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Karimi 5

Niuosha Karimi

Diet Assignment

1. Vitamins and Minerals

The daily food log that I took for the day was very insightful. It helped me understand that there were some vital minerals and vitamins that I was low in. The three vitamins that I was low in included Vitamin D (22%), Vitamin E (25%), and Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) (53%). The three minerals that I was low in included magnesium (52%), calcium (61%), and iron (65%). These findings have been very insightful and valuable in helping me think again about my diet and come up with some ways that I would improve my diet to achieve the recommended mineral and vitamin intake in a day.

In order to improve Vitamin D through my personal habits and the diet that I will be consuming. For instance, I will spend some time outdoors in the morning to benefit from the Vitamin D obtained from direct sunlight. I will include a cup of cow’s milk in my breakfast since cow’s milk is fortified with Vitamin D. I will also include fat spreads and breakfast cereals in my breakfast to improve my Vitamin D intake. My lunch and dinner will rich in Vitamin D such as liver, red meat, egg yolks, and oily fish to improve my Vitamin D intake.

I will also improve on the meals that I will be consuming for my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For instance, Vitamin E levels by consuming avocados, guacamole, peanuts, kiwi, and other fruits. My breakfast dishes will include one full sliced avocado, one scrambled egg on two pieces of a toasted slice of rye bread, and one serving of peanut butter sandwich. These meals are rich in Vitamin E and will thus help to improve my Vitamin E intake. I will also include a cup of fresh mango juice and some roasted sunflower seeds for my drink and snacks. My dinner options will include roasted asparagus with wheat germ oil, and a piece of grilled chicken smeared with red bell pepper.

I also had lower levels of Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid). I conducted research and identified the fact that almost all vegetables, meats, and wholegrain foods contain good levels of Vitamin B5. For example, I will eat chicken, liver and kidneys, beef, eggs, and mushrooms at the recommended levels to help overcome the Vitamin B5 deficiency. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends an average of 26 ounces of poultry each week. Therefore, I will eat about 3.5 ounces of chicken breast during lunch and dinner a day and consume alternative meals on other days. During alternating days, I may consume 426mg per serving of lamb liver or 536mg of chicken liver. One fried egg consumed in a day and a cup of brown mushrooms, raw, and whole pieces since they are both rich in Vitamin B5.

The three minerals that I was low in included magnesium, calcium, and iron. I will include ½ cup of beans in my breakfast to meet the recommended levels of magnesium because black beans are a great source of magnesium. For my lunch, I will eat ½ cup of pinto beans and a cupful of quinoa rice, and one spoonful of cheese. I will also eat oil-roasted peanuts as my chosen snacks, serving size of ¼ cup and 1 oz of pumpkin seeds as they are a great source of magnesium. A cup of fresh orange juice will meal that I will have to eat. During dinner, I will eat 2 oz of salmon with 1 serving of boiled red-skinned potatoes.

Calcium is an essential mineral that I was low in. I will improve my calcium intake by eating bread from fortified flour, a glass of milk, and a tablespoon of cheese for my breakfast. I will increase the amount of green leafy vegetables during my lunch and dinner. For example, I will drink a glass of soya drinks with added calcium.

I was also low on iron. To increase my iron levels, I would add ½ cup of dry oatmeal for breakfast along with honey bunches of oats cereal with 1% milk because of the rich iron they contain. During lunch, I will include grilled chicken and oven-baked sweet potato sticks. I will also carry some nuts and dried apricots for my snacks. I will eat ½ a cup of red kidney beans and chickpeas for my dinner as they are also rich sources of iron.

2. MACRONUTRIENTS

Most of my macronutrient recommendations/targets were not met. I was actually surprised that I only met one of the four macronutrient targets. I was on target for my carbohydrates target [181.2g/180.5g (100%)]. However, I was low on my energy target [1462 kcal/ 1805 kcal/ (81%)]. I was also low on my protein intake, [69.8g/112.8g (62%)]. I was lower in my fat intake (49.1g/70.2 g (70%). I had always been trying to eat a balanced diet daily and thus the results surprised me a little bit that I was not meeting most of the macronutrient targets. If I was unable to meet the macronutrient target for three of the four macronutrients, I cannot imagine how much I have been unable to achieve them over the past twenty years.

The energy target was 81% which means I was closer to achieving my target. I could improve this by eating foods that offer more energy such as sesame seeds and yogurt. I will pack a cupful of sesame seeds that I can consume during various times of the day to meet my energy targets for the day. I will also drink a cup yogurt during the three main meals of the day in addition to the other energy-giving foods to meet my energy targets for the day.

My protein intake was at 62% which means that protein was a macronutrient that I was consuming in lower quantities than needed. I have 38% to achieve my protein target. I will improve my diet to achieve the protein target level by including Alaska Native fish stew in my diet and a piece of avocado. An oven-cooked salmon will also help to increase my protein levels. My friend recommended that I eat 8.1g of 2% reduced-fat milk because it contains a high percentage of protein levels. This will help me to increase my protein levels.

I was slightly lower in my fat intake by 70%. I will thus increase the fat intake by increasing my consumption of beef fat, low-fat cottage cheese since it has 2% fat, and drinking some milk with 2% fat with DHA. I understand that unsaturated fats lower the risks of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and other coronary heart diseases. Therefore, I will consume foods with good fats such as vegetable oils. For example, I will eat a ½ cup of roasted sunflower seeds and three servings of one tablespoonful of salted peanut butter. Farmed raw salmon or Atlantic fish has considerably high levels of fat and will help achieve the desired fat levels. These dietary habits will help to increase my fat intake to the recommended fat levels.

In general, the activity has been eye-opening for me. The activity has helped me to understand the importance of paying attention to my diet and what I consume on a daily basis. For instance, I realized that I was consuming too much Vitamin C (251%) with very little Vitamin D (22%). I will ry to balance the different macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients since I am aware that too much or too little of the macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients could cause adverse effects on an individual. I will also increase the energy, protein, and fat that I consume on a daily basis to meet the macronutrient targets.