Reflection on Eating Habits - Essay Example

Reflection on Eating Habits According to the results, I fell short of the recommended fruits, grains, vegetables, meat and milk and beans groups. The results indicate that my oz equivalent or the number of cups of the products I reported eating in these food groups do not meet my recommended levels. Grains provide vitamins and minerals as well as complex carbohydrates. The short term effect of lack of nutrients provided by grains is constipation. Long term effects of lack of these nutrients are coronary heart disease and neural tube defects during fetal development (Whitney and Sharon 105).

Fruits and vegetables provide nutrients essential for nourishing health. Long-term effects of lack of these nutrients can lead to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, kidney stones and bone loss. Milk provides nutrients vital for health and maintenance of the body. Critical nutrients found in milk include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein. These nutrients are structural components of teeth, bones, and soft tissues and are essential in the body’s metabolic processes. Calcium is essential for blood clotting, and lack of it can lead to excessive bleeding, and lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets (Whitney and Sharon 421).

Meat and beans supply many nutrients, which include protein, B vitamins, vitamin E, zinc, iron and magnesium. Deficiency of these nutrients may lead to diseases such as Edema and Kwashiorkor. These are diseases associated with malnutrition (Whitney and Sharon 378). To improve my grain intake, I could add cereals and slices of whole-wheat bread. Another change I could make to my diet is adding calcium fortified juices to improve my milk group intake. The extent to which I would make and maintain these changes is one cup of ready to eat cereal, four slices of whole-wheat bread and a glass of calcium fortified juice.

There is an enormous imbalance between my physical activity and my caloric intake balance. From the results, my caloric intake is 688kcal which is way below the energy expended. The energy expended from the physical activities according to the results is 805kcal. Simple analysis of these two figures indicates that I am doing too much physical activity in comparison with my caloric intake. This is because the energy expended from the physical activities exceeds my caloric intake. The energy balance indicates that I am expending more energy than my caloric intake hence I am losing weight.

This implies a negative balance. I am not satisfied with these results because the Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) is -2104kcal which means that I am rapidly losing weight (Whitney and Sharon 249). Works Cited Whitney, Ellie Noss, & Sharon Rady Rolfes. Understanding Nutrition. 11th ed. Belmont: Thomas Learning, Inc., 2008. Print.