Honors Bio-Jayo You are what you eat
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT (72 points)
By law, all packaged foods need to provide consumers (you and I) with nutrition labels to help us make informed decisions about what goes into the temple we call our bodies. The following activity is designed to analyze what your body needs, and determine how well you meet those needs.
How to read a nutrition label!
Serving Size: Standardized size based on amounts people actually eat. Similar food products have similar serving sizes making it easier to compare foods in the same category. For example, the nutritional content of two similar types of tomato sauce can be compared.Sample food label for Macaroni & Cheese:
/ % Daily Value: Indicates how food fits within a 2,000 calorie diet. Based on dietary recommendations for most healthy people. This helps you to understand if the food has "a lot" or "a little" of the most important nutrients.
Middle Section: The nutrients listed in the middle section are the ones most important to good health. This helps you to calculate your daily limits for fat, fiber, sodium and other nutrients.
Vitamins & Minerals: The Percent Daily Value is the same as the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance for vitamins and minerals (same levels). Only these vitamins and minerals are required on labels although the manufacturer has the option to include others too.
Note: Numbers on the Nutrition Facts label may be rounded for labeling (no decimal proportions listed).
This activity is done with a partner on laptops. At times you may need to talk to each other to figure out directions together. Most of the time one partner will need to work on-line alone.
1. Become familiar with nutritional labels.
2. Measure the bowls and glasses you use at home. How many ounces, cups … is your bowl? This way you can compare to the serving size the nutritional information is written for.
3. Fill out your diet log for 3 days (consider including weekdays and weekend days in your log-pick your “normal days”, don’ t pick days where you go out to celebrate someone’s birthday or days when you don’t eat anything because you don’t have time ). Use the nutritional information in the labels of the food that you eat and record everything that you eat. Be honest as this information will help you evaluate your nutritional intake. Make sure you record amounts and compare this to serving sizes.
4. Record everything you eat those 3 days. Include any snacking!!! (drinks, gum…)
5. Keep in mind that if you have more than one serving, then you need to multiply every category by the number of servings listed on the nutritional labels.
6. Go to www.calorie-count.com . Click on FOODS and then on FOOD BROWSER. Try to find the info about your food here. Be patient and persistent.
7. Record what you eat in an Excel chart.
8. Your excel chart should have the following columns: (28 points)
a. Calories
b. Total fat (g)
i. Saturated fat (g)
c. Cholesterol (mg)
d. Sodium (mg)
e. Total carbohydrates (g)
f. Sugars (g)
g. Fiber (g)
h. Protein (g)
i. Vitamin A (%)
j. Vitamin C (%)
k. Vitamin D (%)
l. Calcium (mg or %)
m. Iron (mg or %)
9. If you eat 3 meals a day, divide you food into breakfast, lunch and dinner in your Excel spreadsheet.
10. YOU SHOULD DO THIS FOR THE 2 MOST TYPICAL DAYS THAT YOU RECORDED.
11. Calculate the totals for all the categories listed above (a-h). Add all the nutritional information for all the food items that you eat on that day.
*Find the total by adding each value (g or mg) together.
Example: Total fat= 20g+5g=25g
12. Calculate the %Daily Value for columns i-l.
a. Vitamin A
b. Vitamin C
c. Calcium
d. Iron
*Find these the same way as above
8. Calculate the totals for all meals combined and the % daily recommended values (RDA’s) using the same above categories on the sheet provided.
You find % by taking what you added up and dividing it by the total or allowed amount for a 2000 calorie diet; then multiply by 100.
Example: Total fat for all 3 meals = 60g/65g x 100= 92% (good)
Total fat for all 3 meals = 75g/65g x 100= 115% (bad)
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Answer the following questions in complete sentences and attach them to your report (typed). These will be collected with your excel sheet report for a grade.
1. How many calories do you require each day (recommended amount), and do you eat more or less than you need? (3 pts)
2. Would you consider your diet to be healthy or unhealthy? Why? Explain. (3 pts)
3. What is the total number of calories you consumed each day? Do you think that 2000 calories/day is a reasonable amount for you to eat? Why or why not? (2 pts)
4. Did any of your categories exceed 100%? If so, which ones? Could any of these be harmful? Why? (3 pts)
5. Which of the food items contained the most and the least amount of saturated fat? Use the following link in addition to the website you used, if you need more specific information. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ (3 pts)
6. Which foods contained the most calories for the fewest nutrients? Which packed the most nutrients per calorie (vitamins and minerals, complex carbs …)? Use the link above and the website you used for your original research. (4 pts)
7. Are you significantly deficient in any nutrients? What food(s) could help you make up this deficit? (3 pts)
8. Are you going to change your diet because of this lab? Why or why not? If you are going to change it, how are you going to change it so that your diet improves? (3 pts)
9. What long term results could arise from a diet (include major consequences and medical conditions): (18 pts)
a. Too high in
i. calories
ii. saturated fat
iii. cholesterol
iv. sugars and carbohydrates
v. sodium
b. Too low in
i. Fiber
ii. Vitamin A
iii. Vitamin D
iv. Vitamin C
v. Iron
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