Recommended Dietary Allowance
Lab: Comparison of One's RDA For Energy and Nutrients to One's Actual Nutritional Intake
Key Question: Does my diet meet the Recommended Dietary Allowance
(RDA) for energy and nutrients considered adequate to meet my needs
(maintain weight) under environmental stresses?
Hypothesis: If I keep track of the food I consume for 5 days, then I
will find that my diet does not meet my RDA for the energy and
nutrients that are considered adequate to maintain my needs under
environmental stresses.
As a busy teen, my meals are often on the go. Since my daily
activities such as volunteering keep me from coming home in time for
dinner, I often have to rely on fast food for my meal. In addition, my
early morning classes rarely allow me to eat a proper breakfast, which
translates into me buying my breakfast in the school cafeteria. Also,
when I go out with my friends, we do not choose the healthiest of
foods. All of these factors indicate to me that my diet is inadequate
to meet my needs under environmental stresses.
Variables:
Independent variable: the food taken in
Dependent variable: the nutritional value of the food taken in versus
the RDA
Controlled variables: same reference for the nutritional values of
food used for information consistency
Materials:
* Internet
* Nutrition booklet
o Calculator
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Procedure:
1. Determine your Total Calories per day (kcal/day) based on your
Nutritional Profile at the following web site:
http:www.cyberdiet.com/profile/profile.html
2. Convert this total to Total kJ Energy per day (using the ratio 1
kcal = 4.2 kJ)
3.
a. Use a calculator for this and the following calculations
4. Calculate your Total kJ Energy of protein per day using the fact
that a person needs approximately 10% protein in an ideal balanced
For this part of assignment, I kept record of two consecutive days of what I ate for that days and how much calories I got from that food and drinks. Every day I usually start routine with drinking water which I think is the most important thing for a healthy lifestyle. Apart from this, I learned some following main points to help me by comparing my food chart with the recommendations
How often does one think about when his/her next meal will be? If you are the average American, the answer will most likely be “in a couple of hours”; however, there is a good chance that you might also be one of the fifty million Americans that would most likely answer “I don’t know… whenever I can afford it, I guess.” Roughly every one in six Americans would have some sort of response like the one presented because that is how many are considered food insecure. This is obviously one of the most important social problems afflicting America in modern times, but what can be done about it? A Place at the Table displays three scenarios: Barbie, a struggling mother of two; Rosie, a fifth grader living meal
For years, I have been eating what I want. Food choices are a significant factor that affects our health. What we like or crave, often, is the determining variable in what we eat. Finding the right balance of food choices is the key factor in improving our health benefits. Choosing nutrient-dense foods will provide more nutritional value than foods that are found to be low in nutrient density. Making the right choices in foods, however, is extremely difficult. Often, I find myself enthralled in the latest fad, not considering the subtext of the foods I am eating, such as nutrients, vitamins, healthy fats and unhealthy fats, cholesterol and minerals. The diet project underlined a three-day food entry intake that provided a dietary analysis report
In the original three day diet analysis, Susanne Coleman found that she was not eating from all of the food groups recommended by the food pyramid. Particularly, she was not eating the amount of fruits, vegetables and grains recommended. While she felt she made wise food decisions, there was room for improvement. When completing another three day diet analysis, Susanne received different results. After completing the original three day diet analysis, Susanne has been more conscientious of her food choices. Since the first analysis, Susanne has begun to plan meals ahead and to pack her meals for the day to stay on track.
Proper nutrition is important in maintaining a long and healthy life. Most Americans are rushed due to their busy work schedules, and do not take the time to plan their diets properly. Like me, most Americans are unaware of the importance of eating a healthy diet and consume too many foods without the proper nutrients. Throughout my life I have been fortunate. I have not had any major health problems, and have been able to consume most foods without having to worry about gaining weight. These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously imagined.
This diet critique will be from everything I ate from Sunday, February 7 to Saturday, February 13. According to my dietary reference intake (DRI), I was allowed 2191 kcal for the week and I consumed 1978kcal. I met 90.3% of what I am allowed, although it Is on the higher end of the range it is still within. My calories from fat were 647kcal and my max allowed is 767kcal. Although I did not go over the minimum I was allowed was 438kcal so I still went over 209kcal from fat in which could be avoided. Checking the fat content on my snacks and limiting myself could reduce my actual intake while still being in range. The same applies to my total fat intake. My max was 85g and I consumed 72g when the lowest could have been 49g.this is still 23g of fat consumed that I did not not. Especially for trans fat I consumed 3.2g when ideally it should be 0g. Eliminated trans fat as a whole because there is no nutritional benefit would eliminate this entirely from my diet. My omega 6 and omega 3 intakes did not meet my DRI. I consumed only 3.9 g or omega 6 when my DRI is 12g and I consumed 0.5g of omega 3 when my DRI was 1.1g. To increase my omega 6 intake, I could start using grapeseed oil instead of the cheapest one I find which may not be the healthiest. I already use purchase grapeseed oil for my hair so getting another bottle to cook with would be easy. To increase my omega 3 intake, I could start consuming more beef and salmon in my diet, the majority of the meat I eat in my diet is chicken, so this switch could add variety.
A dietary assessment method is a critical component in many aspects of nutritional epidemiology such as evaluating energy and nutrient intake in free-living individuals (Taren, et al., 2002). The purpose of dietary assessment data collection is to establish the causal associations between diet and disease aetiology (Jain, et al., 1996). However, it is very difficult to measure exactly how much food people eat or to determine the nutrient content of the diet (Wild, et al., 2001). Therefore, the valid and precise techniques are required to estimate accurate and detailed information on food and nutrient intake as well as eating patterns for identification of the dietary influence on health and disease (Bingham, et al.,1994).
We all know why we tend to eat a lot of food – it’s because we get hungry. Some of us get hungry more often than others, and this directly ties in to how often we are accustomed to eating. In our society, it’s common to have large breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, along with desserts
Eating out is not always a convenient option, or even the best option. Cooking at home
As Americans, we’re always on the go. When hungry and have no time there are many fast and healthy items available. Many people who say that fast food chains is the main cause of obesity in America because there are plenty of fast food restaurants on every block with very few healthy options ("Do Fast Food Restaurants Contribute to Obesity?"). Fast food business are very easy to find and offer quick service, but there are other options that are healthy, especially in urban areas. Restaurants such as Panera offer a range of items that are healthy and offer a quick service for those on a schedule. In addition to these healthier options, it is also possible to pack their own snack or meal. People often become lazy when it comes to just cooking their meals at home. This choice allows the customer, to control what they eat.
Since we have been learning about nutrition in class, our task was to record a food log. Nutrition requires a well-balanced diet containing nutrient and vitamins like amino acids and fatty acids. Over the past seven days I have been recording and have been looking very carefully at my intake of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and fats. In our task, the objective was to record the basic foods we ate during the period of seven, but it did not require recording every single detail or our intake of food. Doing this food log was a pain and it was disturbing because I never wrote about what I ate like breakfast, lunch, dinner, or additional meals. I found this food log useful because it helped me learn what I can change in my intake of foods to make my diet healthy and to see what about my diet is affecting me from being healthy because I could affect me in the future.
Every meal a man, woman, or child consumes plays a role in their daily physical and mental well-being. There are deciding factors in determining which meal has the greatest importance. A single meal can have an astounding affect on a person’s day. The first meal of the day is called breakfast, because it literally breaks the fast that has lasted ten to twelve hours since the last meal of the previous day. Breakfast is proven to be the most important meal of the day. This meal can decide the entire outcome of a person’s day.
I chose to have the same meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days, not in a row, of course. So day one, two and three will look the same; it is roughly what I consume on a regular basis, I really didn’t have to alter my meals much at all, only to make sure I had the same meals each day.
When you eat a well-balanced combination of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats, you will gain more energy for your body for several hours. An avocado and a DIY turkey with a whole grain bread at lunch could ditch that afternoon laziness and dismiss the urge to use the vending machine. Including this combo of nutrients in your meal and snack everyday can prevent the overeating that leads to feeling too full and
While I was tracking my eating for these three days, I began to learn about the benefits of the food that I am eating and the nourishment that they provide for my body. I had never realized how big of a role that the food that I eat plays in my everyday life. Eating has never been something that I really think about it is just something that I do. After I looking at the data of what I eat on Choose My Plate, I realized that my eating habits are far from balanced and that I needed to work on bringing my eating habits to a better balance. While there are a lot of things that I have been doing right, there are also many things that I can work on.