Food Journal Analysis

Food Journal Analysis

Fats, vitamins, and minerals also play a significant role in our dietary system. Human beings need a specific amount of fats in order for our body to function. When fats are digested, emulsified, and absorbed, they facilitate the intestinal absorption and transport of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamins are necessary for growth, vitality and the normal functioning of our bodies. We should have vitamins everyday in our diet and even should have vitamin supplements if necessary.(Donatelle, Rebecca J. (2005). Health, The Basics, 6th ed, San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc.)This week I have decided to give emphasis on these two essential nutrients. I will analyze my consumption of the fats and vitamins for the recorded day through the following questionnaire:

How many grams of fat can you consume in a day and not exceed 30 percent of your calories from fat? Use the CNPP recommendation for your daily calorie recommendation to calculate your answer. How did you do in this area for the day you recorded?

My daily intakes for fats must be less than or equal to 55 grams. It should account for 30% or less of the calories consumed daily, with saturated fats accounting for no more than 10% of the total fat intake.(http://www.trianglelifestyle.com/pages/feature1_JF02.html )I do not think I did much pleasant job in this area as my total fat intake was more than the CNPP recommendation with the difference of 15.8 grams. The suggested maximum intake was 106.5 grams.

How many grams of saturated fat can you consume in a day and not exceed 10 percent of calories from saturated fat? How did you do in this area for the day you recorded?

I can consume less than 20 grams of saturated fat. In this area, I think I have done well as the difference between my intake and the recommendations was only 0.7 grams. The recommended daily saturated fat is 30.4 grams and my consumption is 31.1 grams.

For the day you recorded your intake if you ate a serving of a high-fat food, for example, lasagna, how could you avoid exceeding the recommended fat intake for the day?

I did consume a high-fat food, which is “pizza”, for the recorded day. In order to avoid the excess fat intake for that day, I assume I could have cut down the fat based food like roasted pistachios and scrambled egg sandwich. I believe that if I did not consumed the other two foods but only the pizza my fat intake could have been in the recommended range.

If you could substitute a serving of lower fat lasagna for the higher fat choice, what effect would this have on your other food choices and on your calorie and nutrient intakes for that day?

There would be a greater effect on my food intakes, calories, and nutrient intakes for that day. The alternation of lower fat lasagna instead of higher fat one would lower the fat intakes level of my recorded day, total calories intake could be in the suggested level, and of course the all nutrients intake would show a different numbers and amounts than my actual results. As for the food choices, I think the cutting down of the pistachios, and scrambled eggs would not be necessary for this alternation.

Considering regular lasagna, which ingredients most likely contribute most to the total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol in the higher fat lasagna selection?

The simple ingredients for regular lasagna are ground meats (beef, chicken, pork, and so on), vegetables, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, canned tomato paste, and lasagna noodles. The amount of nutrients depends on the serving size of each of the ingredients. The nutrients intake is directly proportional to the serving size; however, if we assume that all the ingredients are 100 grams of servings each, it is the two kinds of cheese that will contribute most in the total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol distribution in our body.

How could you change those ingredients to reflect a reduction in fat content?

In order to reduce fat content in lasagna, I can substitute lean meats instead of ground meats, fat free cottage and mozzarella cheese(thinly sliced reduce fat) instead of the regular cheese.

How did the day’s recorded total for calories and vitamins compare with your recommended amounts? Did the day’s meals meet or exceed your need for energy? Describe how your actual intake varied from the CNPP recommendation.

The recommended total calorie intake was 1724 (KCALS) but my in take was 2738 (KCALS), which is about 1014 (KCALS) more than the suggested amount. The recorded day’s meals undoubtedly exceed my energy requirement for a day.

For a clear examination between my Vitamin intake and those of the CNPP recommended intake, I have provided a table below:

Nutrients My Intake CNPP Recommended Intake

Vitamin A (mcg RAE)

558.6 700

Vitamin C (mg)

500.6 65

Vitamin E (mg a-TE) 9.8 15

Vitamin B6 (mg)

3.1 1.2

Vitamin B12 (mcg) 3.9 2.4

Did your meals present too little of any of the vitamins and minerals listed in the CNPP materials? Which ones?

In all the Vitamins, my intake are more than the recommended