detail levels

Not everyone wants 138 values per food. Zutato offers three tiers:

1. Core — the 10–15 most important values for a quick overview.
2. Detailed — the 40–50 values that suffice for conscious decisions.
3. Scientific — all 138 values for dietary counseling, sports medicine, power users.

You switch tiers in settings — not hidden, not paywalled.