1. Choose seven days during which your eating habits are typical. Record all foods and drinks you consumed for each day. Be sure to estimate the quantities of each item to the best of your ability. Enter this info into your diet analysis software and compare your intakes to the DRIs appropriate for your age and gender. It is not necessary to meet 100% of each DRI every day. A general guideline is meeting between 80% and 120% of the requirements over a one-week period. Answer the following questions:
A) For how many nutrients analyzed did you meet requirements?
B) How many nutrients were less than 80% of requirements?
C) How many nutrients were greater than 120% of requirements?
D) Keep this assessment for use in future activities.
2. Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, note the Food Guide Pyramid (or My Diet Analysis) info provided by your diet analysis software and answer the following questions:
A) Do your intakes meet recommendations for each food group?
B) What food groups are you high in?
C) What food groups are you low in?
D) What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid (or MyPyramid)?
3. The health of the GI tract depends to a great extent on the foods we eat. Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, review the info provided by your diet analysis software and note the following:
A) Do you meet recommendations for fiber intake?
B) Do you meet recommendations for water intake?
C) If you have any GI difficulties, can you correlate them with any of the foods you consume?
D) What changes could you make in your diet to improve the health of your GI tract?
4. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, note the following:
A) How many grams of carbohydrate do you consume daily?
B) What percentage of your daily calories comes from carbohydrate?
C) How many grams of sugar do you consume daily?
D) What percentage of your daily calories come from sugar?
E) Do your intakes meet recommendations for these nutrients?
F) What three foods did you consume that contain the highest level of sugar? How many grams of sugar were in each food?
G) What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet carbohydrate and sugar recommendations?
5. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, note the following:
A) How many grams of protein do you consume daily?
B) What percentage of your daily calories come from protein?
C) Does your protein intake meet recommendations?
D) What three are foods that you consumed contained the highest amount of protein? How many grams of protein were in each food?
E) What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet protein recommendations?
6. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, note the following:
A) What is your daily intake of:
Vitamin E?
Vitamin C?
Vitamin A?
Selenium?
B) How does your intake of these nutrients compare with recommendations?
C) What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet recommendations?
7. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, note your top source of the following nutrients:
A) Folate
B) Vitamin B12
C) Thiamin
D) Riboflavin
E) Iron
8. Discuss the importance of a varied diet.
9. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, note your top source of the following nutrients:
A) How many milligrams of sodium do you consume daily?
B) How does your sodium intake compare to recommendations?
C) What three foods that you consumed contained the highest amount of sodium? How many milligrams of sodium in each food?
D) How many milligrams of potassium do you consume daily?
E) How does your potassium intake compare to recommendations?
F) How much water do you consume daily?
G) How does your water intake compare to recommendations?
10. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, note your top source of the following nutrients:
A) How many grams of calcium do you consume daily?
B) How many micrograms of vitamin D do you consume daily?
C) How many milligrams of magnesium do you consume daily?
D) How does your intake of these nutrients compare to recommendations?
E) What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet recommendations?
11. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, note your top source of the following nutrients:
A) How many calories do you consume daily?
B) How does this caloric intake compare to recommendations?
C) What are the three foods that you consume contain the highest number of calories? How many calories are in each food?
D) What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet caloric recommendations?
12. Keep a journal of food intake for three days. Record your food intake, pay attention to the following questions:
A) When do I eat?
B) Do I skip meals often?
C) Where do I eat?
D) Why do I eat?
E) Are there any eating behaviors I’d like to change?
13. Using the nutritional assessment completed previously, identify a processed food that you consumed. Evaluate the ingredients list for this food and identify the ingredients they believe are food additives. Explain the function of each food additive you identified.
