Healthy You: Diets and Food Essay

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Diets and food decisions vary greatly around the world. The average diet of a Chinese person differs from that of a Greek person, an English person, or an American person. Due to different traditions, the availability of food, and traditional crops and farm animals present within different countries, several different diets were developed independently one of another.

In Europe, there are two predominant diets – North European, and South European diet, also known as the Mediterranean diet (Sofi, Macchi, Abatte, Gensini, & Casini, 2013). In the USA, North European diet is predominant. It is characterized by the abundance of red meat and fats over vegetables, fruits, and fibers (Sofi et al., 2013). This kind of diet is one of the reasons for the nation’s obesity problem. According to statistics, more than 2/3 of adults in the USA are obese (“Overweight and obesity statistics,” 2012). Diets vary in their intake of vitamins, proteins, fats, sodium, potassium, and other important components necessary for the functioning of our body.

According to numerous sources, the standard calorie intake for an adult person varies between 2000 and 2500 calories per day (Rolfes, Pinna, & Whitney, 2012). This number depends on the gender, build, metabolism levels, physical activities, and many others. On average, a person should consume between 40-70 grams of Fats, 200-300 grams of Carbohydrates, and 50 grams of protein. According to my nutrition log, my overall calorie intake is around 2200; I also consume around 95 grams of fats, 240 grams of carbohydrates, and 60 grams of protein (Rolfes et al., 2012). From this position, my diet seems relatively well balanced, with only a small excess of fats. It could be dealt with by dropping the sandwich out of the snack menu and replacing it with several fruits or vegetables. My diet is closer to North-European. Adding more fruits and vegetables those to the menu instead of a sandwich would help me facilitate a healthier diet.

Nutrition Log

Breakfast

Item	Calories	Fat (g)	Sat Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Quaker instant oats	360	4	1	64	8
Apple juice 200 ml	92	0	0	22	0.2
Total	452	4	1	86	8.2

Lunch

Item	Calories	Fat (g)	Sat Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Chicken Soup, 240 g	87	3	0.8	8	6
White bread, 2 slices	132	1.6	0.4	12	4.6
Total	219	4.6	1.2	20	10.6

Dinner

Item	Calories	Fat (g)	Sat Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
2 chicken patties, 200 g	574	40	7.4	13	15
Mashed potatoes 100 g	88	2.8	0.6	15	1.7
Green tea, no sugar, 200 ml	0	0	0	0	0
Total	662	42.8	8	28	16.7

Snacks

Item	Calories	Fat (g)	Sat Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Snickers bar	488	24	13	63	7
Sandwich	340	19	7	26	16
Apple	52	0.2	0	14	0.3
Total	880	43.2	20	103	23.3

Overall total: 2213 94.6 237 58.8

Item	Servings
Fruits and vegetables (a serving is a small piece of fruit, a half cup of most veggies, or 1 cup of leafy greens)	1
Calcium rich foods (milk/dairy products, calcium fortified foods like soy milk, leafy greens)	1
Protein rich foods (3-4 ounces of meat or fish, beans, soy based foods like tofu, nut/nut butters)	1
Foods with added sugar (cookies, candy, soda, etc.)	1

Works Cited

Overweight and obesity statistics. (2012). Web.

Rolfes, S.R., Pinna, K., & Whitney, A. (2012). Understanding normal and clinical nutrition. Stanford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Sofi, F., Macchi, C., Abatte, R., Gensini, G.F., & Casini, A. (2013). Mediterranean diet and health. Biofactors, 39(4), 335-342.

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