Analysis Of A Week Long Diet And Nutrition Intake

Upon recording what I ate and drank during the course of three days, February 18th through the 20th, I conducted the MyPlate report. From the results of the report it was brought to my attention that I was under the recommended amount in all categories. My grain intake was the closest to fulfilling the recommended amount with 88% of it found in my three days of recording. My grain consumption was 6.2 ounce equivalent and the recommended was 7.0 ounce equivalent. The nest highest consumption percentage of mine was in the protein foods intake with a 75% intake of the recommended amount. The recommended amount of protein foods by MyPlate is 6.0 ounce equivalent and my intake over the three days was 4.5 ounce equivalent. Next would be my vegetable intake with 47% if the recommended amount consumed. I consumed 1.4ccup equivalent when the recommended is 3.0 cup equivalent. In next to last place with 31% intake is dairy consumption. The recommended amount via MyPlate is 3.0 cup equivalent and my personal intake for three days was 0.9 cup equivalent. Lastly, with the least amount of percent consumed was the fruit intake category. The amount I consumed only made up 10%, 0.2 cup equivalent, of the recommended amount of, 2.0 cup equivalent.

With my fruit intake percentage being the lowest amongst the 5 categories of recommended intake, I decided to take a look into that the effects of it. In article the effects and uses of said food intake combined fruits and vegetables into one big chuck to refer to. A short-term effect of low intake is low amounts of fibers that are found in the fruits and vegetables that are needed for bodily functions. Lacking these nutrients has the ability to lead to constipation if the fiber never makes it into the body to form the bulk of the feces. Also, through the bulking process, nutrients are allowed to be absorbed more gradually for the body’s use and helps improve overall gut health. It is also has been proven that adequate amounts of fruit and vegetable intake can decrease the chance of getting premature cardiovascular disorders. This has the ability to become a long-term effect if warnings are not taken into considerations and low fruit and vegetable consumptions are not changed. It is said that fruits contain nutrients that lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triacylglycerol, vegetables contain these same qualities. Which all contribute to lowering the chance of said premature cardiovascular issues. In adults, which for myself would appear as a long-term issue, fruits and vegetables combined have been used as a preventative measure against osteoporosis. Osteoporosis, literally meaning porous bone, is used to refer to bones that have lost density and quality. This medical condition makes bones very weak and fragile, especially in elderly people that have this issue. A main issue that would come to a person’s mind is prevention of obesity, and fruits and vegetables aid in preventing that as well. Fruits and vegetables act as a growth suppressant for adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is said to be a “major storage site for fats in the form of triglycerides”. Thus, the correct amount of fruit and vegetable intake plays a role in preventing obesity, bone problems, heart problems, and gut problems. If I was to continue my current intake of fruits and vegetable, these problems listed could become a reality for me. With such a low intake of fruit I am not providing enzymes for a healthy gut and I am not actively preventing heart and bone problems. Although I am not battling obesity, another form of prevention trough increasing my fruit and vegetable intake could not harm me.

One of the common things to be told to young kids is that they must drink their milk to have strong bones for the purpose of playing outside and doing whatever kids like to do. This hold true in all people, in light of the fact that dairy is a main source of bone health in the body but is more predominate in children and adult women making this a long-term affect. Through many test and experiments, it was ultimately proven that the mineral density of bones in specifically women was increasing and providing extra support in the spine and hip regions. It has even been said through the same studies that an over consumption of dairy can be beneficial in body composition and bone health. The one stipulation to this is that once the test was performed on clinically obese people, the effects that appeared previously were no longer prevalent. Dairy, especially through drinking milk, has also been proven to lower the chance of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In an experimental study it was said that if a child was to drink 2 glasses of milk that the chances of that child receiving new that they had type 2 diabetes in adulthood was decreased by 43%. This could classify as a long-term problem due to the fact that diabetes can affect your entire way of living, but within certain parameters type 2 diabetes can be reversed. Next up on the list of this that can be reduced through adequate consumption of dairy is blood pressure. In both healthy and obese people, approximately 3 servings of dairy from food or drink, was proven to reduce systolic blood pressure. I believe this to classify as both a long-term and a short-term problem. In the short-term essence, this dairy consumption could be used to lower blood pressure for a specific reason such as blood test or an immediate pay off. IN the long-term, high blood pressure is linked to a host of health issues that could impact one’s life forever. In conclusion dairy has more long-term effects such as diabetes and bone issues, while also having short-term issues like short lived high blood pressure. If I was to continue my intake of dairy with no changes, I believe I wouldn’t have to severely worry about obtaining any of the listed medical issues. The only concern I would have is that the experiments showed data that women with insufficient amounts of dairy in their diet are more prone to bone density issues, and currently my dairy consumption is insufficient.

With my grain and protein intake being somewhat sufficient, I see no future of health problems related to minimal intake of either group. In conclusion I would like to make multiple changes to my current diet for the betterment of myself and my future. Throughout writing this analysis I realized that my personal diet with forever be changing. As I get older, or feel the need to lose weight, or possibly even gain some back, my need of a certain number of calories will change. My calorie intake goal was set at 2200 for my height, weight, age, and how active I am normally. Surprisingly, out of the three days, I only met that calorie goal once. This was truly surprising to me because naturally I think that anything high in calories is bad for me, when in reality I am not eating enough calories. At my current place in life, I am not looking to lose any weight, but to just better my overall food choices for my increasing calorie intake and my percentages from the myplate analysis. My main concern from the groups that compose myplate is my fruit group. I truly enjoy eating fruit by itself or in any form for that matter, so I was shocked to see that percentage be so low. A few ways I plan on incorporating more fruits into my current diet is to be more mindful about my food choices and incorporate more specific fruits into my breakfast specifically. Fruits that have been said to significantly decrease the chance of cardiovascular issues are grapes, berries, and pomegranates. I am fortunate enough to have the means to make the fruits available to myself, and I will be putting them in a smoothie, on top of my breakfast food, or just by themselves. To further increase my fruit intake, due to it being so very low, I also will plan on choosing fruit as my snack rather than my normal go-to, a granola bar. Although sometimes it’s more convent to grab a bar on my way out the door, I have to make extra time to prepare the fruit as a snack because the food choices I am making are impacting my future. For increasing my vegetable intake, very similar to the fruits portion, my main goal is to make better food choices. I noticed that it’s not the fact that I don’t like the food that I’m lacking, it’s more of what I choose to eat because it’s readily available. One of the major changes I want to make in the vegetables department is my choices for lunch when I’m at school. It is very easy for me to walk by the cafeteria and pick up chicken tenders and fry with ketchup rather than a salad, when in reality it takes about the same time. Also, for meals I tend to eat proteins with no form of supporting vegetable which is a habit I would like to change as well. As for the dairy department of my myplate analysis, I don’t have a concrete opinion. Although I am not lactose intolerant, milk can make my face break out and in large quantities make my stomach hurt. In my research it did mention that a good source of dairy, outside of drinking milk, was yogurt. Yogurt is an amazing snack, but you do have to be careful with what kind of yogurt. Some yogurt brands and types are loaded with sugar alongside the dairy serving, which can be bad in one’s diet. Overall, this really opened my eyes to some changes that need to be made in my diet to ultimately help myself out not only now but for future Autumn as well. Now I see your reasoning behind the note at the bottom of the directions, this assignment way more eye opening to changes that need to be made for me than being difficult.