Nutrition

Introduction: This section is a brief overview of nutrition that will be concluded with the nutrition lab provided for this topic. We'll start by sorting out some definitions, talking about the different classes of nutrients, and then planning out nutritious meals.

Definitions

*All definitions are from the Mader textbook either taken from chapter eight or the glossary.

Nutrient: A component of food that performs a physiological function in the body.

Glycemic Index (GI): Blood glucose response of a given food.

Essential Amino Acids: Amino acids required in the human diet because the body can't make them.

Essential Fatty Acids: Fatty acids required in the human diet because the body can't make them.

Vitamins: Organic compounds that the body uses for metabolic purposes but is unable to produce in adequate quantity.

Class Time

Nutrients are broken up into five different classes.

1. Carbohydrates: simple or complex sugars used in the body for energy.

2. Proteins: already talked a lot about what proteins can do, in nutrition there are so many essential amino acids that one must get from food.

3. Lipids: also known as fats, there are two types of fatty acids the body cannot make.

4. Minerals: such as calcium and sodium play major roles in bone construction and regulating body water balance

5. Vitamins: used a lot for metabolic processes.

Put Into Motion

Many know of the food pyramid. It has changed from what I remember, but still has the main idea of this is a healthy diet. The book suggests a way of making ourselves more nutritious which include:

~Eating a variety
~Eating more fruits and veggies, whole grains, fat free or low fat products.
~Eat less foods high in saturated, trans fat, or cholesterol.
~Be physically active

Frolich gives a different suggestion known as "The Food Satisfaction Triangle" which will be discussed a little later.

Lab:

To get started with this lab, here is a screen shot of the foods I ate in one day:


This was a little challenging because this program did not have the specific foods I eat. I was horribly frustrated because I could not get just a regular, small sized, raw apple from this. Here is a list of what I ate that particular day.

*2 Over Hard Eggs
*1 Breakfast Ham Steak
*1 Small, Raw Apple
*2 Cups Macaroni and Cheese with Canned Tuna mixed in
*2 Slices of Cheese Pizza
*4 Breadsticks

I only drink water, hence why no liquids were added.

Now it is time to answer some questions.

1. How healthy a daily diet do you think this is? Why?

Thankfully, I happen to be taking nutrition as a class this semester. Our first project was to map out what we ate for three days, then figure out the total amount of calories we eat a day, how much fiber we are getting and the servings from each food group we get.

After doing this, I have learned that I do not have a healthy daily diet at all. I do not eat nearly enough calories for as active as I am, nor do I chose foods that give me the fiber I need and I also almost never meet any serving requirements.

2. -What would you change about this day's eating, if anything?

First, I would up my intake of calories by eating more, but still in healthy portion sizes. Secondly, I would start eating fruits and vegetables as snacks throughout the day to help me get those serving sizes. Thirdly, it would not be a bad idea to eat cereals that are high in fiber and whole to increase fiber amounts. Lastly, I would have to figure out my lactose intolerance problem that I newly learned I have and work that into my diet, ensuring I get what dairy products provide for my body.

3. -Do you find this kind of nutritional tracking helpful? Why or why not?

I do find this nutritional tracking very helpful. I think it would work best for those who are overweight though. Being someone who does not eat a lot, I found it very overwhelming to try to figure out more foods I could eat, and then listing them out in meals made me feel like I could never truly eat that much. It seems like it would work the opposite for an overweight person. They would see the large amounts being eaten (if they were honest about their portion sizes) and maybe start thinking about cutting them back.

Conclusion: That concludes this section! We looked at some commonly seen words in nutrition, very briefly took a glance at the different nutrient classes, saw the book's way of putting nutrition in ones own life, and lastly had a lab of how awful an eater I am. Now, for the last section of Unit Two, which includes Frolich's method of incorporating a healthy diet.