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Diet Analysis Project Part #5: Final Assessment of Your Diet

Reports to save, use and submit to the ANGEL drop box along with this document:
Food Groups and Calories—all 3 days combined (1 report)
Nutrients Report—all 3 days combined (1 report)
Meal Summary—all 3 days combined (1 report)

Guidelines and Recommendations

 Consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups while
choosing foods that limit the intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and
alcohol.
 Consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables while staying within energy needs.
 Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables each day, especially dark-green and red and orange vegetables and
beans and peas. Select from all five vegetable subgroups (dark green, orange, legumes, starchy
vegetables, and other vegetables such as tomatoes) several times a week.
 Consume 3 cups per day of nonfat or low-fat or equivalent dairy foods.
 Choose foods that provide more potassium, calcium, and vitamin D, which are nutrients of concern in
American diets.
 Reduce daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg.

1. Compare your food intake to “My Plate” food group goals.

Report to use: Food Groups and Calories, enter date range to include the 3 days you entered. In the table
below enter the target for each group, the actual average eaten, and the status (OK, over, or under)

Target or Average Status

Food Groups
Limit eaten

Grains Group 10 oz. 5.5 under

Vegetable Group 3.5 cup 1.75 under

Fruit Group 2.5 cup 1 under

Dairy*
3 cup 1.75 under
equivalents

Protein Foods 7 oz. 2 under

Limits-Added Sugars <280 kcal 169 Ok

Limits-Saturated Fat <280 kcal 190 ok

*Young adults should eat 3 servings per day from the dairy group.

2. List up to three vegetables for each of the five subgroups you consumed during your 3 days. Put “none” if
you ate no vegetables in that subgroup.
Report to use: Food Groups and Calories, enter date range that will include all 3 days you entered. You can
expand the vegetable subgroups to view the foods you ate in these groups or look at Figure 2-2 USDA Food
Pattern: Food Groups and Subgroups in your text.
 Dark green - salad
Red and orange- tomato sauce, carrots, ketchup
Legumes (beans and peas) - none
Starchy vegetables - potato, French fries
Other (ex., cauliflower) - green beans, spaghetti with sauce, cheeseburger with ketchup

3. Did you consume the dairy target? If yes, list 2 dairy food sources that you included in your diet. If no, list 2
nonfat or low fat dairy products that you like and could add to your weekly food intake. If you get your
calcium and vitamin D from other sources, mention them and why you avoid dairy foods

The dairy target was not met - an addition to the diet could be yogurt (nonfat) or some cheese.

4. In several sentences, discuss how well your actual intake met the goals of MyPlate? For each food group
(except dairy) in which you did not meet the target, identify nutrients that may be low in your diet by
referring to Table 1 below. For each group that is low, list 2 foods which you like and could be added to your
eating routine.

All of the statuses were under. For grains a slice of whole grain bread or a tortilla could be
added. For vegetables, vegetable juice or more leafy salad greens could be tried. For fruit,
dried fruit or more while fruits (apples, bananas) could be included. Cheese or soy milk
could be introduced in the dairy category. Peanut butter and poultry can be introduced for
the protein category. In general, a more well rounded diet should be considered and more
food is necessary.

Table 1: The Nutrients of the MyPlate food groups.

MyPlate is designed to meet all essential nutrients. Each food group provides some, but not all, of these
nutrients. Foods in one group cannot replace those in another. The table below indicates the nutrients provided
in significant quantities in each food group. If your diet is low in a specific group, it may be low in some of the
indicated nutrients. Look across groups to make sure a nutrient you think may be low is actually rich in another
group.

Food Group Nutrients rich in this food group

Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta. and Riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, folate, iron, protein; fiber is rich in
other Grains Group whole grain products.

Highly pigmented vegetables (green, red, orange and yellow) are

Vegetables Group especially rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, potassium, fiber;
some dark green leafy vegetables are rich in iron.

Fruits Group Vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, fiber

Dairy Calcium, riboflavin, protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin A

 Meat and fish have protein, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, zinc, iron,
Protein Foods niacin and thiamin; legumes have protein, fiber, folate, vitamin E,
potassium, iron and zinc.

Vegetable oils Vitamin E (also called alpha-T)

5. Assess your diet for protein, vitamin, and mineral adequacy.
Report to use: Nutrients Report—enter date range of the 3 days you entered into SuperTracker. Use this
report to fill in the blanks in the table below. It is important to read the footnotes in order to complete this
table properly.

Nutrient Target Average Status List two foods rich in each nutrienta
Eaten (OK, over,
Or Under)
Protein (g) chicken (poultry), peanut
56 53 under butter

Thiamin OK spaghetti, Raisin Bran

(mg) 1.2 1.6

Vitamin B6 1.3 Ok Raisin Bran, spaghetti

(mg) 2.0

Folate (ug) OK spaghetti, Raisin Bran

400 531

Vitamin C (mg) 37 cantaloupe, oranges

90 under

Vitamin D (ug) 5 ugb 6 over milk, vitamin d

Vitamin A sweet potatoes, kale
(ug, RAE) 900 875 under

Vitamin E 5 almonds, avocados

(mg AT) 15 under

Calcium spinach, kale

(mg) 1000 743 under

Iron (mg) 8 OK spaghetti Raisin Bran

13

Zinc (mg) 11 8 oysters, red meat

under

Note: ug = micrograms, mg=milligrams.

a
If your status is OK or OVER: list 2 foods that you ate during your 3-day analysis that are considered rich
sources of the nutrient. If your status is UNDER: list 2 foods that are good sources of the nutrient that you
would eat to improve your intake.
 b
The current DRI for vitamin D assumes no exposure to sun DRI for vitamin D is 15ug. We are assuming you
need to consume ~5ug of vitamin D from food for this project and the rest comes from sun exposure. Thus,
use 5ug as the DRI and state whether you are OK, over, or under based on using 5ug as the target.

Continue on to the next page….

6. REFLECT ON YOUR DIET: Answer each of the following questions in thoughtful sentences. Base your
responses on what you found in the table above.

a. Comment as to whether you did or could fulfill your nutrient needs through foods. Comment as to
whether you routinely consume vitamin/mineral supplements. If you think it is necessary to take a
supplement, explain why you are not able to meet your needs with foods.

The nutrient status in my diet is split - half of the nutrients are ok, while half are under. My diet should be
able to sustain nutrient amounts as long as more calories are eaten during the day - if the amount of food is
increased then the nutrient levels will increase as well.

b. Discuss the adequacy of your protein intake. If you are getting too little protein, list two protein-rich
foods you could add to your diet. If you met the protein RDA, view your 3-day analysis, and identify two
foods of high quality protein that you ate and 2 foods of lower quality protein that you ate. (It may be
helpful to review class notes and textbook on the topic of protein quality).
protein intake was under the recommended amount, so poultry (quality chicken)
and peanut butter could be increased within the diet.

7. Evaluate the sodium and potassium content of your diet. List your average nutrient intakes and status for
sodium and potassium in the table below. Report to use: Nutrients Report

Nutrient Average Eaten Status: OK, Over or Under

Sodium (mg) (goal: < 2300 mg)* 2077 Ok

Potassium (mg) (goal: >4700 mg) 2239 Under

*
This goal is used for persons not at risk for hypertension. If you have high blood pressure or at risk for
hypertension, use 1,500 mg/day as your goal.

8. In the table below identify three food sources in your diet that are contributing the highest amounts of
sodium to your diet and identify three appropriate lower sodium substitutions. Please read the footnotes
below to best complete the table.
mg of mg of sodium
Similar, lower sodium substitute
High sodium food sourcesa sodium per per serving
for high sodium foodc
servingb

spaghetti without 1
Spaghetti w/ sauce 1017
sauce

Ham and cheese 689

846 turkey with cheese sauce
croissant

Cheeseburger 789 plain Cheeseburger 551

a
Use the Nutrients report, and click on the “+” next to sodium and the list of foods you consumed highest in
sodium will appear.
b
Use the Food Details Report, under nutrients heading, only select sodium to identify the milligrams (mg) of
sodium per serving for each of the food items you listed.
c
An appropriate substitution is one that contains at least 25% less sodium than your original choice and is in
the same food group or contains roughly the same nutritional quality. You can use the Food-a-Pedia feature in
Super Tracker to compare to similar food items and their sodium content:
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/SuperTracker/foodapedia.aspx (For example, a pork chop would be an
appropriate substitute for ham. Two slices of toast would not be an appropriate substitution as it is not in the
same food group and provides a different nutrient profile to our diet.) You can also use the appendix in the back
of the book for ideas of lower sodium substitutes.
9. Are you meeting the recommended intake for potassium (>4700mg/day)? YES NO

If yes, answer “a” below; If no, answer “b” below.

a. You answered “yes”. Identify two food sources you are consuming that are rich in potassium.
(Hint: click on the “+” in front of Potassium on the Nutrients Report.):

b. You answered “no”. List two foods that you will try to consume to improve your potassium intake.

squash, sweet potato

10. Briefly discuss why Americans are encouraged to aim for recommended levels of sodium and potassium in
their diets. We have not covered sodium and potassium yet so you can read Chapter 12 The Major Minerals:
Sodium and Potassium to describe the health implications. Type your response here in 100-200 words.
sodium is in much of what we eat, and we should limit our intake. Too much means high blood pressure
and other negative health factors. We have to maintain stasis, that is, maintain a steady base line of health and
function within the body. Potassium counteracts the effects of sodium so as to maintain a consistent blood
pressure. A high sodium diet will increase the need for potassium. Low levels of potassium may be linked to high
blood pressure.

Remember to submit the following 3 reports along with this document into the ANGEL Drop Box ( 4
attachments total):

Food Groups and Calories—all 3 days combined; enter date range of the 3 days you entered into Super Tracker
(1 report)
Nutrients Report—all 3 days combined; enter date range of the 3 days you entered into SuperTracker (1 report)
Meal Summary—all 3 days combined; enter date range of the 3 days you entered into SuperTracker (1 report)