In the last three days, my meals have consisted of my own version of a balanced diet. I took a total of about one gram of fruits, half a kilogram of vegetables, seven liters of plain water, two liters of vegetable soup, a handful of Brazilian nuts and one and a half kilograms of meat. Additionally, the meals consisted of three bananas, two oranges, a piece of pineapple, three large potatoes, two large carrots, half of a cabbage, a handful of Brazilian nuts, five hundred grams of chicken and one kilogram of beef. This constituted the three daily meals and also in between meal snacks.
The source of protein is the meat, eggs and nuts. The carbohydrate was provided by the potatoes, bread and cake taken in conjunction with the meals. Most of the food I took was laden with butter. This is the first source of lipid. Occasionally, the vegetables contained cheese, nuts and whipped creams which are also sources of lipids (Food and Nutrition Information Center, 2009).
According to the Food and Nutrition Center (2002), the daily recommended protein intake should be about sixty eight grams. Every hundred grams of beef and chicken contains thirty six grams of protein. Also, one egg contains about six grams of protein. Therefore, the one and a half kilograms of meat and the three eggs was too much. It is also recommended that an adult takes about three hundred and fifty grams of carbohydrate daily. This is almost similar to the amount I took. About three hundred grams of lipids are required in the daily intake of food. However, after calculations, I realized that I only took about twenty grams.
According to the required amount of protein, the one taken was a little on the high side. On the other hand, the total lipid supplement is way below the required daily intake. The carbohydrates were at par with the daily recommendation. Therefore, there is a need to reduce protein intake and increase the lipid intake. For example, reducing meat intake to about a hundred grams in a day and adding fruits like avocadoes to my diet will go a long way in ensuring that I end up getting the correct dietary requirements. I also aim at maintaining the carbohydrate intake; a little variety will also be useful.
Chicken and beef are complete proteins. Ideally, they comprise all the amino acids that make up a protein. However, the Brazilian nuts are also sources of protein even though they do lack some essential the amino acids that constitute a protein. Therefore, they can be termed as incomplete proteins. I combined this with the whipped crème in a salad to make it a complete protein. Amino acids missing from the Brazilian nuts can be found in the whipped crème.
The intake of carbohydrate was almost perfect. However, there was a difference of about two grams. However, the protein intake exceeded the amount that was required to be taken within three days. This was surprising to me. The macronutrient intake is covered by the fruits and vegetables which provide the various vitamins (Institute of Medicine, 2002). The intake was as required in the daily recommendation.
Macronutrients are necessary in building some parts of the body like bones and skin. They also aid in expressing nutrients from other foods. If they miss in a diet, some of these nutrients may not be acquired from the food. For example, oranges aid in expressing iron from meat. The same orange is necessary for the providence of vitamin C, which is essential in preventing diseases such as scurvy (Zimmerman & Snow, 2012). Too little protein in the body will lead to mass wasting as the body utilizes its muscles to create energy. Carbohydrates also provide energy and repair cells in the body. If they are absent, then a person lacks energy and may be unable to regenerate worn out tissues and cells. Lipids are not only broken down to form energy, but they also form the mass of cells. Their absence in the body will mean lack of energy and body mass.
The fiber intake does not meet the recommended requirement. I had three small bananas in the three days; each contained about three grams of fiber. The vegetables contained about ten grams of fiber. In total, this makes thirteen grams per day. An adult my age would require about twenty six grams daily. However, the few fruits and vegetables provided only twenty grams. Therefore, I would require to add some more on the fiber intake.
An adult is required to take about fifteen grams of fiber from fruits. This includes about five types of fruits in a day (Zimmerman & Snow, 2012). Ten grams of the fiber intake should come from vegetables. The fruits in my diet did not meet any of these requirements. I would have to add on the variety and serving of vegetables and fruits. For example by adding fruits such as peaches or pawpaw and vegetables will be utile in seeing to it that I meet this level.
The daily trend in my diet is that I try to include vegetables, fruits and carbohydrates in every meal. I might have to increase on the variety of fruits and vegetables. Drinking juice instead of a whole fruit reduces the amount of fiber. Too much fats, proteins and carbohydrates in a meal lead to obesity. On the other hand, insufficient amounts of the nutrients can lead to diseases such as marasmus and kwashiorkor (Institute of Medicine, 2002).
References
Food and Nutrition Information Center. (2009). Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) Resources. New York: Food and Nutrition Information Center.
Zimmerman, M., & Snow, B., (2012). Essentials of Nutrition: A Functional Approach. New York: Flat World Knowledge Inc.
