Diet Analysis Project

As I'm growing older I've realized that I need to be more aware of the
foods I eat in order to maintain a health lifestyle and to make up for the exercise I
usually participate in but can't fit into my busy schedule. After observing my 3
day nutrient report from the SuperTracker portion of the USDA website I noticed
many things concerning my diet. I realized that I really don't eat as unhealthy as I
thought I did. I also realized that there are few a nutrients that my diet lacks. My
plan is to seek out foods that I can add onto my diet that can compensate for the
deficiencies and cut back on the foods that contain what I consume too much of.
In addition, since I may be consuming more calories, I hope to put together a
plausible plan to fit more exercise in my busy schedule.
The nutrients I hope to increase in my diet are is dietary fiber and linoleic
acid. Dietary fiber is very important in ones diet because it helps lower blood
cholesterol and helps promote movement in the digestive system. Some
examples of foods that are high in dietary fibers are potatoes, green beans,
beans, and apples. When I observed the bar graphs on SuperTracker I realized
that I had very low levels in the fruit and vegetable categories. With this in mind I
realize I must increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in my diet to increase
my dietary fiber intake. In addition to dietary fiber, according to my nutrient report
my diet is also deficient in linoleic acid. Linoleic acid is a fatty acid that cannot be
produced by humans and is also essential for function such as skin and hair
growth, energy production, reproductive health, healthy brain function, and
maintaining bone density. Coincidentally, nuts are a great source of linoleic acid
and dietary fiber. Other foods that provide linoleic acid are vegetable oil or
processed foods like pizza, french fries, or eggs.
The minerals I hope to increase in my diet are calcium, potassium, copper,
icon, magnesium, and zinc. The main importance of minerals for the body is they
help it function, they provide structural support for the body, and they regulate
tissue growth. Some foods that can provide my diet with more minerals are
cheese, salmon, spinach, avocados, mollusks, and chocolate. Fortunately, these
foods are high in multiple minerals so eating these foods will increase my levels
on many different minerals at one time. Unfortunately, my diet is also high in
sodium so I should avoid foods that are high in sodium such as cured meats or I
could decrease the amount of sodium I put in my food such as salt or soy sauce.
The vitamins I would like to increase in my diet are vitamin A, B12, C, D, E
and choline. Vitamins are mainly essential to ones diet because it keeps the cells
in the body strong and helps them function properly. They also help with the
formation of red blood cells, hormones, and genetic material. The foods that can
provide my diet with increased vitamins are leafy greens, cereal, broccoli,
sausage, sunflower seeds, and turkey. Similar to foods high in minerals, many of
these foods provide multiple vitamin benefits so adding them to my diet will be
sure to increase many different vitamin levels.
As I was researching what foods were high in nutrients, minerals, and
vitamins I noticed there are many foods that are beneficial in many different
ways. For example, salmon is a great source of calcium, iron, magnesium,
vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B and many other essential nutrients, minerals and
vitamins. With this in mind, it is important to try to maximize on the food I eat by
focusing on including food that benefits me in different levels. With a more
balanced diet and more exercise, I think I can maintain a more healthy lifestyle.
Delores' Nutrients Report 05/04/14 - 05/06/14
Your plan is based on a 2000 Calorie allowance.
Nutrients
Taret
A!erae "aten
#tatus
Total Calories
2000 Calories
16$$ Calories
%n&er
Protein '()))
46
*0
+,
Protein '- Calories()))
10 - $5- Calories
1*- Calories
+,
Car.o/y&rate '()))
1$0
214
+,
Car.o/y&rate '- Calories()))
45 - 65- Calories
52- Calories
+,
Dietary 0i.er
25
10
%n&er
Total #uars
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
31
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
A&&e& #uars
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
*4
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
Total 0at
20 - $5- Calories
24- Calories
+,
#aturate& 0at
5 10- Calories
3- Calories
+,
Polyunsaturate& 0at
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
*- Calories
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
6onounsaturate& 0at
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
10- Calories
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
1inoleic Aci& '()))
12
11
%n&er
1inoleic Aci& '- Calories()))
5 - 10- Calories
6- Calories
+,
7-1inolenic Aci& '- Calories()))
086 - 182- Calories
085- Calories
%n&er
7-1inolenic Aci& '()))
181
180
%n&er
+2ea $ - "PA
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
* 2
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
+2ea $ - D9A
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
1$ 2
No Daily Taret or 1i2it
C/olesterol
5 $00 2
166 2
+,
6inerals
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A!erae "aten
#tatus
Calciu2
1000 2
$34 2
%n&er
Potassiu2
4*00 2
1*06 2
%n&er
#o&iu2))
5 2$00 2
2*45 2
+!er
Copper
300 :
6*6 :
%n&er
;ron
14 2
3 2
%n&er
6anesiu2
$10 2
155 2
%n&er
P/osp/orus
*00 2
3$5 2
+,
#eleniu2
55 :
104 :
+,
<inc
4 2
* 2
%n&er
=ita2ins
Taret
A!erae "aten
#tatus
=ita2in A
*00 : RA"
132 : RA"
%n&er
=ita2in >6
18$ 2
186 2
+,
=ita2in >12
284 :
281 :
%n&er
=ita2in C
*5 2
52 2
%n&er
=ita2in D
15 :
1 :
%n&er
=ita2in "
15 2 AT
5 2 AT
%n&er
=ita2in ,
30 :
10* :
+,
0olate
400 : D0"
401 : D0"
+,
T/ia2in
181 2
181 2
+,
Ri.o?la!in
181 2
181 2
+,
Niacin
14 2
25 2
+,
C/oline
425 2
141 2
%n&er
HYPERLINK "javascript:void%20window.open(!ttp:""ods.od.ni!.#ov"$%" ;n?or2ation
a.out &ietary supple2ents8
** If you are African American, hypertensive, diabetic, or have chronic kidney disease, reduce your sodium to 1500 m a
day. In addition, people who are ae 51 and
older need to reduce sodium to 1500 m a day. All others need to reduce sodium to less than !"00 m a day.
*** #utrients that appear twice $protein, carbohydrate, linoleic acid, and -linolenic acid% have two separate
recommendations&
1% Amount eaten $in rams% compared to your minimum recommended intake.
!% 'ercent of (alories eaten from that nutrient compared to the recommended rane.
You may see different messaes in the status column for these ! different recommendations.