Nutrition-Food Intake-1 Day Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nutrition-Food Intake-1 Day - Assignment Example To better understand how I arrived at this statement, it would be best to break down my DRI for each food group. The first group that I want to analyze is the vitamin and minerals group. My spreadsheet shows that I have a consumed a variety of fruits and vegetables that can be considered healthy such as banana, broccoli, asparagus, and Greek salad. This definitely enhanced the percentage for vitamins and minerals which was even boosted by consuming yogurt and shrimp. It could be said then that my food choice for this food group is healthy because the sources are quite varied. I did surpass the DRI for each Vitamin and Mineral very well. However, I should also be cautious of sodium intake which was twice the amount recommended. High-sodium intake especially on a daily basis is a precursor for certain diseases such as hypertension and kidney problems ( Sodium:How To Tame Your Diet Now, Mayo Clinic website ). Food that is processed or preserved (canned food) often contains high levels o f sodium. The next group to be analyzed is fat. I was not able to determine the target DRI for fat; instead, I only recorded my consumption of monounsaturated and poly unsaturated fat. Nevertheless, there was minimal consumption of food that contained trans-fatty acid. If my only basis was fat, it could be said that I consumed 92% less than what was required which is not bad. Regrettably, the cholesterol consumed is 1,287% which is an indicator of a poor diet. Cholesterol leads to atherosclerotic heart disease (Freeman and Junge, 2005) which is why a high cholesterol diet should be avoided as much as possible. Indeed, people should pay attention their dietary intake because their health is at risk. As for carbohydrates, I have consumed less than what was required; however, much sugar consumption was undetermined. Carbohydrate is necessary for supplying energy for the body; yet, the source must not come from simple sugars. This is another issue that must be emphasized because too muc h sugar consumption could also lead to diabetes. I also included fiber in the diet since I am aware of the health benefits of this food type. As for protein, I consumed twice as much as the DRI. When it came to drinking water, I only consumed 70% of DRI which is really not healthy. It can be observed that there are some food groups that are over represented such as vitamins and minerals. In the case of carbohydrates, I really do not prefer eating bread or pasta which explains the result. In a way, I was trying to go on a diet by just eating chicken, fruits and vegetables. I also observed that I did not hydrate myself well which can lead to constipation later. There are several reasons behind these results. The first limitation I had is the variety of food choice presented to me. The canteen does not present much variety and food at home is quite simple because everyone is too busy to prepare a full meal. However, this is not an excuse because I can choose to buy and prepare my own f ood. I should introduce more variety by adding more fruits and carbohydrate sources. A hearty whole wheat sandwich can be easily prepared for snack time. The lesson here is that individuals must put a conscious effort to achieve a healthy diet. This requires careful planning to achieve a balanced meal. There is also a need to discuss people close to me that I have decided to change my eating habits. My parents could support me in this endeavor and may even take part in preparing meals that contains all the food types in the food pyramid. In fact, having