Macronutrient Analysis and Dietary Improvements, Lecture notes of Nutrition

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ANAYLYTIC ESSAY

JANA WOLFF

THE SAGE COLLEGES

JANA WOLFF

NTR 201ANALYTICAL ESSAY

MACRONUTRIENT ANALYSIS

Carbohydrate My food analysis indicated that my fiber consumption was 107% of the DRI for fiber. I’m very conscious of including fiber into every meal by adding vegetables, fruits, seeds and whole grains. In addition I drink adequate amounts of water which is important when consuming fiber. On the third day of analysis, I consumed 32.3g of fiber, which was the highest amount over the three day period. The foods that provided the highest source of fiber that day were blueberries (1 cup at 6.16g), chia seeds (.5oz at 5.3g) and chickpeas (1/2 cup at 7g).

Soluble fiber and insoluble fiber both have different effects on the body and probable health benefits. Soluble fiber lowers blood cholesterol by binding to bile and slowing the absorption and travel of food through the upper GI tract while increasing satiety. Some health benefits of this soluble fiber include the lowered risk of heart disease, diabetes, and colon and rectal cancer. Insoluble fiber provides bulk and a feeling of fullness and can also help alleviate constipation. This type of fiber can also lower the risk of developing diverticulosis, hemorrhoids and colon cancer.

If one is looking to increase fiber in their diet, several changes include greater consumption of raw vegetables and fresh fruit, adding legumes to any meal (soups, salads, side dishes) and sticking to whole grains. For example, swapping out white rice with brown rice or quinoa and looking at the fiber content on the food label when comparing whole grain foods such as bread

and even peanuts provide a good amount of monounsaturated fats and fiber, I would reduce the frequency of eating tuna salad. In addition, I did have fried calamari and deep fried tofu which impacted my overall average fat intake. Overall, it’s good to limit fried foods. Because it’s not realistic for me to eliminate them completely, I would continue to limit things such as fried calamari and fried tofu to once every few weeks or cook them at home by sautéing with canola oil and/or baking with herbs.

Dietary cholesterol is a sterol found in all animal derived foods. Foods such as chicken, beef, milk, butter and eggs all have cholesterol. It is possible to consume a diet high in fat but cholesterol-free because there are also unsaturated fats such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats derived from plants that do not contain cholesterol. You can eat seeds, almonds, avocados, and olive or canola oils, which all contain fat, but still have a cholesterol- free diet if you eliminate sources of fats from animals.

MICRONUTRIENT ANALYSIS Sodium The UL for Sodium is 2300mg and my intake fell above that at 3063mg. From the three day analysis the top three foods containing the most sodium included the soy sauce (1067mg), Italian dressing (972.6mg) and sushi (631mg). Other contenders for highest sodium were salmon (590mg) and tuna salad (412mg). Although I drink a lot of water and exercise regularly (and mostly moderate-vigorously), and have lower blood pressure, I should still try my best to lower my sodium consumption. It is unreasonable to completely eliminate sushi because it is one of my favorite foods and something I treat as somewhat of a reward to myself (because it is costly).

That said, I do not eat it every week. When I do eat it, I should try to reduce the amount of soy sauce I have and have other fillers to the meal that do not have as much sodium such as edamame with no salt or salad, that way I won’t consume as much sushi, which contributes to the increased sodium intake levels. The Italian dressing was also a big contributor. I could easy replace that with a homemade dressing that doesn’t contain any salt, but herbs such as thyme and rosemary instead.

Iron The recommendations for Iron are 18mg and surprisingly, I averaged at 18.1mg, almost the exact recommendation! The three main sources of iron over the three days were protein powder (7.3mg), Sushi (3.614mg) and chickpeas (2.025mg).

Calcium The recommendation for calcium is 1000mg and I only consumed 918mg on average. I could simply add a glass of milk, which contains about 300mg of calcium or have yogurt as a snack in order to increase my calcium. Those are two easy, practical ways of obtaining more calcium in my diet.

Other Vitamins and Minerals Vitamin D is a micronutrient that falls below the recommendations. I only consumed an average of 27% or 1.347mcg. This is an issue because it plays a key role in bone health, assisting the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and helps to maintain blood concentrations of important minerals (p. 348). Because osteoporosis runs in my family, changes should be made to my diet

MY PLATE COMPARISON

Based on the Food Groups and Calories report, deficiencies lie in grains, fruits and dairy. There are many nutrients contributed by these three food groups, however some of the significant nutrients for grains include fiber (soluble and insoluble), Folate (from fortified grains), and any of the nutrients used to enrich whole grain products such as niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin. Nutrients from fruits include Vitamin C and Vitamin A (from beta-carotene). Dairy contributes Vitamin D, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Choline and Vitamin A (from Retinol in fortified milk and milk products).

MyPlate recommended less than 266 empty calories and I met that recommendation, consuming 262 kcals. I had 60 calories from solid fats, 99 calories from added sugars and 102 calories from alcohol.

The total calories compared between FoodWorks and MyPlate were almost identical as they were off by 4 calories. Some of the grams per nutrient were slightly different, such as the protein for FoodWorks was 95.8g and for MyPlate was 116g. I don’t think this made too much of a difference; however I did notice some discrepancies between the minerals, as some were reported high on one tool and low on the other. For instance, my iron was under on MyPlate (not by too much) but on FoodWorks it was at 101%. The only other difference is that, in my opinion, it’s perceived that when you see a vitamin or mineral percentage on FoodWorks over 100%, you’ve exceeded the recommendation, as opposed to MyPlate where you get an “OK”, which feels like a better result.

MyPlate’s Supertracker is a great tool for anyone looking to lose or maintain weight, if you are computer literate and are at the contemplation or action stage of change in regards to weight management. This is a tool for anyone that is ready to try something new but is also willing to do the work of logging on and tracking foods every day. You must be diligent and also understand that MyPlate won’t have every food listed. If you prepare every meal at home, it may be frustrating inputting all of the individual ingredients, especially if you have specific dietary needs and the general dishes aren’t similar to the ones you make at home. Also, for folks who eat ethnic food that is cooked at home it may be difficult to find that specific cuisine. For example, I did a search for common Indian dishes like tikka masala, nan, biryani and tandoori chicken and didn’t find anything. I say this because I have a lot of Indian friends and my family cooks a lot of Indian food and I imagine for other ethnic groups it could get tricky when searching for specific dishes.

This tool seems practical for anyone that eats at fast food or chain restaurants, as they have almost all of those foods listed. I’ve tried using similar tools in the past, as someone looking to manage their weight, and always found it difficult because we were cooking at home and eating at independent restaurants that didn’t have their nutrition listed, or eating ethnic foods.

Lastly, I work for a wellness program for the employees of Price Chopper. There are 25, employees so it’s a considerable population and can resemble the general population for all intents and purposes. Providing weight management tools through a website is the easiest way to get these tools to a huge population. However, we’ve seen that many of the employees either do not own a computer or are computer illiterate. This makes it very difficult and we often have to

your Dietitian or doctor may give you advice or guidance that isn’t necessarily tailored to your specific dietary needs.

Based on my food analysis from FoodWorks and MyPlate it’s clear that I need to improve the amount of Vitamin D in my diet by increasing my milk, non-fat dairy consumption and/or possibly taking a Vitamin D supplement. In addition, I could increase my red and orange vegetables (red and orange peppers, carrots, etc.) thereby increasing my Vitamin A, by simply adding more to my salads and dishes I cook at home. Lastly, I could increase my whole grains. Increasing just the whole grains such as oats and brown rice is something that would be pragmatic, reasonable and enjoyable for me. Keeping a food record is one of simplest, cheapest, most revelatory activities that one can do to become more mindful of and attentive to what they consume and its effect on the body.