Indulgence
a deadly sin, a fatal drug

Comments
10:15 PM
Priya Ravi
Click here to access blog

I think the fact that Priya actually explained about the disadvantages of having an unhealthy diet and what consequences it will cause, is very good as she provides the reader with extra information before they actually start analysing her diet. She also provided the reader with her average daily nutritional intakes and explained why her lack or excess intakes of particular nutrients may not be good for her. Besides stating her different mealtimes during her period on analysis, she also elaborated on it using the Food Pyramid, by calculating her number of servings compared to the recommended servings.

However, even though she said she calculated her results through BMI, she did not state the result anwhere. Also, she did not state her method of cooking for the healthier dish and explain why it was healthier.

But overall, I feel that her blog is quite detailed and well-though out. Good job(:

Celine Liu
Click here to access blog

Celine's blog has sufficient information to inform the reader of her dietary habits. However, she only used one nutritional tool, which was the Food Intake Assessment. Though this tool may be quite reliable, she should base it with more results from other tools. Otherwise than that, her blog is not that bad(:

Charys Lau
Click here to access blog

Charys noted down the nutritional values of the food that she ate over the past three days, however she did not state the timings of when she had consumed the foods. This can lead to confusion of the reader as eating foods at different times of the day can affect us differently. For example, on 10th of February, if she had ate porridge with salmon at 9pm for dinner, instead of 6.30pm, the digestion rates would have been different, therfore it might affacet the accuracy of the whole recording process. Also, she uses the word 'snack'. This is very vague as 'snack' can mean tea or supper etc. This is when the problem of the lack of mentioning of time comes in, we will not know if she had ate her samosa for tea in the afternoon or for supper in the evening.

She did not mention the method of cooking for her healthier dish. her reflection was also not very well-thought out as she did not mention quite a number of things.

Overall, I think her blog can be improved on(:

(If I offended anyone, I am deeply sorry D:)
Reflection
10:59 PM
I realised that I have very unhealthy eating habits. I take in a lot of sodium and fats and little calcium and fibre. My eating habits are also very varied. One day I will eat especially healthily and the other, full of excess fat and sodium. My diet depends mostly on my mood and this is not good as when I'm feeling tired or frustrated, I will indulge myself in 'sinful' food. I also like to snack whenever I feel like it which can in long term, be very bad. I should cut down on the unhealthy junk food and regulate my diet.

The nutritional tools have proved very useful to me. They helped me in tracking my diet and letting me know how much I should or should not take so as to maintain a balanced diet. For example, the RDDA and FIA made me realise what I was consuming too much of and what I was lacking. So now, I can be more concious of what I am eating. The Healthier Choice symbol has also helped me in selecting food that I buy and has helped me to make healthier choices. The Food Pyramid has also helped me to easily remember the servings of food I should eat more of and what to eat less.

I feel that my dish is healthy mainly because it contains the essential nutrients needed in our daily diet. Fibre in the spinach, calcium and protein in the tofu and silverfish, olive oil as a healthier choice. I also took note of the servings recommended by the Food Pyramid when I chose my ingredients and specifically took those with the Healthy Choice Symbol(if possible).

This whole process of recording and finding out about my diet and cooking a healthier dish that will improve it, was very fun and fruiful. From this, I have learnt more about food, which I used to so casually just down. I will put this knowledge to better use and maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle!

Modifying a Dish
10:52 PM
Today, I modified a dish that I had consumed during one of the meals in the tracking of the 3-day diet. I modified the Spinach with Mushrooms dish so as to make it healthier and tastier.

Instead stir-frying it in oyster sauce, I instead chose to boil the spinach into a soup, together with egg tofu, silver fish and sauteed garlic. Instead of canola oil, I replaced the oil with olive oil, which is healthier. I call it the MIGHTY POPEYE'S CONCOTION OF LIFE. (No, I'm just kidding.)
I made the dish according to the Healthy Food Pyramid with tofu as the needed carbohydrates, spinach as fibre and silverfish as the meats group. The dish has more variety and is healthier and contains more nutrients. Tofu is a great source of protein and calcium and it does not contain a lot of fat or sodium. I specially used olive oil as it is a vegetable oil and is healthier than most cooking oils on shelves. Silver fish is also a great source of calcium as the bones are easy to swallow. Spinach contains a lot of dietary fibre, which can promote healthy bowel movement and control blood glucose levels. Boiling is also a healthier method of cooking as compared to frying and grilling.

The process of cooking this dish was very enjoyable and I hope to be able to cook this tasty yet healthy dish again!
Food Intake Assessment
5:23 PM
Food Intake Assessment
Today, I calculated my dietary intake for three days, from the 14th to the 16th of February.

I used the Health Promotion Board tools like the RDDA(Recommended Daily Dietary Allowance, Food Intake Assessment and Nutrient Composition of Foods.
(Note: Dietary allowance is calculated from the age, gender and weight.)

These are the results obtained:


Again, I apologise for the unclear photos as graphs are not possble to post on Blogger): Sorry, but you'll have to click on the photos, then zoom. Or save them and then enlarge. Sorry!

According to the results, my RDDA is 1851 kcal. My average daily intake is 1326 kcal, thus I have not fufilled the reqirements of my recommended daily dietray intake. Also, my intake of saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol were too much. My intake of dietary fibre and calcium were too low. To conquer these factors, I need to:
  • Cut down on foods that contain most fat such as, flavoured rice(e.g. chicken rice, nasi briyani), creamy foods and cocnut-milk based foods.
  • Reduce my salt intake, such as soya sauce and flavourings and instead, use natural seasonings like herbs or spices.
  • Eat enough vegetables to get enough fibre and remember to have 2 servings of fruits and vegetables each daily. Wholegrains are also recommended.
  • Replace some meats with bean products or vegetables and cut down the number of eggs eaten as eggs contain high cholestrol. If really necessary, try to limit to only eating the egg white.
  • Consume calcium-enriched breads/biscuits and green, leafy vegetables. Tofu, milk and ikan bilis are also good sources of calcium. Staying outside in the sun for at least 30-60 minutes a day is also essential as the vitamin D in sunlight helps our body absorb calcium.

Also, exercise is very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It helps to burn fats, tone your muscles, relax and sleep better and also keep you alert for you to study better! When shopping for food, look out for products with the Healthier Choice Symbol as those products are lower in total fat, saturated fat, sodium and/or dietary fibre content compared to other products in similar categories.


The Healthy Food Pyramid can also serve as a guidance for us to eat what we require daily and is easier to remember for busy people neglecting their meals. Its unique shape also helps people to remember what they should eat more of and what to eat less. The foot of the pyramid represents staple foods and is the widest so more of that should be eaten once a day as compared to the peak of the pyramid, which represents fats, sugar and salt, and should be seldom consumed.

After looking at my dietary results, I realised I have ate quite a lot of foods containing the things represented at the peak of the pyramid, which should be sparingly consumed. Also, I consume very little servings of fruits and vegetables, which is not a very good sign as they contain essential dietary fibre.



After calculating my RDDA and IDA and analysing my diet using the above tools, I will proceed to modifying a dish in my three-day diet so as to make it healthier, keeping in mind the healthier methods of cooking and/or ingredients and also, the nutrients that I have learnt about that makes up our diet.
Food Intake over three consecutive days
4:28 PM
Tracing of my 3-day diet

Over three days(14th-16th Pebruary), I recorded my meals and calculated the nutrient composition of them. Here are the results(inclusive of three basic meals, snacks, teas etc):



I apologize for the unclear pictures): Blogger refuses to let me post a graph): I am deeply sorry, whomever you are, trying to view this, I am afraid you will have to click on the picture and then magnify it): I really am sorry):

I really like to indulge myself in "sinful" food but because of Food & Nutrition classes, I am slightly more health concious. The examples of over-eating or anorexic tendencies have made me very scared.

Over-eating can cause obesity, or even in worst-case scenarios, cardiological diseases that can lead to haert failure and death. This is due to excess fat that clogs up our bloodstreams. Also, excess sodium can cause hypertension, or high blood pressure, that also increases the chances of stroke and heart attacks. Many people nowadays over-eat very easily. This can be due to the wide variety of delicious foods we have available easily. Others who suffer from depression also like to eat to reduce their stress, thus over time, they become overweight and unhealthy.



Under-eating is also quite common in today's society, due to the stereotyped view that slim and skinny people are the most attractve. This is not so, as having a bit of flesh will not kill you, moreover it will give you a heathier and more vibrant look. Eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, are caused by under-eating or not eating at all. These diseases will cause harm to the body and may lead to organ failure as the body does not have enough nutrition or energy that comes from our food intake.



Thus, from these examples, we can see how important having a balanced diet is. Staying healthy is the key to having a healthy and fufilled life.

Food and Nutrition
7:56 PM
-Creation of blog-

Food. We often gorge down portions of it without ever thinking, what exactly are we eating?

Did you know, that in your usual hamburger, contains about 9.5 grams of fat alone?



In all foods that we intake daily, we consume different amounts of nutrients like calcium, fibre, sodium and iron.

Along with this comes the RDDA (Recommended Daily Dietary ),in which states our recommended daily intake of certain nutrients in our diet, and many others, like the Food Pyramid.

Many do not realise they are consuming more or less than what they require daily. This may lead to appearance of ailments and severe lack/excess consumption of essential nutrients may even lead to serious consequences.

Different people require different amounts of nutrients to sustain a healthy lifestyle. For example, a normal teenage schoolgirl only requires 800mg of calcium while a pregnant woman may require up to 1600mg of it! As different people have different lifestyle habits and different needs, their RRDA vary.

With this module, we have learned much about a healthy, regular diet and other examples of unhealthy diets. With this knowledge in hand, we set out to find a way to increase our dietary balance. First off, we will modify a dish to make it healthier. But before that, we will first monitor our daily diet to find out and gain better knowledge of what exactly are we eating.

Bon Appetit!