Download Nutritional Analysis Project - Brittany Wrasman`s Portfolio

KNH 213
Nutritional Analysis Project
4/23/13
Brittany Wrasman
I would consider myself to be a conscious eater, always concerned about
what type of food I consume and the portions I consume it in. However, I am not
good about writing my intake down and monitoring my nutritional consumption on
a regular basis. This project really sparked my thoughts on how I manage my diet
with an on-the-go lifestyle, how I monitor my portion sizes, and how I incorporate
all the food groups into my meals. It has made me realize that I need to be more
aware of what foods I am consuming, the portions I am consuming, and my
nutritional needs if, as a registered dietitian, I am going to expect a future client to
do so.
To set my nutrition goal for total caloric intake, I calculated my estimated
caloric needs by taking my total weight of 127 pounds and dividing it by 2.2 kg. I
then took this number and multiplied it by 30 kilocalories/kg, which equaled 1,735
calories. I then decided to set my minimum caloric intake to 1500 kcal/day and my
maximum intake to 2000 kcal/day. I felt that this was a good fluctuation range for
my calorie intake per day to maintain my weight or possibly lose a couple of pounds
if I increase my physical activity level. Although I do not workout on a regular basis I
stay physically active by walking to and from classes everyday, which adds up to be
several miles per day.
For my lifestyle, I decided to strive to get 50% of my total calories from
carbohydrates, 30% from fat, and 20% from protein. After evaluating my intake on
Fitday.com, I seemed to have no problem consuming 50% of my total calories in the
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form of carbohydrates. My biggest struggle with balancing my caloric intake was
between fats and protein. Because of my limited budget for food expenses, I tend to
not purchase any meat products when I go grocery shopping; therefore the major
source for my protein intake comes from peanut butter. I feel that this is a cause for
my lower protein percentage from total calories. Throughout the 7 days that I
recorded, my total calorie intake did not exceed 1860 calories on any day and on
average was really close to my calculated goal of 1735 calories.
One of the major issues for me was not meeting the recommended amounts
of vitamin A and C on a regular basis. I think the reason for not meeting the vitamin
A and C values in my diet is not consuming enough fruits and vegetables. Another
issue I need to work on in my diet is decreasing my intake of sodium. I consumed a
minimum of 2,000 mg of sodium everyday, when I was striving to consume around
1,500mg/day. Although I never add salt to my foods, I believe a big contributor to
this number is my consumption of frozen foods and boxed food items. One of the
reasons I usually purchase these products is due to their extended shelf life and
convenience. Due to my busy lifestyle of school and work I usually make it to the
grocery store about every other week. I purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, but I
consume those within several days after purchasing to prevent them from spoiling. I
then consume non-perishable foods until I make it to the grocery store again to
stock up on fresh produce and snacks. I need to get into the habit of purchasing my
groceries on a weekly basis in order to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables to pack
for my lunch each day and attempt to eliminate the highly processed snacks in my
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diet. By doing this I feel I could increase my vitamin A and C intakes and at the same
time decrease my sodium intake.
My calcium, iron, and dietary fiber intakes tended to meet or come close to
meeting the recommended dietary allowances per day. In order to make sure I am
meeting my calcium needs everyday I am going to try to not only consume a glass of
milk at breakfast, but also try to incorporate a glass at dinner time. I could also make
yogurt a more regular part of my diet. The reason I am not meeting my iron needs
some days is the lack of meat in my diet. Although peanuts have a small amount of
iron in them, I am going to try to incorporate higher iron sources into my diet, such
as chicken, broccoli, and beans. The main source of dietary fiber in my diet comes
from the cereals I eat for breakfast, however another way I could increase my intake
is through the consumption of beans, fruits and vegetables.
Overall, I think my main goal in improving my diet needs to be increasing my
fresh fruit and vegetable intake. By consuming more fresh items and decreasing my
consumption of salty snacks, I should be able to meet all my nutritional needs and
decrease my sodium intake. I also consume an adult multivitamin daily, which helps
to ensure that I’m meeting my essential vitamin and mineral needs each day. One
area I want to work on after this analysis is being more aware of when I am hungry
versus eating due to stress or as a procrastination tool. I know in a lot of
circumstances I find myself wanting something sweet after a long, stressful day or
searching for a snack to take a break from studying. In order to cut back on the
portions I am eating and maintain a feeling of satiety longer, I need to work on
increasing my water intake. The AI of water for women on a daily bases is 9 cups
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(Staff). On a good day I consume about 5 cups. I think this is a big factor as to why I
find myself hungry frequently and why I get headaches almost on a daily basis. I am
dehydrating my body and adding to my feeling of tiredness. Instead of reaching for
a snack when I am stressed or looking for a procrastination tool, I need to fill up a
glass of water.
After evaluating my 7-day food intake, a food item that was incorporated into
my diet everyday was peanut butter. The idea of peanut butter can be traced back to
the time of the Aztecs, however a St. Louis physician developed the concept of
making peanuts into a paste in 1890. This peanut butter paste was created as a
protein substitute for patients with bad teeth. In 1895, the Kellogg brothers
patented a process for creating peanut butter through steaming the nuts, however,
Dr. George Washington Carver, who developed over 300 uses for peanuts, is usually
credited as the father of the peanut industry. Peanut butter was introduced to the
world in 1904 and in 1908 the Krema Products Company in Columbus, OH began
selling peanut butter to the public. The J.M. Smucker Company (Jif) now operates the
largest peanut butter plant in the world, producing 250,000 jars everyday (History).
Due to their name and appearance, it is usually assumed that peanuts are
part of the nut family, however, they are actually considered to be a legume (Erdos).
The shelled peanut functions as the seed and is planted in April when the soil
temperatures begin to warm. A unique characteristic of the peanut plant is that it
flowers above the ground, but fruits below the ground. After about 120-160 days,
the peanuts are harvested using a machine to loosen the plant and then cutting it
free from the root. After being shaken to remove the soil, the plant is set out in the
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sun for 2-3 days to dry and a machine is used to pick the peanuts off the vine. The
peanuts are then inspected to evaluate their quality and value and from there they
are sent to shelling plants for the removal of debris, sorted and shelled, and
inspected. Once the peanuts reach the manufacturers, they are roasted in special
ovens and cooled rapidly. The rapid cooling process halts the cooking process,
retains an even color, and prevents the loss of oil. Through a process called
blanching, the outer skin of the peanuts are removed, the kernels are split and
cleaned, and are sorted a final time. Finally, the peanuts are ground up two short
times, which prevents flavor damage. For a company to legally label a product as
peanut butter, it must contain a minimum of 90% peanuts with no artificial
sweeteners, colors, or preservatives. The difference between peanut butter labeled
“natural” versus regular peanut butter is that natural peanut butter contains no
added stabilizers for freshness, but may still contain natural sweeteners and salt
(How It’s Made).
There are 3 common varieties of peanuts grown in the United States:
Virginia, Spanish, and Runner peanuts; however, the Runner peanuts are most
commonly used in the production of peanut butter. Virginia peanuts are primarily
grown in North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Texas; Spanish peanuts are
commonly grown in Texas and Oklahoma; and Runner peanuts are mostly grown in
Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma (How It’s Made). The
United States is the third largest producer of peanuts in the world, following China
and India (Erdos).
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After flipping through the book, “What I Eat,” I decided to compare my food
intake with that of Lan Guihua, a 68-year-old citrus grower from Ganjiagou, Sichuan
Province in China. What drew my attention to Lan is her similarity in height, weight,
and calorie intake compared to myself. She consumes 1900 calories/day, which is
around my intake, she is 5’3”, I’m 5’4”, and she weighs 121 pounds compared to my
weight of 127 pounds. Lan and the other 43 families in her village, which is located
in the south-central region of the province, grow their own vegetables, peanuts,
soybeans, and oranges. Lan’s breakfast consisted of eggs, fresh from her chickens,
and Xifan, a rice porridge. For lunch and dinner, Lan usually consumes pickled
Chinese cabbage and hot chili peppers with hot chili oil, eggplant and green beans,
duck egg with salt, sweet potato leaves, bottle gourd soup with ginger and hot chili
oil, cucumber with hot chili oil, Hui guo rou, which is a twice-cooked pork with
green chilies in a red Sichuan pepper oil, white rice, and a rice water soup. The use
of chili oil and red hot peppers are commonly used in this region because it is an
abundant crop. It also stood out to me that Lan cooked a good portion of her meals
in homemade canola oil and liberally added MSG to many of her dishes. My initial
thought after reading over the list of foods Lan consumed in one day was that she
consumed a large amount food, but as I examined the menu more closely, I realized
that Lan consumed smaller portions of items and the bulk of her food was fresh
vegetables. None of the items Lan ate were processed or purchased; they were all
freshly harvested or came from her livestock. Throughout the day Lan drank 1.1
quarts of hot well water and in order to reach her mandarin orange grove, which
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serves as her cash crop, Lan has to travel up a steep hillside through bamboo
thickets (Menzel).
A main similarity between Lan’s diet and mine is the incorporation of
vegetables into each meal. Every meal of Lan’s incorporated some type of vegetable,
and I strive to consume a vegetable with all of my meals. Also, the only drink she
consumed throughout the day was water, which is the main source of liquid in my
diet as well. One thing that I noticed is that Lan did not consume any fruits or dairy
throughout her day. This is probably due to her village producing primarily
vegetables and raising chickens, ducks, and pork. They don’t consume the mandarin
oranges because that is their source of income and they don’t raise any milkproducing animals. I also found it very interesting that in the United States health
conscious people try to avoid foods with added MSG, where as the region in China
where Lan lived they liberally added it to their meats. One of the focuses in Lan’s
story was how she was preparing a big feast for everyone in her village, inviting
anyone that passed by her house to join in the meal. This made me think of the
gatherings I have with my huge family and how we all come together at holidays to
share in a feast and socialize. This reiterated to me that no matter where you live in
the world a common item that can bring people together is food. I think Lan’s
physically demanding work, her high consumption of fresh vegetables and meat
products, and her easy going, fun personality, allows her to live a long, healthy life.
Living a busy lifestyle I tend to fall back on convenience foods and fail to take
the time to prepare fresh, nutritious meals. I also find myself not taking the time to
enjoy the foods I am consuming, which sometimes leads to unnecessary and
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overconsumption of food. This project has helped me become more aware that as a
future nutrition expert I need to monitor and constantly be evaluating my diet, in
order to serve as a positive role model for my clients and provide them with
personal struggles and experiences. I found it very interesting to explore the diet of
an individual in another country, evaluating the similarities and differences between
our diets and why these similarities and differences exist. Analyzing my 7-day intake
really opened my eyes to some of my eating patterns, whether they were good or
bad. I always knew I loved peanut butter, but I didn’t realize how big of staple it was
in my diet until after this project. I also noticed that I tend to eat the same foods for
breakfast and lunch everyday and my dinners seemed to have the most variation
from day to day. This project forced me to take some time to evaluate my food
choices and examine ways to improve my nutritional consumption.
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References
Erdos, Joseph. "The History of Peanut Butter." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/peanut-butterhistory_n_1222585.html>.
"History." Peanut Butter Lovers. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.
<http://peanutbutterlovers.com/pb-lovers/pb101/history/>.
"How It’s Made." Peanut Butter Lovers.Web. 20 Apr. 2013.
<http://peanutbutterlovers.com/pb-lovers/pb101/how-its-made/>.
Menzel, Peter, and Faith D'Aluisio. What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets. Napa,
CA: Material World, 2010. Print.
"My Fitness Log." FitDay. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.fitday.com/fitness/FoodLog.html?_s_NewLogin=1>.
Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Water: How Much Should You Drink Every Day?" Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 21
Apr. 2013. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283>.
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