Nutrient-based questions
1. Looking at your Nutrient Reports, which three (3) foods contributed most to your protein intake?
The food that contributed most to my protein intake was meat, poultry and eggs. The intake on the first, second and the third day were 18 ounces, 6 ounces and 8 ounces respectively. The total intake of proteins exceeded the target.
2. Looking at your Nutrient Reports, which three (3) foods contributed most to your total fat intake?
The food that contributed most to my fat intake was milk and yoghurt. I averaged 2 cups in the three days. Cheese also contributed to my fat intake but it was limited.
3. Looking at your Nutrient Reports, which three (3) foods contributed most to your saturated fat intake?
The foods that contributed to the highest intake of saturated fats were milk, yoghurt and eggs.
4. Looking at your Nutrient Reports, which three (3) foods contributed the most to your cholesterol intake.
Foods that contributed most to cholesterol intake were meat, poultry and eggs.
5. Taking a look at your MYPLATE Nutrient Reports and Food Groups and Calories Reports, select three of the following nutrients
Proteins
My overall diet of proteins was on target. The daily target was 7 ounces. I exceeded the daily intake in two of the three days. Looking at the nutrient table the target protein intake in grams was 52g. I managed an intake of 117g. The calories required in percentage were between 10-30%. My average in percentage of protein calorie intake was 19% which is within the target.
Carbohydrate
My overall diet in carbohydrates was below the target. The percentage calorie intake target from carbohydrates foods was set at between 45- 65%. I managed to take an average of 41% which was below the target. I however exceeded the target carbohydrate intake in grams which was set at 130g. My intake was 255g. I need to increase my intake in whole grains. I was way below the required target yet whole grains are rich in carbohydrates.
Saturated Fat
The target intake for saturated fats was set at below 10%. My intake was 15% way above the required percentage intake. This was due to a high intake in milk and yoghurt as well as meat, poultry and eggs. To reduce this intake to the required percentage, I will decrease intake of milk products and increase intake of whole grains and fruits.
6. Name your top three (3) food sources of calcium.
My top three food sources of calcium include milk, eggs and yoghurt.
My intake was above the required target. If it was below the required intake, I would include nuts, whole grains and dried herbs.
7. Name your top three (3) food sources of iron.
My top three sources of iron are meat, milk and eggs.
If your intake is less than your RDA, what are three (3) food sources of iron that you could eat to increase your intake of iron? Be sure to include only foods that you would actually eat.
If my intake is less than my RDA, I would eat more eggs, whole grains and dark leavy vegetables.
8. Name your top three (3) food sources of folate.
My top three food sources of folate or vitamin B9 were vegetables, whole and refined grains.
If your intake is less than your RDA, what are three (3) food sources of folate that you could eat to increase your intake of folate? Be sure to include only foods that you would actually eat.
If my intake is less than my RDA, then I would take more fruits especially oranges, and bananas as well as liver and more cereal grains.
9. Name your top three (3) food sources of Vitamin E.
My to three food sources for vitamin E were vegetables, fruit juice and nuts.
If your intake is less than your RDA, what are three (3) food sources of Vitamin E that you could eat to increase your intake of Vitamin E? Be sure to include only foods that you would actually eat.
10. Taking a look at your MYPLATE Nutrient Reports and Food Groups and Calories Reports, write a paragraph discussing whether your overall diet was high, low, or on target for the OTHER VITAMINS AND MINERALS NOT MENTIONED ABOVE. Which foods contributed to your being on target for each vitamin and mineral, or not on target? If you were not on target, what are foods you could/would eat to increase your intake of that vitamin or mineral? Be sure to mention at least THREE (total) vitamins and minerals in your response.
My overall diet intake for the other vitamins was on target. On the first day vitamins A, B6 and B12 were above the required intake. Vitamins D, E and K were below but were compensated by the high intake of the vitamins previously mentioned. Intake of vitamin D and K though need to be increased by eating foods rich in these vitamins. These foods would be more eggs and cod liver oil for vitamin D and more green vegetables like cabbage and cucumbers.
Food Group-based questions
For this section, you will need to take a look at your Food Group and Calories Reports, your 3-Day Average Calculation Form, and also open up your MYPLATE Food Group Reports. Log into FOOD TRACKER. Click on "My Reports". Click on Food Group and Calories Reports. Enter the start and end dates for your food records. Taking a look at the 3 days of your food group reports, answer the following questions. In order to determine which foods contributed the most to specific food group intakes, click on the "+" sign that is to the left of each food group.
11. Taking a look at your MYPLATE Nutrient Reports and Food Groups and Calories Reports, select four of the following plant-based food groups that we have emphasized this semester (whole grains, dark green vegetables, orange and red vegetables, legumes, fruit, and/or nuts and seeds) and discuss whether your overall diet was adequate in these plant food groups. Which foods contributed to your being on target for each food group or not on target? Be sure to mention at least FOUR plant food groups in your response.
Whole grains
My overall intake for whole grains was below the required intake in the three days. I would thus increase my intake in cereals and grain intake. My intake in both whole and refined grains was very low.
Fruit
My overall daily intake of fruits was above the target since there was no specific target. I would although still add some more whole fruits to my daily intake as the amount take was still very low.
Dark green vegetables
My daily intake for the green vegetables was below target. The target for each day was 4 cups of which I never attained in the three days. I will increase my daily intake by eating more green vegetables like spinach and Dania.
Nuts and seeds
My overall intake was above the required amount. There was no specific target on the amount of seeds or nuts to take. I would although increase my nuts intake by eating foods such as almonds and macadamia nuts.
12. If you could change something regarding the amounts you had of these plant foods, what would it be? How could you go about doing that? In other words, what would you eat in larger amounts, or what specific food(s) would you add to your diet? Be sure to mention ALL FOUR Plant Food Groups you selected above.
In the whole grains category, I would take more of corn and brown rice. I would eat more fruits like bananas and apples as well as oranges and water melons (Roth, 2010). Dark green vegetables would include, spinach and cabbages while in nuts and seeds category, I would eat more ground nuts and almonds.
13. Taking a look at your MYPLATE Nutrient Reports and Food Groups and Calories Reports, discuss whether your overall diet was high or on target for empty calories, solid fats and added sugars. Which foods contributed to your being on target or not on target for each of these? If you were not on target, which foods could/would you increase or decrease to get on target? Be sure to mention empty calories, solid fats and added sugars in your response.
My diet was high on empty calories, solid fats and added sugars. Empty calories were accumulated from meat and milk products. Solid fats and added sugars were accumulated from the high intake of milk products and yoghurt.
"Beyond Nutritionism"-based questions and analysis
14. For the next part of the assignment, you will need to read journalist, Michael Pollan’s NY Times article, “Unhappy Meals”.
1. Principle #6: Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
Diet critique: Your response here should be at least three (3) sentences.
Green vegetables are ideal for a healthy society. They are however not enough if they are not supplemented by animal food commodities. Plant and animal food products should thus be consumed in way to strike a balance to get maximum health benefits (Stanfield, 2010).
2. Principle #1: Eat food.
Diet critique: Your response here should be at least three (3) sentences.
The term eat food presumes that people should eat natural foods as opposed to food supplements. Processed foods only lay a claim of nutrient presence but in actually sense are processed chemicals. The main point here is, go for natural foods.
15. Which approach do you think is most useful to you, a nutrient-based approach, a food-group-based approach, or a "beyond nutritionism"-based approach? Select one. This is an opinion question only, there is no right answer.
A) Nutrient-Based
B) Food-Group-Based
C) Beyond Nutritionism-Based
Nutrient –Based.
16. Justify your answer above. Why did you select a nutrient-based, a food-group-based or a "beyond nutritionism"-based approach? State at least two (2) specific reasons why you made your choice to receive full credit.
Nutrient based would enable one to determine the right type of food to consume (Gibney, 1986). The approach would also enable one to decide the correct proportions of the foods to consume.
17. Finally, thinking about your diet overall in terms of nutrients, food groups, or beyond nutritionism AND looking at all of your reports and average calculation form -- What are three (3) changes that you could and would like to make to improve your health through your diet for the future? Justify your answer. Make sure you mention FOODS in each of your responses. If you select a nutrient-based change, you need to specify which foods you will eat more or less of in order to reach your nutrient goal. If you are mostly satisfied with your diet and don't have three changes you would like to make, point out aspects of your diet that you feel are beneficial. You could also discuss improvements you have made since you completed Diet Assessment Assignment #1. Your answer should follow this format:
I would like to improve my grain and fruit intake and reduce saturated fats intake. Grains and fruits are more beneficial to the body than animal food products. Grains and fruits contain less cholesterol as compared to animal products. Animal products should only be used as side dishes rather than the main meals.
References
Gibney, M. (1986). Nutrition Diet and Health. Cambridge: CUP Archive
Roth, R. A. (2010). Nutrition & Diet Therapy. New York: Cengage Learning.
Stanfield, S. P. (2010). Nutrition and Diet Therapy: Self-Instructional Approaches.
Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
