Reflections on 3 other blogs

1) Tan Hui Ying's blog (http://21026foodandnutrition.blogspot.com/)

Good:

- Made use of 3 nutrition tools to analyse 3-day diet.

- Made own analysis of 3-day diet.

- Insightful reflections.

Areas for improvement:

- Should have taken down time when food was consumed in tracking of 3-day diet so as to analyse eating habits (time between meals).

- Could have added in own comments/summary of nutrition tool results.

- I do not really see the link between Filet-O-Fish and chicken flavoured rice with grilled drumlets and mixed vegetables.

2) Natalie Chan's blog (http://21021apt.blogspot.com/)

Good:

- Very precise in tracking of 3-day diet.

- Made own comments and analysis of 3-day diet.

- Insightful reflections.

Areas for improvement:

- Made us of only 2 nutrition tools, could have used more.

- Should have copied tables and graphs from results of nutrition tools into blog posts for easy reference.

- Could have elaborated more on how one dish meal is healthy.

3) Nicole Pua's blog (http://omnomnomfn.blogspot.com/)

Good:

- Very detailed tracking of 3-day diet.

- Made own comments and analysis of 3-day diet.

- Stated ingredients and preparation method of one dish meal very clearly.

Areas for improvement:

- Should make use of more nutrition tools.

Reflections - What have you learnt about your eating habits?

I learnt that my eating habits are not healthy. Although I do not snack very often, my meals do not consist of the necessary nutrients and sometimes contain too much unhealthy nutrients. Also, I tend to eat light breakfast, resulting in heavier lunches.

Reflections - Do you consider your diet a healthy one?

No, I do not consider my diet a healthy one. Based on the Food Intake Assessment, I know that my diet is high in fat, sodium and cholesterol, but low in dietary fibre and calcium. The amount of fat I consume is more than the recommended amount, and high fat diets may lead to health problems like overweight and heart related problems. The amount of sodium I consumed was also more than the recommended amount. Sodium holds water in our body, and by having excess sodium, the blood volume increases, raising the pressure in our blood vessels. This may then lead to high blood pressure. Along with my high fat diet, too much cholesterol can also cause heart related diseases. It is good to include dietary fibre in my diet as it can reduce blood cholesterol and also promote proper bowel motions. My diet also lacks calcium, which can lead to weak and brittle bones. Therefore, my diet is not considered a healthy one as I do not consume many nutrients according to the RDDA.

Reflections - Are the suggested nutritional tools useful?

In this assignment, I made use of the Food Intake Assessment, Healthy Diet Pyramid, Energy and Nutrient Compositions of Foods, RDDA and Recipe Analysis (one dish meal).

Food Intake Assessment

I made use of this tool to analyse my 3-day diet and to set criteria for my one-dish meal. I feel that this tool was most effective in giving me an analysis of my diet, as it was the most detailed and provided graphs and percentages which were very comprehensive.

Useful:

1. Provided graphs and percentages that illustrated comparisons between my diet components and RDDA very well, thus allowing me to see clearly what my diet lacks of or have an excess off.

2. Very detailed analysis of nutrients in diet, along with advices and recommendations to make my diet healthier.

Limitations:

1. Data of dishes are limited, thus not all the food items in my 3-day diet could be analysed.

Healthy Diet Pyramid

I made use of this tool to analyse my 3-day diet.

Useful:

1. Pyramid provided a visual image which was very comprehensive.

2. Gave examples of each nutrient.

Limitations:

1. Servings size was only specified for a few items, thus it was difficult to judge serving sizes of other food items in my diet not included in the examples.

Energy & Nutrient Composition of Foods

I made use of this tool to analyse my 3-day diet.

Useful:

1. Included more data of a larger range of nutrients. (E.g. specified vitamins like Vitamin A).

2. Table form; easy to read.

Limitations:

1. Servings size was only specified for a few items, thus it was difficult to judge serving sizes of other food items in my diet not included in the examples.

RDDA

I made use of this tool to analyse my 3-day diet and to set criteria for my one-dish meal.

Useful:

1. Allows me to judge my diet's healthiness level by cross-referencing with Recipe Analysis.

Limitations:

1. Does not provide RDDA for some nutrients.

2. Has a standard height and weight which does not match mine.

Recipe Analysis

I made use of this tool to determine how healthy my one-dish meal is.

Useful:

1. Provided data of many nutrients.

2. Allows customized serving sizes.

Limitations:

1. Data of dishes are limited, thus not all the ingredients in my recipe could be analysed.

Reflections - Why is my suggested one-dish meal healthy?

As stated in my previous post, Healthy One-Dish Meal, the meal has to contain nutrients required in a person's diet. Comparing the Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe Analysis and the Recommended Daily Dietary Allowances (divided by 3), I can determine if my one-dish meal is healthy.

*Note: All RDDA references refer to the figures after dividing the daily intake into 3.

Energy:

The dish contains 87% of the *RDDA of 620kcal. I think this is fine as it is only slightly less than recommended.

Carbohydrates:

The dish contains 86% of the RDDA of 93g. This should be a healthy amount as it is still relatively close to the recommended.

Protein:

The dish contains 116% of the RDDA of 19g. Although this is slightly more than recommended, it should be healthy as the excess is a very small amount.

Total Fat:

The dish contains 81% of the RDDA of 21g. Although it is harmful to have too little fat in the diet, this amount is only slightly less than the recommended. It should not cause any problems that can be caused by very low fat diets.

Cholesterol:

The dish contains 19% of the RDDA of 62mg. It is difficult to arrive at a conclusion as it is not specified in the recipe analysis whether the cholesterol in the dish refers to good or bad cholesterol.

Calcium:

The dish contains 29% of the RDDA of 333mg. This is rather low, but it not at the extreme yet.

Dietary Fibre:

The dish contains 181% of the RDDA of 6.2g. I feel that this is alright, as I tend not to include much vegetables or fruits in my meals. Thus, although this dish contains a lot of dietary fibre, overall, there should not be too much excess dietary fibre in my daily diet.

Sodium:

The dish contains 97% of the RDDA of 413.5mg. This is good as it is very close to the recommended.

Iron:

The dish contains 127% of the RDDA of 6mg. In my opinion, this is acceptable as despite the relatively high percentage, the dish contains only 1.6mg more then the recommended.

Vitamin A:

The dish contains 123% of the RDDA of 242mcg. This is slightly more than the recommended and should not cause harm.

OVERALL:

This dish is healthy, as it contains almost all necessary nutrients, and is mostly close to the RDDA. Although there are some components that are slightly below or above the RDDA, it is to a small extent and should not cause any problems. Therefore, spaghetti bolognese is a healthy one-dish meal.

Recipe Analysis - Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredient	Energy (kcal)	Protein (g)	Total Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Carbohydrate (g)	Dietary Fibre (g)	Sodium (mg)
Oil, olive	135	0	15	2.1	0	0	0.0	0
Onion, stir-fried	123	2	8	0.8	0	11	2.4	3
Garlic, raw	7	0	0	0.0	0	1	0.0	0
Paste, tomato, without salt added	164	7	1	0.2	0	39	8.2	176
Parsley, english, raw	1	0	0	N.A	0	0	0.3	1
Celery, raw	2	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.3	6
Tomato, raw	14	1	0	0.0	0	2	0.3	10
Chicken, with button mushroom, stir-fried	164	22	7	2.0	25	3	1.7	584
Water, plain	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
Spaghetti, white, boiled	211	7	1	0.2	0	44	3.6	4
Potato, without skin, boiled	258	5	0	0.1	0	60	5.4	15
Total (per serving)	540	22	17	2.7	12	80	11.2	400

Healthy One Dish Meal - Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients:

100g spaghetti

100g minced chicken

50ml water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 large onion

1 clove garlic

150ml pasta tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/2 stalk stick celery

1 small tomato

5 pieces button mushrooms

200g potatoes

Healthy One Dish Meal

A healthy one-dish meal needs to contain the essential nutrients in a person's diet. To determine the amount of each nutrient my meal should include, I divided the Recommended Daily Dietary Allowances by 3, as most people usually take 3 meals a day.

Energy: 1860 ÷ 3 = 620kcal

Carbohydrates: 279 ÷ 3 = 93g

Protein: 56.3 ÷ 3 = 19g

Total Fat: 62 ÷ 3 = 21g

Cholesterol: 186 ÷ 3 = 62mg

Calcium: 1000 ÷ 3 = 333mg

Dietary Fibre: 18.6 ÷ 3 = 6.2g

Sodium: 1240.5 ÷ 3 = 413.5mg

Iron: 18 ÷ 3 = 6mg

Vitamin A: 725 ÷ 3 = 242mcg

Vitamin D: 2.5 ÷ 3 = 0.8mcg

Thiamin: 0.84 ÷ 3 = 0.28mg

Riboflavin: 1.26 ÷ 3 = 0.42mg

Niacin Equiv: 13.9 ÷ 3 = 5mg

Vitamin B12: 2.0 ÷ 3 = 1mcg

Folic Acid: 200 ÷ 3 = 67mcg

Ascorbic Acid: 30 ÷ 3 = 10mg

I then cooked a dish that met most of the criteria: Spaghetti Bolognese

Recommended Daily Dietary Allowances (RDDA)

RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCES FOR NORMAL HEALTHY PERSONS IN SINGAPORE (CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS)

Age Group	Height	Weight	Protein	Iron	Vit A (retinol) equiv.	Vit D	Thiamin	Riboflavin	Niacin Equiv	Vit B12	Folic Acid	Ascorbic Acid
	(a)	(a)	(a),(b)	(d),(e)	(f),(g)	(d),(h)	(g)	(f)	(f),(i)	(d)	(d)	(d)
Units	cm	kg	g	mg	mcg	mcg	mg	mg	mg	mcg	mcg	mg

Girls
5 - < 7 yrs	-	20.5	30	7	300	10.5	0.70	1.05	11.6	1.5	100	20
7 - < 10 yrs	-	27	39	7	400	2.5	0.72	1.08	11.9	1.5	100	20
10 - < 12 yrs	145	36	51	7	575	2.5	0.78	1.17	12.9	2.0	100	20
12 - < 14 yrs	157	46.5	63	18	725	2.5	0.84	1.26	13.9	2.0	200	30
14 - < 16 yrs	161	52	66	18	725	2.5	0.86	1.29	14.2	2.0	200	30
16 - < 18 yrs	163	54	60	19	750	2.5	0.86	1.29	14.2	2.0	200	30

*Note: Not all the food in my 3-day diet could be found. Serving sizes are also not always accurate. Also, my height and weight does not correspond with the table.

Cross referencing to the Energy & Nutrient Compositions of Foods:

Protein

I consume an average of 87g of protein each day. This is more than the recommended daily intake of 63g.

Iron

I consume about 11mg of iron each day. This is less than the recommended daily intake of 18mg.

Vitamin A (retinol) Equiv

On average, I take about 352mcg of Vitamin A per day. This is less than the recommended daily intake of 750mcg.

Vitamin D

Not available for calculation in Energy & Nutrient Compositions of Foods.

Thiamin

I consume about 0.6mg of thiamin per day, which is slightly less than the recommended daily intake of 0.84mg.

Riboflavin

I take about 0.5mg of riboflavin each day. This is less than the recommended daily intake of 1.26mg.

Niacin Equiv

Not available for calculation in Energy & Nutrient Compositions of Foods.

Vitamin B12

Not available for calculation in Energy & Nutrient Compositions of Foods.

Folic Acid

Not available for calculation in Energy & Nutrient Compositions of Foods.

Ascorbic Acid

Not available for calculation in Energy & Nutrient Compositions of Foods.