Resource

Anspaugh, D. J., Hamrik, M. H., & Rosato, F. D. (2011). Wellness concepts and applications. (8th ed.). New York: NY, McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

           USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.(n.d).Supertracker.Retrieve from 

          https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/ 

Design a healthy eating plan but must be satisfying food that you like and prepare to reach the goal. 

First, choose an appropriate calorie intake.  Calorie intake represents the “energy in” part of your energy 
balance.

For overweight and obese, take the BMI measurement and reduce 500-1000 calorie intake.Compare the energy    
balance with and without the added physical activity.  If you want to lose fat, you must expend more energy.  
For underweight people, add more calorie intake.  

Second, Make Intakes Adequate

For overweight and obese people, have eating pattern and follow it because you are in for an eternal commitment.  All nutrients should have all the needed nutrients in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fat free or low fat milk products, legumes , small amounts of fish and lean meat and poultry and whole grains.  These have all the adequate nutrients required for a healthy body. 

Avoid eating fats that are saturated and trans fat. 

Third, Eat Small Portions 

Excess protein intake is stored in body fat and nitrogen lost in urine, excess carbohydrates intake is stored in liver, muscles and glycogen and body fat, excess in fat intake is  stored in body fat. 

Be mindful of how much calories are being consumed.  Learn how to count calories either by reading the labels or using measuring cups(Sizer & Whitney, 2013).

Fourth, Meal Spacing 

Study shows that eating 4-5 times a day, small portion of course, is successful at weight loss and maintenance(Sizer & Whitney).  Eat regularly become you become extremely hungry.  Always, keep in mind the calorie intake and the type of food you eat. 

Personal Action Plan for Highway to Health


Reflecting on how I ate and gained weight for the past year, I would like to discuss my nutritional strengths and weaknesses and how I plan to makes changes in my life to better meet the dietary guidelines.   My eating pattern is not consistent everyday.  Sometimes I ate once a day and sometimes I ate twice a day and that would be sufficient for me. 

A healthy lifestyle involves a good eating pattern during the day with a strict dietary guidelines.  Eating out in a restaurant provides foods that are high in sodium, calories and saturated fat that most don’t even know. 

My weaknesses - eating high in fat such as cheese and milk, protein from animals, eating big portions and one meal a day. Not enough water. Not enough vegetables and fruits everyday, not enough fiber.  No exercise and no 

eating a lot of junk food like chips, cookies, cakes and ice cream. 

My strengths: I don’t drink sodas or juices, if any, once in a quarter.  I don’t smoke or drink alcohol.  drinking coffee is very minimal.  

Plans for a Change: Based on 2000 caloric diet,  adhere to measurements below: 

2 cups of fruits  

2.5 cups of vegetables

49 grams of protein
(35/2.2 = 61

61 x .08 = 49)

20-35% calorie total in fat 

less than 10% calories from saturated fat

40 grams of fiber

55-65% calories of Carbohydrates

Everyday I will to eat small portions and eat 5 times a day.  Exercise daily at least one hour for an optimal lifestyle.  Buy groceries that are fat-free in milk and cheese.  Eat more vegetables and fruits.  Minimize my protein intake from animals by 5-6 oz twice a week. 

Drink more water and eat more fiber foods. 

Use only vegetable oil, canola oil and never shortening or butter. Track all my food and implement an exercise program to do daily using www.supertracker.usda.gov 

Names, Functions, and Sources of Essential Macro- and Micronutrients

Vitamins                                           Food Source                                                                     Functions
                           
Vitamin A              Liver, carrots, eggs, tomatoes,  dark green,                          Healthy skin, improved night visions
                               and yellow-orange skin, vegetables and some fruits.           defense against infections, antioxidant benefits


Vitamin D             Fish oils and fortified milk, exposure to sunlight                   Maintain of blood level of calcium and                                                                                                                                           phosphorus. Promote strong bones and teeth. 
                                                                                                                              Reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Vitamin E              Plants oil such as soybean and corn. nuts, seeds.                   Form of red blood cells, use of vitamin K
                                                                                                                              Antioxidant benefits
    
Vitamin K             Green vegetables, liver                                                            Promote of blood clotting, contribute to bone                                                                                                                                metabolism

Vitamin C             Citrus fruits, green vegetables                                                 Promote healthy gum and teeth, iron a                                                                                                                                            absorption

Thiamine               Whole grains, legumes, liver, nuts                                          Carbohydrate metabolism, nerve function

Riboflavin             Dairy products, liver, spinach, enriched grains                       Energy metabolism, production or red blood                                                                                                                                  cells, improved health of skin and eyes.

Niacin                   Nuts, grains, meat, fish, mushrooms                                       Energy metabolism, fat synthesis, fat                                                                                                                                              breakdown, lowering of cholesterol.

Vitamin B12         Animal foods, dairy products, seafood                                    Folate metabolism, fat synthesis, production                                                                                                                                  of essential body chemicals. 

Biotin                    Cheese, egg yolks, mushrooms, grains                                    Glucose production, fat synthesis

Folate B9              Green leafy vegetables; liver, beans, grains,                            DNA synthesis and protein metabolism, 

                              Citrus fruits                                                                               reduction of risk for certain birth defects,                                                                                                                                       homocysteine metabolism.

Fat                       avocado, nuts, olives, oils                                                          suppress inflammation, promote healthy 

                           (canola, olive, peanut, sesame),                                                  tissue functioning and helps in brain               

                           seeds, peanut butter (old fashion), seafood                                 communication.

Protein               Corn, roast beef, poultry, chicken, fish, egg, nuts                       Confer shape and structure in bones, teeth, 

                           cheese, milk, yogurt, pasta                                                          skin, tendons, cartilage, blood vessels, and                                                                                                                                     other tissues. 

Carbohydrates    Fruits, vegetables, and grains                                                      Fuel for most body functions, critical energy                                                                                                                                 source for nerve cells. protects the body's                                                                                                                                       internal linings and membranes. affect cell-                                                                                                                                   cell communication, nerve and brain cell                                                                                                                                       function and certain disease processes. 

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Characteristics of a healthy diet involve meeting the dietary recommendation, calorie and food type guide. It consists of the following food:

Fruits has variety of nutrients such as vitamins A and C, fiber and potassium (Sizer & Whitney).

Choose fresh, seasonal and cut up fruits more than from juice. Frozen fruits are also fine.  Fruits like avocados, apples,

bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, pineapples, mango, kiwi, oranges, watermelon, strawberries, and many other more. 

Challenge yourself to limit choosing fruits that contain solid fast or added sugars such as canned or frozen fruit in syrup; juices and punches, fruit drink with added sugar, fried plantains. 

Vegetables contribute folate, vit A, C, K, E, magnesium, potassium and fiber (Sizer & Whitney).

Choose vegetables that are variety in colors such as dark-green vegetables, red and orange vegetables.  Also choose legumes and start vegetables as part of the vegetable group.  Other vegetables such as asparagus, artichokes, cauliflower, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, seaweed, green bell peppers are good and low in calories. 

Challenge yourself from eating vegetables that contain solid fats or added sugar such as coleslaw, french fries, refried beans, baked beans, tempura vegetables potato salad. 

Grains are important part of the diet and in which it contributes folate, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, iron, magnesium, selenium, and fiber (Sizer & Whitney). 100% whole grains, barley, brown rice, oats, quinoa, wheat, wheat pastas and plain popcorn are good for grains. 

The challenge associated with eating grains is when choosing to consume grains with added sugar or solid fats like cakes, cookies, cornbread, croissant, doughnut, muffins, pastries, pies, taco shells. 

Protein is important in the new cells to replace blood lost in menstruation, scar tissue, in new hair and nails and muscle tissues(Sizer & Whitney).  Good protein foods are seafood such as halibut, herring, material, salmon, sardines, sea bass, tuna, snapper.  Meats, poultry and eggs but use lean and low fat meat and no skin.  Nuts, seeds, and soy products are good. 

The challenges one can have is overeating protein from foods like bacon, fried meat, hot dogs, luncheon meats, poultry with skin, sausages. 

Milk and milk products are needed for vitamin A and Vit D.  Protein, calcium and potassium are also the nutritional contributors.  Fat free or 1-2% milk and cheeses are better choice rather than whole milk or regular cheese.  People may have a bad habit of consuming milk and dairy products with added sugar such as milk shakes, ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, chocolate milk, frappuccino. 

Oils have Vitamin E and have essential fatty acids.  Use oils like canola, corn, flaxseed, olive, sesame oil, avocado, but avoid bad oils such as butter, animal fats, margarine and shortening.  

How Macro-Nutrients Digest, Absorp and Digest in our Body

Carbohydrates Digestion and Absorption

Starch is broken down by an enzyme from the salivary glands where it mixes in the mouth.  Then it enters the stomach and mixes with stomach’s acid and other juices.   The salivary enzyme is now deactivated by the stomach’s protein-digesting acid in the stomach.  Starch passes through into the small intestine where another enzyme is delivered by the pancreas at full speed.  Enzymes that are on intestinal wall cells split disaccharides to monosaccharides then monosaccharides enter capillaries and then delivered to the liver to convert galactose and fractures to glucose. 

Fats Digestion and Absorption

Once the food is chewed and swallowed in the mouth, it enters in the stomach.  Little digestion occurs in the stomach.  Fat is separated from the watery components and tend to float as a layer on top. Enzymes are in the water and can’t get at the fat.  Then fat enters the small intestine. The bile made by the liver is released into small intestine when digestion for fat is needed. Bile contains compound that works as emulsifier. Bile emulsifies and suspends fat droplets within the water fluids until the fat digesting enzymes can split fatty acids from their glycerol backbone.  After the emulsification, more fat is exposed to the enzyme and fat digestion begins to work. 98% of fats consumed are absorbed but it takes time to digest it.  Then in the large intestine, a small amount of cholesterol trapped in fiber exits with the feces. 

Protein Digestion and Absorption

Once protein is consumed in the mouth, the body must first break down the protein into amino acids. After the food gets chewed in the mouth, when it goes into the stomach, the stomach’s acid denatures and cleaves the protein strands into smaller pieces which means to help uncoil the protein’s tangled strands so that the stomach enzyme can attack the peptide bond.  In the small intestine, the final breakdown occurs until all pieces of protein are broken into a single, double or three amino acids by protein-enzyme from pancreas. Then the intestinal cells absorb and transfer amino acids to the blood stream. 

The Purpose and Components of the Digestive System

Human beings have a long digestive tract.  Each track has its purpose and components. The process first begins by entering the food into the mouth.

Mouth is for chewing and mixing food with saliva.

Salivary Gland is to donate a starch-digesting enzyme. It is to donate a trace of fat-digesting enzyme.

Then it enters Esophagus which where it passes food to stomach.

Stomach adds acid, enzymes and fluid. It churns, mixes, and grinds food to a liquid mass.  While the food is in the stomach, the liver manufactures bile which is a detergent-like substance that facilitates digestion of fats.  Then Gallbladder stores bile until needed. 

Pancreas manufactures enzymes to digest all energy-yielding nutrients.  It releases bicarbonate to neutralize stomach acid that enters small intestine.

Once the stomach turns the food into liquid, it enters the small intestine.

Small intestine secretes enzymes that digest carbohydrate, fat and protein.  The cells lining intestine absorb nutrients into blood and lymph.

Then it goes to the large intestine, it reabsorbs water and minerals, passes waste and some water to rectum.

Rectum stores waste prior to elimination and Anus holds the rectum closed and it opens to allow elimination. (Crash course, 2012).

The Mechanical Aspect of Digestion

The mechanical digestion of food begins in the mouth where food is being chewed  by pieces and shreds food so that it can be swallowed smoothly into the esophagus.  Saliva is formed while chewing to add moist and soften rough or sharp food so that it can easily pass down into the esophagus.  Once food has been broken into small pieces and moistened, the food then travels into the stomach and intestines.  At the base of the esophagus, the sphincter squeezes the opening at the entrance to the stomach to narrow it and prevents the stomach’s contents from creeping back up the esophagus as the stomach contracts.  The food in the stomach is being grind, mixed thoroughly with acid and enzymes forming chyme.  At this point the nutrients such as starches and proteins have been split and uncoiled and the fat has been  separated. The pyloric valve part of the stomach  allows only a little bit of the time to excrete forcefully into the small intestine.  Within a few hours, the stomach is emptied by this powerful process.  The broken down food then contracts into the long journey of small intestine to move into the large intestines.   At this point, the water is reabsorbed and absorbed the minerals leaving only the undigested materials for excretion. The rectum stores the material waste to be excreted at intervals.

Human body’s digestive track performs a very complex process of digestion.   Starting from the mouth where digestion begins, an enzyme in saliva begins to break down the starch and digestion of fat rapidly.  The saliva helps maintain the health of the teeth by cleansing away the food particles that could decay in between the tooth and by neutralizing decay-promoting acids produced by bacteria in the mouth. 

The stomach is where the process of digestion begins.  Stomach releases a strong acid mixture of gastric juice, water, enzyme and hydrochloric acid.  The strong acid is needed to digest the protein consumed.  The range of pH demonstrates the different range from saliva being the weakly acidic to the stomach’s gastric juice being the strongest. (Sizer and Whitney, 2013).

The intestines are composed of small and large intestines. The small intestines do the digesting and absorbing the partially digested nutrients from the stomach. Hormonal messengers signal the gallbladder and release pancreatic juice to contract the right amount of bile into the intestines.   The chemical bonds that hold the large nutrients together on pancreatic and intestinal enzymes, smaller and smaller pieces are released into their surface.  A last minute breakdown performed by the enzymes are required before absorbing the nutrients.  All nutrients absorption is complete and remain in the tract by the time it gets to the large intestine.   All food consumed are broken down by enzymes into basic molecules that make them up. (Sizer and Whitney, 2013).

Nutritional Recommendation For:

Pregnancy women require an extra 340 daily calories during the second trimester and an extra 450 calories everyday during the third trimester.  Extra carbohydrate of 175 is needed per day to fuel the fetal brain. 

Protein recommendation is extra 25 grams per day. 

The recommended folate should be increased from 400 to 600 micrograms a day.   Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, calcium, Iron and zinc are vital during pregnancy.  

As an example of dietary guidelines for pregnant women is to consume 2 cups of fruits, 3 cups of vegetables, 8 oz of grains, 6.5 oz of proteins foods and 3 cups of milk. 

The nutrition recommendation for Infancy stage is vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, D and calcium. Water is also an important nutrient for infants. \

Dietary guideline for infants is breastmilk or formulas.  Breast milk has all the nutrients and minerals including water the infants need up to 12 months. 

The nutritional and dietary guidelines for childhood is limit consumption of sugar-sweeten beverages.  Eat  2-4 cups a day recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables everyday.  Eat a diet rich in calcium, balanced proportions for carbohydrate, fat, protein, and high in fiber. 

The nutritional and dietary guidelines for adulthood is eat breakfast daily, 45-65 calories  in carbohydrates, less than 10% calories of total fat, 35-45g in protein, high in fiber and plenty of water. Eat appropriate portions of food throughout the day. 

What factors that drive our food choices?

Food choices are made based on the cost of the food, the convenience and quality of food and nutrients. These are for personal and environmental factors that drive our food choices. When I make personal choices when eating out, I always look for something good but only around my areas. Half of the time, I buy my food at grocery and select the items that I can afford but I go within my nutritional diets. 

These factors are relevant to me because I believe it's important that I am educated about food and nutrients source and choose my foods that are healthy for me and fitting my body type and most of all, I enjoy the taste.