Balancing health benefits and chemical risks associated to dietary habits: RIBEFOOD, a new Internet resource

In recent years, a notable number of studies have shown that some foodstuffs might be a potential source of exposure to chemical pollutants, some of them with a well-known toxicity in humans. Based on the importance of a healthy diet, we have designed the software RIBEFOOD, a new Internet resource that allows the quantitative determination of the human intake of a long series of micro- and macronutrients contained in widely consumed foodstuffs, and with an important nutritional value. RIBEFOOD is also able to determine the dietary intake of a number of chemical contaminants (i.e., metals, dioxins and furans, PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc.). In this paper, we introduce RIBEFOOD, and how it may be used as an easy Internet tool in order to optimize the dietary habits of any subject by increasing the intake of beneficial nutrients and by reducing that of toxic pollutants. RIBEFOOD can be useful not only for professionals (general physicians, nutritionists, endocrinologists, toxicologists, etc.), but also for the general population. It is available at: http://www.fmcs.urv.cat/ribefood/.