Transcript
Brandon Keller
Nutrition Online
Quarter Assignment #2
For my profile information I put in a height og 5ft 11 inches and a weight of 165 pounds. My goal was to maintain my healthy weight. My caloric intake was actually 94% of my reccomended value, so although it was a bit low, I think it is reasonable to consider that because a large portion of my diet over these 4 days was high fat, as well as excess protein which is stored as fat, I could still be gaining weight.
On average per day I was getting more or less 100% of my RDA of calories from fat (20-35% of calories from fat), so I’m getting 35% of calories from fat. I’m getting an average of 115% of the DRI for saturated fat - a bit too much. The foods with most fat and, in my case saturated fat as well were the frozen pizza, baked bean and cheese quesadillas, beef fajitas, and carnitas tacos. I’m eating a large excess of protein - 203% of my DRI which was based on .8g/kg but I think I could be getting up to a gram per kg. Even if so, I am still exceeding that amount. The foods with the most protein from each day are the exact same foods with the most fat from each day. For carbohydrates I am getting 93% of the DRI from carbohydrates. The foods with the most carbs are the same from each day as with fat and protein, except for the fourth day, the sushi had more carbs than the tacos. For fiber, I am only getting 64% of the DRI. The foods from each day with the most fiber were pizza, the baked bean quesadilla, fajitas, and my breakfast containing baked beans. Upon first look, I am getting the right macronutrient distribution in carbs, fats, except for an excess of protein, and a decently large deficiency of fiber.
In regards to micronutrients, I had the largest deficiencies in Vitamin D &, E, and highest excess in iron, and sodium. I only met 25%, and 24% of the DRI of vitamin D, and E respectively. Some good food sources for Vitamin D include mushrooms, fortified cereals, juice, and fatty fish like mackerel, tuna, and salmon. To get more vitamin D, I should eat more foods containing wheat germ, nuts especially almonds, sunflower seeds, and avocado. My vitamin A intake is only 52% the reccomended amount. Good food sources for vitamin A are red pepper, spinach, and carrots. I am getting 67% of the reccomendation for vitamin C. The biggest contributors to this from my diet by serving were the smoothie and satsuma oranges. I’m meeting 89% of my DRI for folate, so it isn’t of high concern. For iron, I am consuming an excess - 378% of the reccomendation. I meet 145% of my DRI for calcium, and 279% for sodium. I only meet 50% of my DRI potassium. Some of the largest contributors to the sodium in each day were the pizza, fajitas, baked bean quesadillas, and canned soup. The single largest contributor of iron was the honey bunches of oats cereal. The single largest contributor of calcium was milk. To get more potassium, some good food sources include broccoli, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
In terms of my sources of calories, I am getting 16% of my calories from protein (10-35% reccomendation). 54% of my calories from carbohydrates (45%-65%) reccomendation, and 30% from fat (20-35%) reccomendation. In general, I am within the ranges for each AMDR but in general, my diet is high in carbs, fat, and low in protein. The meal I ate that was highest in calories was definitely the whole frozen pizza that is 2100 calories. A lot of the meals I had didn’t take a lot of preparation or were processed foods made at my convenience. The most nutrient dense meal I made was the spam fried rice, or the cereal I had with fruit.
In general, there are some simple things I could add to my diet to improve my digestion, immune system, bone, and long-term cardiovascular health. For starters, I am only getting 64% of the fiber needed in my diet. Soluble fiber turns to gel during digestion and is found in apples, oats, and legumes. There is a reason they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Insoluble fiber, which adds bulk to stool, is found in beans, potatoes, whole grain products, and nuts. I could easily add apples, legumes, and potatoes in my diet as they are all enjoyable foods and easy to incorporate into meals. Substituting whole grain rice or bread or pasta is also an easy way to get fiber and and other nutrients. As well as improving digestion, legumes are high in iron, low in saturated fats, and high in B-vitamin antioxidants. Getting more vitamin C is always the first reccomendation in maintaining a strong immune system because it acts as a component for making collagen which is the most abundant protein in the body. It provides structure for bones, teeth, and most all of the bodie’s tissues. Proper intake ensures growth and healing of our body tissues, and also promotes absorption of iron. It is easy to get enough vitamin C from consuming citrus fruits like oranges. I usually get lots of satsumas during the winter to get enough vitamin C to make sure I don’t get too sick. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that I am highly deficient in. Although I get 145% of calcium, this is bad, because vitamin D makes calcium and phosphorous more available for absorption from digestion. Calcium is needed for growth, repair, and maintenance of bones. This deficiency may be a large contribution to soreness and fatigue from stiff muscles that can also contribute to depression. Eating fish oil supplements, and fatty fish like tuna, salmon is a good way to get vitamin D. Also fortified juices or cereals have vitamin D. The other fat-soluble vitamin I am highly deficient in is vitamin E. Vitamin E supports the immune system and protects us from “free radicals” or damaging chemicals. It can help prevent cancer - some good sources of vitamin E are almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and vegetable oil. One of the minerals I was deficient in was potassium. One mineral I had in excess is sodium. Sodium raises blood pressure because it inhibits the ability of the kidneys to absorb water from the blood. Potassium helps absorption of water to kidneys, reversing the effects of sodium, and helping to lower blood pressure. Reducing the portion or quantity I consume of high sodium foods like pizza, and fajitas, while increasing portions of other lower sodium foods will help reduce sodium intake. Good foods to add that have a good amount of potassium are grapefruits, apricots, potato, banana, canteloupe, lima beans, and pinto beans, and leafy green vegetables. In the long term gaining a balance of these minerals will significantly reduce my chances for hypertension, heart attack, and other cardiovascular diseases. By reducing portions of processed foods like tacos, pizza, and cheese quesadillas, I can also reduce the saturated fat in my diet that is contributing to HDL or bad cholesterol. To increase the good cholesterol I should consume more fatty fish like tuna, salmon, have more whole grain pasta, tortillas, bread, or brown rice, more nuts, olive oil, beans and legumes. The reduction of processed foods would also decrease my very high intake of iron, and protein, because many of the same foods like my baked bean quesadillas, fajitas, and frozen pizza were the highest in the categories of saturated fat, protein, and iron. In conclusion there are a lot of simple accessible foods I can add to my meals or recipes to help maintain my body better. Naturally by adding some healthful foods, I can still consume some of the processed ones, but it has become evident that those foods are best consumed in moderation because of the large effect it can have on the nutrition one is getting. I hope this paper will help me make changes to my diet in the future, and I am excited to try some and see if I can make noticeable improvements to my energy or how it can affect my fitness!
