Foods and Food Components to Reduce Essays

Foods and Food Components to Reduce Essays Foods and Food Components to Reduce Paper Foods and Food Components to Reduce Paper My body mass index or BMI is 18. 8 which is in the normal weight category. I have always been on the smaller side for my entire life and I have never had a doctor tell me my weight is an issue or I am malnourished. I use to play baseball but I quit a few years ago but I have started to play racquetball on occasion. I then started doing a work out program for a project in school I followed it for about a month. I normally do about 60 to 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. I do not do any vigorous-intensity workouts. I also do not do any muscle strengthening activities. According to my iprofile my DRI or daily recommended intake was 2462 kilocalories a day. Over the course of the project I was eating on average about 1107 kilocalories a day which is about 45 percent of my DRI. Which means I was normally under my DRI for calories. As far as I know I have only had one grandparent who has had diabetes and that grandparent is not related to me by blood so I do not believe that I am at risk. High blood pressure does run in my family but I have had several blood pressure test and they have all been within the normal limit. And my family does not have any significant history with heart disease and breast cancer. : Foods and Food Components to Reduce Sodium On day one I had a sodium intake of 4733mg of sodium. The foods that caused me to go over my limit were an In-N-Out double double with onions which was 1440mg and Panda Express firecracker chicken had 1062mg. On day two I had a sodium intake of 3884mg of sodium. The food items that led to this high sodium intake were the two bean and cheese burritos I had which had a combined total of 2431mg of sodium . On day three I had a sodium intake of 3822mg of sodium which is 166. 2 percent more than my recommended intake. The foods that led to such high sodium levels are the Taco Bell bean burrito which had 1216mg of sodium, a burrito supreme from Taco Bell which had 1340mg of sodium, and a Subway roast beef sandwich which had about 660mg of sodium. Saturated Fat My daily recommended intake for saturated fats was 27. 4g a day. For day one I had an intake of 48. 2g, day two I had consumed 20. 1g, and on the third day I had taken in 28. 9g of saturated fat. Added Sugars The foods I ate that were high in added sugars were two snickers bars on day one, no added sugars on day two but on day three I had a snickers bar and a hershey bar. I am not to worried about my added sugars because I dont eat them that often and I never really drink beverages with added sugars Refined Grains On day one I had eaten one In-N-Out double double and the bun was refined grain. Day two I had eaten two bean burritos from Taco Bell and the tortilla was a source of refined grains. Day three I had eaten a a Taco Bell bean burrito and a burrito supreme both had tortillas with refined grains. I dont think I did to bad in the refined grain section I was having at least one or two servings a day. Alcohol I did not consume any alcohol during this diet project. Foods and Nutrients to Increase Vegetables Variety and Fruits The only dark green vegetable I ate over the course of my diet study was lettuce. I only had tomatoes as my red vegetable and another vegetable I ate were onions. My normal meal does not meet the goal of half the plate. I do enjoy most fruits but I am not very fond of vegetables I have always been picky when it came to my vegetables. Whole Grains I did not have any whole grains during this diet study therefore I did not meet my goal of three servings a day. To add more whole grain to my diet I could start making sandwiches at home with whole gain bread. I could also start eating a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast everyday. Seafood I did not eat any seafood I typically do not eat a lot of it. My source of omega 3 fatty acids come from beans. On day one I had zero percent omega 3s, on day two I had 51. 8 percent, and on the third day I had 25 percent of my daily intake. Dietary Fiber My recommended DRI for fiber is 38g a day and on day one I consumed 20g of fiber, day two I had consumed 22g, and on day three I had taken in 22g again. I had fallen short on my daily fiber intake over the three days of my diet study. To increase my fiber I could eat some carrots for a snack in the afternoon or have an apple or orange with my breakfast in the mornings. I could also have some pinto beans with dinner to increase my fiber or I could eat oatmeal for breakfast and increase my fiber intake even more by putting chopped fruit in the oatmeal. Vitamins and Minerals On my first day I was low in just about all of my vitamins and minerals but on day two I had the correct levels of thiamin and I had eaten more iron, niacin, and vitamin B6 than my recommended DRI. On day three I was low in all vitamins and minerals except for iron which I had reached my DRI for iron. To increase my levels of folate I could have a cup of strawberries or a cup of raw cantaloupe melon. I could also have an ounce of peanuts and two raw spears of broccoli. I was low in potassium levels so some foods I could have a half cup of cooked mushrooms, a small banana, about a one third cup of raisins and a cup of iceberg lettuce. One vitamin I was low in was vitamin C and three food I could eat to increase my levels of vitamin C would be oranges, red peppers, or strawberries. Self Evaluation Based on what I have written it seems that I do not really have any strengths when it comes to my dietary needs. I have realized that my major weakness is that I pretty much just eat what I want and how much I want with no regard to my DRI. My exercise habits are currently pretty poor I could start lifting weights when I go play racquetball or even start running in the mornings or at night after dinner or work. Another habit I could change is trying to eat more home cooked meals rather than eating fast food all the time or I could start keeping track of the amount of calories and nutrients I take in on a daily basis.