Google Voice Search for Nutritional Information: Speak and Ye Shall Find

This week, Google introduced a new feature I think you’ll like — a voice-enabled search for the nutritional value of common foods.

Want to know how much fiber that broccoli’s bringing? From a Google search page, click the Voice Search microphone. Then ask the great-and-powerful G-man: “How much fiber is in broccoli?” Astoundingly, he’ll speak back, letting you know you can count on 3.8 grams of fiber in one serving of the stalky stuff. He’ll also display the information on-screen along with additional nutritional information depending on whether you’re searching from a mobile phone app, desktop, or laptop.

You can ask about other nutritional values for a particular food, like calories, saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol, and vitamins. This week, it can fill you in on the nutritional value of about 1,000 different fruits, vegetables, meats, and meals, and we can expect the quantity of supported foods to increase.

Let’s count this as one more useful app to store in our healthy eating toolkit, which already contains magnificent resources to help us eat and drink better, including:

• Fooducate, an online and mobile phone app that helps you search or scan products to find out how good they are for you
• Fresh Food Finder, a mobile phone app to locate nearby farmers markets and other local food outlets
• The Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass, an interactive map to search for local food producers
• Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, an online and mobile app designed to guide you to the most sustainable seafood choices

Give it a try, and let us know what you think of the new functionality!

Image Credits: Google screenshots