A. Internal and external signals drive hunger and appetite, these led us to decide whether to reject or eat food. Stimulations in the body drive our appetite and what we want to eat. Hormones, organs and the nervous system drive our hunger. Appetite is driven by where we are, the environment in which we are in is the number one drive for appetite. Other factors that drive appetite include time of day, social custom, mood, memories of a certain food, sights and smells. The number one thing that influences what I eat is my environment and who I am with. If I am hanging around at home, I usually eat healthy because it’s the food that I buy. I try not to buy goodies otherwise I will eat them all in one sitting. But, if I am out with friends, at an event or eating out, I pretend like calories don’t count. When I have no control of what types of foods will be at a place, then I will more than likely grab cookies, chips, or even get some cookie salad. I eat most of my meals at my apartment, I buy my own food so I usually stick with the basics like eggs, salads and cereal. I live with three other girls and they usually don’t buy junk food, but usually once a week someone will bake cookies. The four of us will eat the whole plate of cookies in less than 10 minutes. I have a little bit of a sweet tooth so once I start its very hard to stop. The positive influences are that I buy my own food so I can control what I eat, my roommates also eat pretty healthy for the most part. The only negative thing with my environment is when my roommates or I bake cookies or bring anything back to the apartment that is junk food.
B. My food groups where pretty consistent with what the recommendations where and what I ate. My fruits were the only groups that were over the recommendation. My fruits were over by ¼ c. My vegetables, dairy, protein and oil where all lower than My Plate recommendations. The one category that was way below was my protein intake, which was around 2 ½ cups under. The rest of my categories where no more than a ½ cup under. My grains were on target, with the recommendation being 8 oz. and my intake was 8 oz. These are all easy categories that I can fix. All I have to do is eat a little more vegetables, fruit and protein. I already mostly eat foods within these categories so this just means that I am going to have to make sure I get adequate amounts in all of my three meals throughout the day. Protein is the category in which I need to add the most amounts too, easy fix is to increase my intake in eggs, Greek yogurt, milk and oats. All of these foods I eat multiple times during the week, but I am going to have to make sure I get the recommended amount each day. This will happen if I make a detailed list of what I am going to eat throughout the whole week, and make sure my grocery list is detailed in all food groups.
C. There were a couple of nutrients that I consumed in inadequate amounts compared to their RDA/A, these included Vitamin D and A and Potassium. First off Vitamin D, this actually shocked me because I occasionally eat tuna and eggs, which have Vitamin D in them. I also started to realize that people in northern states also tend to lack vitamin D because for almost half of the year, the sunlight levels are lower. Ways that I can increase my Vitamin D levels would be to continue to eat an adequate amount of eggs, tuna, drink orange juice and when I’m really feeling fancy, salmon. Salmon is a great source of vitamin D and also has high levels of Omega-3, another nutrient that I am lacking. My Potassium levels were very low; I was only getting half of what I am supposed to be consuming. Potassium is a huge part of the body, it is in just about every cell and is a big part of the brain and heart. We can’t live without Potassium so getting the right amounts is crucial. Too little Potassium will affect the functions of the heart, brain and maintaining fluid balance. Getting too much Potassium is detrimental to the heart, and can untimely stop the heart if too much is present. Ways in which I can increase my Potassium levels without it affecting me is to eat potatoes and yogurt. I usually eat a lot of potatoes when I am at home and at family gatherings because my uncle is a potato farmer. Eating yogurt every day for a snack will help significantly with my vitamin D levels, especially since winter is approaching and sunlight levels won’t be as powerful. My last nutrient that was low in levels was Vitamin A. Vitamin A is critical in maintain healthy vision, skin and neurological function. Without adequate levels of Vitamin A throughout your lifetime, blindness can occur. Since I already have vision problems, this Vitamin is very important for me to consume. A lot of vegetables are rich in this vitamin, they include carrots, spinach and broccoli. I am lucky in that I am not a very picky eater and love eating these vegetables. This is an easy fix for me because now I am aware of my low levels and will look into buying more vegetables from now on. None of my nutrients where eaten in excess. My nutrient report shows that I either was under or my levels were right on track.
D. I do not take vitamins or any other supplements for a variety of reasons. First off, if I have vitamins I forget to take them. Second, they are usually very expensive! Some vitamins or supplements are necessary if your levels are low, usually the elderly will have calcium or iron supplements that they take. They can be beneficial if you have a deficiency but usually the vitamins or supplements that people take are in higher quantities then needed.
E. My empty calorie recommendations showed that my sugar levels where below my limit and my saturated fat was over my limit. Having saturated fats levels being over what is recommended for me is not food for my overall diet and health. Saturated fats are fats that are in animal products, this includes foods such as cheese, butter, and red meat. Cheese and other milk products I consume in large amounts, cheese is my favorite food and I sometimes eat it a couple times a day. Saturated fat contributes to the “bad” kind of cholesterol that often leads to cardiovascular diseases in people. If I want to reduce the chance of having any kind of cardiovascular issues like heart disease, I am going to have to buy products that are lower in saturated fats. I will have to consume more low fat dairy options, along with eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Step 6: Family and personal health history
I found out that varies members of my family have suffered from many different kinds of cancer, varying from colon, pancreatic, lung, ovarian and prostate cancer. Hypertension also runs very high in my family. Many people suffer from these conditions, many are affected due to not taking proper care of the body. If I want to avoid these health issues, there are a handful of things I can due. This is said over and over but the number one thing a person can do to keep the body healthy is by eating healthy, this includes eating lots of fruits and vegetables. When you eat good you feel good, you also have a less likely chance of becoming obese. Staying physically fit and maintaining a healthy weight is key in keeping your body healthy. Not using tobacco products and drinking alcohol in moderate will also help decrease the chance of getting lung, liver or pancreatic cancer. Since hypertension runs so high in my family, it is best if I continue to eat adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Drinking at least 8 ounces of water a day and keeping my salt intake low will also help. The number one thing that I can improve on is working out, if I want to decrease the chance of getting cancer or hypertension, I must keep my body healthy.
Step 7. Critical inquiry and summative analysis
To maintain a healthy lifestyle, that would be to cut back and lose weight, but more importantly keep weight off. My main concern is getting hypertension because it runs high in my family and around 1 in 3 Americans are affected by this. (McCoy) I am choosing this action because if I want to lower my chance of getting hypertension, I must keep myself at a balanced level. This will come with increasing my fruits and vegetables, especially ones that are rich in potassium. Also eating whole grains foods and staying away from processed foods. Cutting back on my salt levels, having a low sodium diet, decrease excess calorie, fats and sugar will help significantly in having a healthier lifestyle. Monitoring my blood pressure and having yearly physicals will make sure that I am on track of staying healthy and hopefully preventing hypertension.
1. This nutrition plan is important to me because it will ensure that I stay as healthy as possible, while trying to prevent hypertension and other health related issues. It’s important to me because I want to stay healthy, especially in my later years. If I stay healthy then there will be a lesser chance that I can get cancer, hypertension, or any other disease. It’s important to start now rather than later, otherwise it will be too late for some of these conditions.
2. I have my families support along with my three roommates. My roommates and I always talk about how we need to eat healthy and overall become healthier. We motivate each other by going grocery shopping together along with being each other’s work out buddies. We live in an apartment on the fourth floor so we usually take the stairs rather than the elevator. We also all walk to class together rather than drive. When I go home my family makes home cooked meals. My mother is very good at trying to include all foods groups. My biggest supporters right now are going to be my roommates because I am with them every day. In order to succeed in this nutrition action, I need to be harder on myself about what I eat and when I eat it.
3. Environmental changes that need to happen include, always bringing workout clothes with me. When I am on campus I stay there the whole day until I am done with class. Some days I have a three-hour gap, which usually consists of me being lazy and laying around at the union. Instead of doing nothing, I should be walking over to the wellness center and getting some cardio into my day. I need to make time to go workout, so this means I am going to have to obtain good time management skills. I am very organized as it is, I write just about everything in my planner and have my whole week planned in advanced. I am going to have to schedule in my workouts for the week in order for this nutrition action to succeed.
4. I am very confident that I can make this change, on a scale from 1-10 I would consider myself to be at 8. Confident enough in that I know that I will make changes and will be aware of what I am putting into my body, but I am not at a 10 because I know some days I will schedule in a workout but will not go due to varies reasons. I get stressed easily so I know that working out will help with this along with my nutrition goals. I also have to think rationally, I am a college sophomore and working out and eating healthy isn’t always the first thing on my mind. Groceries are expensive especially when buying whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Ordering pizza at eleven o clock at night sounds like a great weekend idea but I know if I continue these habits my body will punish me in later years. I am confident that I will make changes but it might not happen this week or even next week. I think by slowly easing my way into this transition it will soon become a second nature and working out will be like breathing to me, and eating an apple instead of a cookie won’t even phase me.
Step 8. List all evidence-based references used for the report
Axe, D. J. (2017, March 28). Top 10 Vitamin A Foods. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://draxe.com/top-10-vitamin-foods/
Byrd – Bredbenner, C., Moe, G., Berning, J., & Kelley, D. (2016). Energy Balance, Weight Control, and Eating Disorder. In Wardlaws's Perspectives in Nutrition 10th Edition (10th ed., pp. 319-363). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.
Choose MyPlate. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/
McCoy, K. (2016, December 2). 6 Ways to Prevent Hypertension. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/hypertension/preventing.asp
SuperTracker: My Foods. My Fitness. My Health. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/
Ward, E. M. (n.d.). Are You Getting Enough Potassium? Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/potassium-sources-and-benefits#