A person’s nutritional status is largely determined by the diet he or she partakes in. Eating nutritious and healthy foods is essential for our bodies to obtain the nutrients needed. Moreover, the food we eat determines the caloric intake for the day, which is important when it comes to weight control. Furthermore, this paper is an analysis of my diet that was recorded by MyFitnessPal, an application that counts the calories of food one intakes and provides a summary on one’s macro- and micronutrients.
When my food intake from February 8 to 14 is analysed, it can be seen that I consume an average of about 2,000 calories per day. When considering my height and weight, this can be considered an average calorie count. However, there are many flaws that can be pointed out regarding my diet. Furthermore, the caloric intake that was recorded vary greatly. There was an instant when I only consumed 800 calories, an evident deficient, while there are instances when my caloric intake reached 2,575 calories which is a bit too much.
Also, it is notable that the food listed in the application comes mainly from fast food restaurants. There are also many junk foods and sweetened drinks such as soft drinks listed. The problem with fast food restaurants is that they use a lot of seasonings in their servings in order to make the food more appetizing, thus increasing the calories in each food. Fast food usually contains saturated fat, sodium, and sugar whose amounts exceed recommended levels, making those who consume them more likely to suffer from health diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes, among others (McNight). Furthermore, soft drinks should be highly avoided as they have high calories while offering low nutritional value (Valentine).
Next, most of the nutrients in the diet came from carbohydrates and not much comes from protein sources. Usually the protein-carbohydrate ratio differs from person-to-person, but most of the diets per day have the ratio out of proportion. In order for the body to get its needed amount of nutrients, it is important to have the carbohydrate and protein intake close to each other, depending on the person. My recorded food intake is also high in sodium. This could have been the case since many of the food recorded are from fast food restaurants or processed. A diet high in sodium can likewise cause strain on the kidneys, stomach ulcers, bone thinning. Too much sodium may also cause hypertension. Therefore, it is essential that one minimizes the amount of sodium in his or her diet to prevent or minimize these adverse health complications (Dovey).
The final flaw regarding the diet is that it lacks variety; I eat more or less the same kind of food every day. My diet consists of more or less Asian food, which is composed of noodles, rice, and some meat, usually chicken. In order to meet the nutrients I need for the day, more variety on the foods I eat is needed.
In order to improve my diet, I should first cut back on eating fast food and processed food so as stay away from the high sodium content of those kinds of food. I should also keep an eye on the nutrient ratio of the food I eat so that my body gets the nutrients it needs. Also, I need to incorporate more variety such as introducing fruits and vegetables in my diet.
Works Cited
Dovey, Dana. "Too Much Salt: How A Diet Too High In Sodium Can Affect Your Heart, Brain, And Even Bone Health." Medical Daily. IBT Media Inc., 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.medicaldaily.com/too-much-salt-how-diet-too-high-sodium-can-affect-your-heart-brain-and-even-bone-330910>
McNight, Clay. "Can Fast Food Cause Health Problems?" LiveStrong. Demand Media Inc., 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. http://www.livestrong.com/article/350570-health-problems-that-fast-food-can-cause/
Valentine, Judith. "Dangers of Soft Drinks." Global Healing Center. Global Healing Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/american-trends/soft-drinks-america>.
