Self Evaluation of Dietary Intake

Comparison of dietary intake with Choose My Plate. Grains Vegetables Fruits Dairy Protein foods Oils Refined grains Dark green Whole fruit Seafood Red and orange Fruit juice Meat, poultry, and eggs Beans and peas Starchy Other Grains are categorized into whole and refined grains. Whole grains comprises of the entire grain kernel whereas the refined grains have been ground to remove germ and bran. The amount of grain intake is dependent on such factors as gender, age, and physical activity. The daily consumption of grains as recommended by Choose My Plate for female adults aged between the ages of 19-30 years is 6 ounce or a minimum of 3 ounces. For a healthy protein foods intake, it is recommended that at least 5 and a half ounce of protein foods be consumed daily.

My protein foods intake level is 3 and a half meaning that it is below the recommended level. Oils are obtained from different plants and fish and they provide essential nutrients. Usually, oils are liquid at the room temperature and the most commonly consumed oils are olive, cotton oil, sunflower, soybean among others. Additionally, oils obtained from plants are cholesterol free. • Shift to healthier beverage and food choices – in places of less healthy choices, choose foods and beverages that are nutrient-dense across and within all food groups. Personal and cultural preferences should be considered to ease the accomplishment and maintenance of these shifts. My dietary intake does not align with the dietary guidelines for Americans hence all the guidelines are not met.

Carbohydrate Intake: Total calories consumed = 1701 Calories from carbohydrates = 1701 4 = 425. 25 % calories from carbohydrates = 425. American Heart Association recommendations Foods that are high in nutrients contain proteins, whole grains, minerals and other nutrient but they contain low amounts of calories. Therefore, they are suitable for controlling body weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol. According to American heart association, a healthy dietary eating pattern must: • have a variety of vegetables and fruits • emphasize on low-fat dairy products • contain legumes and nuts • include whole grains • contain non-tropical vegetable oils The American heart association recommends that the consumption food choices be free from sodium, saturated fats, sweets, trans fat and sugared beverages (Gidding, 2005). A healthy eating plan is that which fits the dietary approaches to stop hypertension eating plan which is related to the calorie requirements in the food preferences.

The association, therefore, recommends limiting the intake of foods with high calories by reducing the amount of sodium, saturated and trans fats you eat. Firstly, there is a need for intake of more vegetables to meet the daily recommendation and this may be achieved by eating vegetables as salads as well as shifting to foods and snacks that are prepared using vegetables such as hamburgers, sandwiches, and pizzas. Secondly, consumption of whole grains is needed to help supplement my diet with fibre and this may be achieved by consuming brown bread, bran flakes and fruits such as avocado which has high fibre contents. Thirdly, my diet contained no food from dairy products and therefore incorporation of low-fat milk products is necessary.