Coupling food compounds data from FooDB and Phenol-Explorer to the Dutch food coding system NEVO: towards a novel approach to studying the role of food in health and disease

The relationship between diet and disease has been widely studied. The majority of studies have focused on the role and effects of food groups, nutrients or specific compounds, neglecting the wide range of compounds that make up our food. Each compound possesses unique characteristics and exerts distinct effects in the body. Analyzing correlations at the level of food compounds may provide novel insights into the relationship between diet and health. Currently, various publicly available food compounds databases describe types and concentrations of food compounds present in a large variety of food items. In this paper we describe the coupling of two international food compounds databases, FooDB and Phenol-Explorer, to the Dutch food coding system NEVO, to enable quick translation of generic dietary data from Dutch cohort studies to the level of intake of food compounds. The coupling allows a comprehensive analysis of existing and future cohort data focused on diet and health status, with the aim to identify food compounds that play a role in health and disease.