A new version of BioValidity's BioNutritional Encyclopedia®, a comprehensive online source of nutrition information, health concerns and research, is now being offered for free on the web to help consumers separate nutrition facts from folklore.

The BioNutritional Encyclopedia, (BNE) evaluates current research on nutritional substances, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, etc., and examines their associated health claims. The BNE's Advisory Board, an independent panel of nutrition experts, then assigns a rating to each health claim based on the scientific validity of the research behind each claim. Ratings range from "Strongest Science" for well-established health benefits, to "No Science" for nutrition myths. The web site presents the information in a format that quick, user-friendly, and easy to understand. jobs

Consumers can access the free resource, called the "BNE Top 25" at: www.biovalidity.com/top25 The BNE25 features 25 of the popular nutritional substances available today, including Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Calcium, St. John's Wort, Ginseng, Ginkgo Biloba, Kava, and others.

Well-established health benefit claims such as the role of calcium in helping build bone density, receive a "strongest" science rating, while others, such as the role of garlic in reducing blood sugar levels, get a "No Science" rating. The ratings consider a number of factors, such as whether the research includes randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical human trials.

The BNE Top 25 was conceived to allow the general public free access to unbiased research-based information about the most popular herbs, vitamins, and botanicals being sold in the market today. BioValidity is aware of the dearth of information, misinformation, and misused information in the area of supplements. We intend to extend our mission of presenting a fair and impartial summation of the confidence the consumer might attribute to the claims made by product companies.

Topics for the BNE25 are selected from the commercial version of the BioNutritional Encyclopedia, which includes information on over 250 nutritional substances. Corporate subscribers, including those in the food and health industries, use the commercial BNE for research, marketing, and regulatory information. Substances in the BNE25 will be rotating on a periodic basis to include other substances from the commercial BNE.

The BNE offers research data on nutrition, health concerns and body systems and contains information under review from over 55,000 scientific journal studies. Each substance includes a "Learn More" section featuring general information on topics, as well as an "Interactions and Precautions" sections. All health claims are judged by a peer-review rating system. BioValidity's editors and research team update the information on an ongoing basis.

BioValidity develops its knowledgebases in conjunction with university-based scientific research teams. The research team identifies, organizes, evaluates and consolidates research data. Then, an Advisory Board composed of industry-recognized experts reviews and validates all research results. Through feedback from the review boards, advisory board and the clients, BioValidity continually reviews and renew knowledgebase products for its customers.

BioValidity, headquartered in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, has developed customized knowledgebases for the nutraceutical, life science, and food industries since 1996. Popular products include the BioNutritional Encyclopedia® and the Pet Nutrition Knowledgebase, used by a worldwide base of commercial clients, and SearchNutrition.com, an individual subscription service for physicians, dieticians, and other health care practitioners.

BioValidity develops online life science knowledgebases for the health care, nutrition, food science, and animal health industries. BioValidity also provides knowledge management consulting services for business and research.