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An increasing number of Canadians are surfing the Internet to get their nutrition information, according to the Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition. In 2006, 46 per cent of Canadian adults said they got their nutrition and diet advice online -- up from 8 per cent in 1997.

It's not surprising that more and more people are logging on to the World Wide Web to access nutrition information. It's fast, easy, accessible any time of day and, for the most part, free.

And there's certainly no shortage of information. Type "calcium and osteoporosis" into http://www.google.ca and you'll get links to more than 1.2 million pages of information. Refine your search to "calcium supplements and preventing osteoporosis" and you're still faced with 1,070,000 pages of website links to sort through.

While the Internet can be a reliable resource for gathering nutrition and health information, the ease of Web publishing means it can also be a source of misinformation and bias. There are no rules for policing the kind of nutrition information that ends up on the Web or who puts it there.

And it's not always easy to distinguish between commercial and non-commercial sites. For example, http://www.calciuminfo.com offers plenty of information about calcium, but it's really just a sales pitch to sell supplements.

Whether you're looking for information about dieting, nutrition supplements, or a certain health condition, the Internet can be an effective tool, provided you shop around, get a second opinion, be wary of miracle cures and read the fine print. On-line health information should not, however, take the place of your health-care provider's advice.

These tips will help you evaluate the quality of nutrition-related websites:

Check the source

Before you believe anything you read online, find out where the information comes from. The source of information will determine how credible the information is. Look for an "about us" page to see who runs the site. Is it a government branch, a medical institution, or an individual? If the author of the site is an individual, is he or she a professional or accredited expert on the subject matter? And does the site have a board of nutrition and medical experts?

A good rule of thumb is to find websites authored by an institution, organization or a person in which you already have confidence.

Find out site's purpose

Is it to inform? To sell a product? To raise money? The purpose of a nutrition- and health-related website is linked to who runs it and pays for it. The link, "about this site," should clearly state the purpose of the site to help users evaluate the trustworthiness of the information.

Focus on quality

Determine if a website's nutrition information is based on scientific evidence or testimonials. Medical facts and figures should be referenced to scientific journals or reputable health organizations.

Nutrition and health information is constantly changing so a good site needs to be up-to-date. Check when the information was posted or modified on the site. Look for dates on the bottom of the Web page, sometimes at the top. Even if the nutrition information has not been changed, it's nice to know that it has been reviewed recently to ensure the information is still valid.

One hint: if the website contains a lot of broken links, the site may not be updated regularly.

Be wary of one-sided views. A well-founded website should provide balanced and unbiased coverage on a nutrition topic without being opinionated.

Get a second opinion

Compare the information you find on one website to another site to see if it says the same thing. Ask your health-care provider's opinion to see if he or she is familiar with the information.

Be cautious

It takes a healthy dose of skepticism to decipher fact from fiction. Be leery of sites that offer "too good to be true" claims or promise quick, dramatic results or "breakthrough" remedies.

Read the privacy policy

Click on "privacy" or "privacy policy" to make sure that any personal medical or other information you supply will be kept confidential.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based dietitian at the Medcan Clinic, is on CTV's Canada AM every Wednesday.

Websites with reliable nutrition data

To look up calories, saturated fat, folate, iron, calcium -- and plenty of other nutrients -- in thousands of foods, visit www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/fiche-nutri-data/index_e.html. Sponsored by Health Canada.

For nutrition advice, fact sheets, a virtual grocery store tour, and to locate a registered dietitian in your community, check out http://www.dietitians.ca. Sponsored by Dietitians of Canada.

For information on nutrition and food topics and current and back issues of Nutrition Action Healthletter, bookmark http://www.cspinet.org. Sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

For food safety facts, including kitchen tips and information on raw milk, E. coli, even animal cloning, visit the University of Guelph's Food Safety Network at http://www.foodsafetynetwork.ca/en.

For health, food and nutrition topics, check out http://www.medlineplus.gov, maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Another trustworthy resource for disease facts and drug information is http://www.mayoclinic.com, sponsored by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.