Nutrition and Weight Loss Information

Count calories, learn about the content of the foods you eat, and find nutrition information on food with these search engines.

1. USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. Search for a food with this search engine to get a complete breakdown of the vitamins, minerals, lipids, amino acids, and more.
2. CalorieKing. Use the food search engine on this site to discover nutrition facts on individual foods or for foods from popular restaurants and coffee shops.
3. a Calorie Counter. The search engine at a Calorie Counter delivers information from the USDA food nutrition database in a quick and simple format that’s as easy to understand as any nurse’s nutritional advice.
4. The Daily Plate. A part of LIVESTRONG.com, this database at The Daily Plate includes information about almost 700,000 foods. They also provide fitness activities to help you manage your weight.
5. Calorie Count. Type in a food to receive nutrition information, a nutrition grade, a nutritional breakdown, and an analysis of the food.
6. The Calorie Counter. Search by food group or a particular food to determine the amount of calories your food has. This is an excellent way to monitor your daily caloric intake.
7. Arbor Nutrition Guide. This search engine provides you with plenty of links and resources on a variety of food and nutrition topics.
8. Nutrition Engine. Search for food and receive a huge amount of nutrition information on your selection, including charts and colorful graphs showing a make-up of the food.
9. DailyBurn Food Search. Get nutrition information on 155,000 foods with this search engine that allows you to sort by calories, fat, carbs, and protein.

Local and Sustainable Foods

Find farmers’ markets, family farms, local and organic restaurants, find safe and ecologically-friendly seafood, and more with these search engines.

1. FarmersMarket. Use this search engine to find a farmer’s market near you. Search by area code, zip code, city, street name, or any other parameter.
2. EatWild.com. Devoted to connecting consumers with pasture-fed food, this site will direct you to farms that sell meat, egg, and dairy products in the US and Canada.
3. CSA Search. Find Community Supported Agriculture farms around the country with this simple search engine.
4. Local Harvest. This search engine will help you locate family farms and CSAs so you can purchase local and organic foods directly from the source.
5. Environmental Defense Fund Seafood Selector. Use this search engine or browse through lists by eco-friendliness to find out what seafood and their specific species are ecologically smart to eat and if there are any health concerns such as high mercury content or other contaminants.
6. Ecovian. Find restaurants, food stores, and farms in your area that provide local and organic food. This search engine is growing city-by-city, so offer your insight on eco-friendly businesses to help enlarge the database.
7. Coop Directory Service Listing. Find food co-ops in the 50 states and coop distributor information here.
8. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Farmers Market Search. The USDA keeps a database of farmers’ markets across the US. Use the flexible search parameters here to find a market in your area.
9. Eat Well Guide. Find fresh, sustainable, and local food in farms, markets and restaurants anywhere in the US and Canada with this search engine.

Health and Food Safety

These search engines will act like a personal nurse, helping you learn about healthy eating, healthy habits, and food safety.

1. Nutrinium. Search by topics such as “nutrition” to find health articles touching on the subject of your choice.
2. OrganizedWisdom. Use this powerful search engine to find health and nutrition information that is guided by experts in their fields.
3. International Food Information Council. This organization provides science-based food information. Use their advanced search engine to find information on food safety, nutrition, and more.
4. fealth. This search engine provides results specifically related to health issues and is a good place to search for nutrition and food safety information.
5. FDA Search Engine. Use this search engine to find information on food safety, allergens, nutrition, food labeling, and more from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
6. www.FoodSafety.gov. Search documents from federal agencies that pertain to food safety issues with this search engine by keyword or within specific food safety categories.

Eating Out

It’s no secret that eating out can be an extremely unhealthy way to eat, as any medical professional can attest. Use these search engines to find what to order when you eat fast food or at a restaurant.

1. CalorieLab. With a database of over 70,000 foods and 500 restaurant menus available with this search engine, you are sure to find nutrition information for the food you want to eat the next time you go out.
2. Fast Food Nutrition Facts. Search through 17 popular fast food restaurants to learn about the nutrition information for the foods at each. Also find recommendations for healthy meals from these restaurants.
3. Delocator. Use your zip code to find places to get coffee, organic food, books, music, and movies from local businesses in your area.
4. Fast Food Facts. Find out all about the nutrition in your favorite fast food with searches by restaurant, food category, or a specific item.
5. NutraWatch Food Finder. Select “Fast Foods” from the drop-down menu, then enter your keyword to find nutrition information on many popular fast food items. Other foods are also available here.

Vegetarian Eating

If you are switching to a vegetarian way of eating, use these search engines to find recipes, restaurants, and more to support your choice.

1. V3GGIE. This vegetarian search engine will find anything from recipes to news to blog articles with results coming only from vegetarian and vegan sites.
2. VegWeb. Use this search engine to find vegetarian recipes that includes categories such as dairy or meat alternatives, kid-friendly recipes, and more.
3. 101 Cookbooks. This popular site offers searchable recipes that are primarily vegetarian and always natural and healthy.
4. Vegetarian Times Recipes. Search for vegetarian recipes with this search engine that can be customized to find exactly the type of recipe you want by selecting options such as egg-free, dairy-free, holiday, season, cuisine, and more.
5. VegCooking. Find vegetarian recipes, products, and restaurants when you do a search here.
6. The Vegetarian Resource Group Online Restaurant Guide. Use this search engine to find vegetarian, vegan, or vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the US and Canada.
7. HappyCow. Find vegetarian restaurants and food stores in your area with this easy-to-use search engine.
8. VegDining.com. Search for vegetarian restaurants around the world here just by starting with your city name.

Recipe Searches

These search engines offer general recipe searches, many with options for healthy food choices. Learn to make your own healthy food at home instead of relying on the drive-through window.

1. FitFood.com Recipe Search. Find recipes tailored to your healthy choices by type of food, type of meal, or with categories such as rich in fruits or lower in fat.
2. Meals for You. Find recipes here that include a breakdown of calories, protein, fat, cholesterol, calories from fat, and fiber.
3. FoodieView. This search engine will help you find healthy recipes, restaurants, and more. Search by specific dietary considerations, type of cuisine, and more.
4. Food Blog Search. Look for a recipe among more than 3000 food blogs with this search engine. Search by keyword for a type of food, a specific recipe, specific diets, or more to discover what is available the food blogs.
5. Food.com. Join the beta testing on this search engine that looks among all the top food websites to discover all available recipes. You can also store your favorite recipes in an online recipe box here.
6. The Big Fat Food Search Engine. Powered by Google, use this search engine to find what you want from only food-related websites.
7. Food Network. The search possibilities are many on this search engine which allows you to look for a recipe by quick meals, what’s in season, the chef who created it, or searching the entire site.
8. FoodTube.net. Search for your favorite recipe and get results in the form of video recipes with this search engine.
9. Epicurious Recipes. Search for recipes and menus here that include options such as healthy foods and seasonal cooking.
10. Allrecipes. This popular site offers a search engine with recipes that include nutritional information. Searches can be done within specific categories such as heart healthy.
11. Cooking.com. This search engine allows you to search for recipes by lifestyle considerations such as healthy weight, non-dairy, and wheat-free.
12. Food & Wine Recipes. Find a recipe by the type of food, healthy food, vegetarian, the chef who created the dish, and many more options.
13. RecipeSource. Look for a recipe among the thousands available on this search engine. Check out the Restricted & Special Diet section for diabetic, gluten-free, and vegetarian recipes.

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Symptoms and Conditions

If you’re not feeling your best, head to these informative websites to learn about your symptoms and begin your own research.

1. WebMD Symptom Checker: WebMD is a popular, trusted resource that separates symptoms by sex and age group (adult vs child) for more specialized results. The tool also helps you figure out what questions you should ask your doctor.
2. NHS Health Conditions and treatments: The official NHS website features an interactive tool to help you pinpoint your symptoms and treatment options.
3. Healthline Symptom Search: Healthline is a medical search engine and database that lets you browse the top 50 symptoms or type in your own symptoms.
4. Medline Plus Health Topics: Look up health topics, symptoms and conditions by the first letter, body location, or diagnosis and therapy on this government site.
5. FamilyDoctor.org: View symptoms and conditions grouped alphabetically, or search health topics by category like women, men, seniors, and more.
6. NOAH: The New York Online Access to Health features an English and Spanish-language database of health topics and conditions.
7. KidsHealth.org: This website provides parents a place to look up emotional disorders, infections, and other medical problems. There are pages for teens and kids, too.
8. Mayo Clinic: The distinguished Mayo Clinic has a great website for checking symptoms and learning about all sorts of health conditions, diseases, drugs and more.
9. WrongDiagnosis.com: This independent health information website features several different symptom checkers, including a virtual doctor’s visit scenario, a search engine, message board, popular symptoms chart, interactive body model, and others.
10. Medicine.net: Here you can find causes, a search engine, a body model, alphabetical search function and more.

Q&A

Talk with doctors and medical professionals online, as well as others who suffer from the same symptoms as you, to give you a head start on looking for medical care.

1. MEDgle: The site lets you chat with e-nurse kim or search symptoms and conditions in a virtual, visual chart.
2. Doctors Lounge: Select a message board by category or by moderating team, like Primary Care Team, Cardiology Team or Pediatrics Team.
3. Healthcare Magic: On this site, you can chat live with a doctor, including super-specialists in areas like oncology, hematology, cosmetic surgery and more.
4. MedHelp “Ask a Doctor” Forums: This site’s motto is “finding cures together,” and visitors can jump into chats with other patients or with doctors.
5. Wellsphere Wellpages: Type in or browse a keyword like pregnancy to get discussions, expert opinions, answers and resources.
6. OBGYN.net Forums: On these forums, patients and medical professionals discuss topics like pregnancy, breast health and more.
7. Quality Health: Quality Health has lots of helpful tools, including the “Ask Your Doctor” option, which helps patients prepare for doctor’s appointments ahead of time.
8. HealthCentral.com: Listen to radio shows and get advice directly from doctors on this site.

Finding a Second Opinion

If you want a second opinion, you can use these tools to find quality health care providers in your area.

1. AMA DoctorFinder: The American Medical Association offers this tool for finding doctors.
2. RateMDs.com: When looking for a second opinion, it’s important to find doctors who are well-reviewed by other patients.

Drugs and Treatments

Learn about drug side effects, alternative treatment options and more from these tools and websites.

1. Cancer.gov: The National Cancer Institute is a quality resource that lists cancer terms, a list of cancers, and an extensive drug dictionary.
2. HIVInSite: The Treatment page from the University of San Francisco’s HIVInSite connects visitors to hundreds of articles and guidelines for researching and choosing drugs for HIV patients.
3. Revolution Health: The drugs and treatments page on Revolution Health explains prescription drugs, over-the-counter meds, alternative treatments, and more.
4. Drugs.com: On Drugs.com, you’ll find all sorts of tools and databases to look up drug information, identify pills, and predict drug interactions.
5. RxList: Look up drug information, search conditions, and use the dictionary to learn more about your medications.
6. eMedicine: This medical information tool includes resources for learning about different specialties, different types of surgery, and more.
7. RxMed: Here you can look up prescription drug information for over 3,000 drugs plus resources for herbal and dietary supplements.
8. RightHealth: Discover treatment options and drug information for conditions like carpal tunnel, Alzheimer’s and more.
9. PDRhealth: The Physicians’ Desktop Reference has a great database of prescription, over-the-counter and herbal drugs.
10. FDA: Get official information and reports about drugs and treatments from the FDA’s website.

Evaluations and Screenings

Evaluate your risk of developing certain conditions and learn what kinds of check-ups and screenings you should be getting.

1. RealAge: The RealAge test is free and can help you learn how to take better care of yourself.
2. Health screening guidelines: This tool will tell you what you should be getting screened for.
3. Ergonomic Self-Evaluation Tool: Identify symptoms that may point to carpal tunnel, and learn how to work according to the right ergonomic standards.
4. WomensHealth.gov Health Screening Tool: Learn when and if you need screenings for diabetes, reproductive health, mental health and more.
5. Heart Attack – Coronary Heart Disease – Metabolic Syndrome Risk Assessment: AmericanHeart.org provides this tool for assessing your risk of heart problems.
6. 10 Symptoms not to ignore: If you have one of these symptoms but your doctor says there’s nothing to worry about, you might want to get a second opinion.

Everyday Tools

These everyday tools help you lose weight, track blood sugar levels, learn how to live longer, and more.

1. Everyday Health: This site has tools for counting calories, finding doctors, looking up symptoms, planning meals, tracking glucose levels, and more.
2. HHS Prevention: Learn about health screenings, exercise and vaccinations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
3. Yahoo! Health Longevity: This site is full of resources and expert’s secrets for living well into old age.
4. Prevention Health Trackers: Prevention.com’s collection of health trackers are for recording your foods, mood, weight, exercise goals and more.
5. Health.com: Find diet tools and healthy living guides to help you beat hidden aggravators, pinpoint your symptoms, read up on medication, and more.
6. Men’s Health: The tools on the Men’s Health website include tip sheets, Q&As and more resources regarding sexual health, skin cancer, healthy eating, and more.

Health News and Research

Stay on top of the latest health studies and medical news from these sites and tools.

1. CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has information, FAQs, news, symptom checkers and more resources to explain public health and safety concerns.
2. ClinicalTrials.gov: The National Institutes of Health supports this site for visitors to search for clinical trials and learn about new studies.
3. HHS.gov Newsroom: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Newsroom features press releases about the health care industry and news coming out of other government offices like the FDA.
4. MDLinx: This medical research resource is for medical professionals and patients. Browse subjects like neurology, cardiology, dentistry or urology.
5. National Institutes of Health: The main page for the NIH is a great resource for finding medical news, health issues, symptoms, research studies and more.
6. Online Nurse Practitioner Schools: Read regularly added feature articles that highlight the latest news and resources in the health care industry, medical research and global health issues.
7. Healthfinder.gov: This terrific website features health tools, a health care finder guide, and lots of news about the latest medical developments and treatments.
8. MerckSource: Look up news, treatment options and reports for specific conditions, or just browse the day’s top news relating to drug recalls, cancer news, and more.

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Whether you’re just getting started with nursing or you’re looking to advance your career, move into management, and otherwise increase your job prospects,Online Nursing Classes is your guide to finding the right nursing courses for you.

Nursing is one of the most challenging and rewarding professions, and it also happens to be recession-proof. There is always a need for qualified nurses, and indeed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts excellent job growth for registered nurses (RNs) and faster than average for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) through 2016.

If you’re interested in pursuing or advancing a nursing career, below you’ll find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about online nursing classes.

Online Nursing Classes FAQ

What types of online nursing classes are available?

Online nursing classes are available at all levels of nursing study, including those that fall under the most popular nursing degree programs:

• Certificate/diploma: Toward Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) exam; one year of study.
• Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN): Toward Registered Nurse (RN) exam; two years of study.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): Also prepares for RN exam; four years of study; gives degree holders more job opportunities than an RN without bachelor’s degree.
• Master (MSN): Toward Advanced Practical Nurses (APN), which come in four specialties: clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner.
• Doctorate (PhD): Toward a career in research or teaching.

What are online nursing classes like?

In most instances, online nursing classes are quite similar to traditional nursing courses, cover the same materials and readings, and have exams at the end; the big difference is that with online courses you pace yourself and may even have the option of taking tests when you’re ready as opposed to on scheduled dates.

Some online nursing classes may also require the completion of a clinical requirement, so be sure to check before signing up.

Can I pursue a specialty through online nursing classes?

Yes! No matter what your specific medical interest is, you can pursue it online. Some nursing specialties include:

• Anesthesiology
• Cancer/Oncology
• Clinical
• Cardiac
• Emergency Medicine
• Gastrointestinal
• Geriatric
• Labor and Delivery
• Midwifery
• Neuroscience
• Nurse Practitioner
• Obstetrics-Gynecology (Ob-Gyn)
• Orthopedic
• Pain Management
• Pediatric
• Psychology
• Respiratory
• Urology

In choosing your specialty, be sure to consider your ideal patient care setting, i.e., where you will be most comfortable and effective. Some common patient care settings include hospitals, mental health/psychiatric facilities, rehabilitation centers, long term care facilities/nursing homes, correctional facilities, diagnostic laboratories, research clinics, home health care, and private practice.

Are online nursing classes for you?

If you’re a caring, responsible, organized person with an interest in medicine, nursing may be for you, but what about taking courses online?

Ask yourself these questions to determine whether online nursing classes are for you:

• Are you comfortable using computers and e-mail?
• Do you enjoy and excel at learning on your own?
• Do you enjoy reading and excel at text-based learning?
• Are you good at managing your time and responsibilities and pushing yourself to succeed?
• Do you have the time, money, and energy for online classes?

How do you choose the right online nursing classes for you?

The first thing you need to do is evaluate your goals. Decide what you would like to do as a nurse and whether that falls into being an LPN, RN, or something different.

Next, figure out how much time and money you have to devote to online learning. Prices and required time commitments vary greatly, so it’s a good idea to know how much of each you have available before choosing online nursing courses.

Once you’ve decided on what you want from a program and how much time and money you have available, you can begin looking at courses. Some factors to consider in choosing online nursing classes include:

• Does this class offer the level of training I need?
• Does it offer the level of interaction with professors and other students I’m seeking?
• Will it prepare me for the licensure requirements of my chosen profession?
• Are there clinical/in-person requirements?
• Does it compare well with classes at traditional universities?

Once you have decided on one or more online classes, you should consider the school’s accreditation, fees, and faculty to make sure you’re getting the most value for your money.

Try to talk to past and current students as well so you can get a first-hand account of what’s it’s like to take online classes at your chosen school; you may also consider contacting and communicating with professors as well.

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