How to get free access to the USDA's complete nutritional database

Have you ever wondered which foods were the best dietary sources for certain specific vitamins, certain specific minerals, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, dietary fiber, cholesterol, calories, or moisture? http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=17477 (Simply click either the big, cyan-colored circle that contains the capital letter, "A," or the big, royal-blue-colored circle that contains the capital letter, "W," in the same row as the specific vitamin or specific mineral that you are interested in. You should end up with a PDF allowing you to view more than 20 pages of different foods and the amounts contained by each of those different foods of the specific vitamin or specific mineral that you chose. For example, I chose to click the letter, "W," in the same row as selenium and I discovered that although fish, other seafood, and grains can be very good sources of selenium, fruits and vegetables are always inadequate sources of selenium even if the soil contains adequate amounts of selenium). Or have you ever needed to know the complete nutritional profile of a certain specific food? http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ (Simply type in the name of the specific food item that you want to learn the complete nutritional information about in the space beside the word, "Keyword(s):" and then click "Submit." For example, I chose to type in the word, "edamame." After I clicked "Submit," I was asked to choose between "Edamame, frozen, prepared" and "Edamame, frozen, unprepared." I chose "Edamame, frozen, prepared." After I clicked "Submit," I was asked to choose between "100 grams" and "1 cup." Since I eat exactly one cup of boiled, shelled edamame every day, I chose "1 cup." After I clicked "Submit," I learned that 1 cup of edamame had 189 calories, 16.86 grams of soy protein, 8.1 grams of total dietary fiber, 98 milligrams of calcium, 9.5 milligrams of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), 482 micrograms of folate, 1.05 milligrams of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), 9.11 milligrams of gamma-tocopherol, 41.4 micrograms of phylloquinone (vitamin K1), 2.773 grams of the n-6 fatty acid, cis linoleic acid (18:2), and 0.555 grams of the n-3 fatty acid, cis alpha-linolenic acid (18:3). I used my calculater to divide 2.773 by 0.555 to determine the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio for edamame of 4.9964 to one. That's somewhat more desireable than the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio for adult, brown soybeans of approximately 7.0 to one. Note that "c,c" stands for "cis,cis" and that "c,c,c" stands for "cis,cis,cis." They are telling us that these 2 fatty acids were cis fatty acids, not trans fatty acids. I was slightly disappointed that the USDA didn't tell us how much genistein and daidzein was contained in one cup of edamame but this omission is understandable since soy is the only food that is plentiful in these 2 isoflavones). Whoops. I now see where the USDA tells us how much daidzein, genistein, glycitein, and total isoflavones are contained in many, many different foods: http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/isoflav/Isoflav_R2 .pdf Green soybeans are listed under section "11 - Vegetables and Vegetable Products." I'm very happy to see that by eating boiled shelled edamame (17.92mg of total isoflavones per 100g) every day, I'm receiving 43% more total isoflavones than if I ate the same 100g quantity of steamed soybean sprouts (12.50mg of total isoflavones per 100g). Oh, no!!! But I'm receiving 48% less total isoflavones than if I ate the same 100g quantity of raw soybean sprouts (34.39mg of total isoflavones per 100g). Oh, no!!! But I'm receiving 63% less total isoflavones than the farmer who eats the same 100g quantity of raw edamame (48.95mg of total isoflavones per 100g). Eating raw green soybeans may have a disadvantage that I don't know about. Also, I wouldn't know anyone who sells raw edamame. I can buy raw soy sprouts from many supermarkets and from Sam's Club but the root tips of soy sprouts are usually colored brown because they came in contact with the soil. So I would want to cut away the root tips of the soy sprouts before I ate them raw. That's a lot of work. I would be tempted to just bite the soiled root tips away using my mouth and fingers. I guess I'd rather stick to my more convenient plan of eating 1 cup of boiled, shelled edamame every day. However, in the future, I will be greatly shortening the boiling time for my shelled edamame, which I now notice might be frozen raw after all? It says "Fresh Frozen" on the package. It also says "Ready In Minutes" and "All Natural" and "Keep Frozen." Anyhow, if any of you need to know how much daidzein, genistein, glycitein, and total isoflavones are contained in tempeh, natto, miso, tofu, mature soybeans, soy cheese, soy yogurt, soy milk, soy butter, dry roasted soy nuts, soy dogs, soy burgers, soy noodles, soy flour, soy paste, soy chips, soy flakes, soy fiber, soy sauce, soy liquid formula, soy lecithin, soy meal, soy protein isolate, or soy protein drink, you can find this information under section "16 - Legumes and Legume Products."