Nutrition Analysis

Part II:

1. (8 marks) From which food group (groups) are you short of the recommended servings? By how much? Which food group (groups) are you over the recommended servings? By how much?

After recording my daily intake for two days in the dairy above, I classified my consumption based on Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide's recommendations for an adult male between 19 and 50 years of age. After the two days, I consumed 16 servings of fruits and vegetables, which falls within the suggested bracket. However, 16 servings is on the lower end of the recommended range. I can still consume 1-2 more servings in this category and still be well within the range.

For the "Grain Product" food group, I consumed 13 full servings, which is slightly below the recommended value of 8/day (16 for this exercise). Ideally, I should be consuming 1-2 more servings of from this food group.

The recommended number of servings from the "Milk and Alternatives" food group is 2/day (4 for this two-day exercise).However; I consumed 6 full servings on each day, totaling 12 servings for this assignment. I tripled the recommended value for this category by consuming an extra 4 servings per day.

The final food group is "Meat and Alternatives", where Canada's Food Guide recommends 3 servings per day. After the two-day exercise, I consumed 13 servings from this category; 7 servings more than what is suggested.

Eating Well with Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide also has a category for foods that should be consumed in moderation. Ideally, I should not consume limited foods, but over the last 2 days, I consumed 6 servings from this category – mostly salad dressing and sauces.

Lastly, 2-3 tbsp of unsaturated fat should be added to a complete daily diet. I was slightly below the recommend value on "day 1", but was slightly above the recommended value on "day 2". After the two-day exercise, I broke even in this category and met the suggested requirement.

2. (1 mark) Do these two days reflect your typical eating habits? Explain.

These two days accurately reflect my typical eating habits. The first day in my diary is a typical work day for me, which involves an equal balance of school, work and competitive training for my sport; triathlon. The second day in my diary is a typical weekend day for me, which involves a large block of work, since there aren't any courses, and a bit of training and homework.

3. From your diary, list

a. Foods that should be limited:

I did not consume too many foods from the "Limited" category, but I did add ketchup, ranch dressing, salt, pepper and brown sugar to my meals at one point. The only other food that I would cut from my diet would be the Cliff Bar I ate. It's one of the only prepackaged food that I consume. Although it is 70% organic, it does have many unwanted ingredients. I wouldn't consider it an unhealthy food choice, but I wouldn't consider it ideal either.

b. Fats that should be limited:

My diet tends to be higher in fat (lots of 1%-2% dairy, for example) but I try not to consume unnecessary fats. I don't eat trans-fat to any degree and minimize the amount of butter, margarine and lard I consume. It is very rare that I will eat out at a restaurant or have prepackaged foods. I like to prepare my food myself.

c. Condiments:

The only condiments I used over the past 48 hours were ketchup and ranch dressing. I did make my own salad dressing on Day 2, but it was self-prepared with: lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper.

4. (8 marks) Examine your two-day food diary to assess the quality of your diet. List the following foods for each day:

a. All the vegetables and fruits prepared with little or no added fat, sugar, or salt. Are there more servings of whole vegetables and fruits than juice?

Of the 16 servings of fruits and vegetables, 11 of them were eaten raw. I fried an onion in my omelette, fried some veggies (mainly zucchini and peppers) into a stir fry and boiled some tomato sauce for my pasta. Aside from that, the only additions I made to my vegetables were adding some lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper to my salad. I didn't consume (and normally don't) any juices, making my number of vegetable servings higher than my number of servings of juice

b. All the dark green vegetables and orange vegetables. Did you eat at least one serving of each colour on each day?

I ate an avocado on Day 1, then a serving of carrot and broccoli on Day 2. I did not eat an orange vegetable on Day 1, but I did eat a dark green vegetable on both days and an orange vegetable on Day 2. This is something I will try to adjust and improve on for the future.

c. All the whole grains.

Just over half of my grain intake was whole wheat. I had whole wheat: bagel, granola, oatmeal, pita bread and a dinner roll. I try to choose the whole-grain option when there is one, but unfortunately, I still eat a relatively large amount of products that aren't whole grain. This area is one where I could potentially see the largest improvement.

d. All the Grain products that are low in fat, sugar, or salt

Only the granola and the oatmeal had specially labelled packages saying that they had specific health benefit. They both advertised being low in salt and granola was low in fat. The other products had no specific labelling at all. That being said, I rarely add sugars and salt to my food and try to make my own dressings and toppings that are healthier choices.

e. All the low fat fluid milk alternatives, and lean meats and alternatives prepared with little or no added salt.

The yogurt I ate was fat free and the rest of the dairy I consumed was only 1% or 2% fat. The almonds and walnuts I ate were unsalted (however the peanuts weren't). Lastly, the beef strips were lean meat. I do my best to buy extra lean meats and never eat high-fat dairies. My cheeses, milks and yogurts never go above 2% fat. However, as an athlete, my salt requirements are quite high. I drink a lot of water when I'm training and often use salt to help with my water retention. I didn't use and supplements during the two days above, but I will often consume salt tablets during a race and increase my sodium intake a day or two before a long distance triathlon.

f. All the beverages you drank except alcoholic beverages. Is water the biggest contributor of fluids?

The only drinks I consume are water and 1% milk. I drink much more water than I do milk, but I still consume up to a litre of 1% milk per day. I do not drink alcohol, coffee, tea, energy drinks or sodas, to any extent. I used to have juice once in a while, but have recently cut that out of my diet as well.

g. Unsaturated fats and oils. Did you eat 30-45 mL each day?

I did meet the 30-45 mL recommendation per day. I added lemon juice and vinegar to my salad in an attempt to eliminate regular high-fat dressings. This is something that I do often and it really helps me monitor my fat and oil consumption, all while reducing limited foods from my diet. In addition, I added garlic to my stir fry on Day 2. Not only is garlic flavorful, but its health benefits and anti-inflammatory properties are useful to me as well.

h. All the foods which contain trans fats. Check food packages for the volume of trans fats. Are these fats limited in your diet?

I try and limit my trans fat consumption as much as possible. Ideally, my trans fat consumption would be 0.0 g, but I can safely reason that some of the pre-packaged foods that I consume without labels (such as restaurant menus) do have some trans fat in them. Although I prepare most of my meals myself and rarely eat out, I cannot say that my diet is trans fat free. That being said, I never consume trans fat by choice.

5. (3 marks) Discuss whether your diet meets the following recommendations:

a. Enjoy a wide variety of foods from the four food groups.

Although I try to limit my meat, gluten and trans-fat intake, those are the only limitations I put on myself. I do try and to enjoy a wide variety of foods and like to make changes to my daily diet. I try not to rely on the same food time after time.

b. Include meat alternatives such as beans, lentils, and tofu often.

I used to be a vegetarian for a while and will return to not eating meat once my training season starts up again. I eat a lot of meat alternatives such as beans, lentils, tofu and nuts. My food diary shows that I ate a fair amount of nuts and beans.

c. Eat at least two servings of fish each week

Unfortunately, my diary doesn't show any fish intake over the two-day exercise. However, I do consume a fair amount of fish – normally 3 or 4 servings a week. This is also something that I need to work on in the future. Finding alternatives to fish will help me have a more balanced diet.

6. (2 marks) Compare your diet to the important nutrients in the food groups. Identify which nutrients, if any, you expect to be inadequate in your diet, and explain why.

For the most part, my diet was fairly well balanced. I met all the requirements