Reflction

With this, my PT is complete. Here is my reflection:)

- What have you learnt about your eating habits?
I learnt that my eating habits may not be very healthy. I have consumed too much salt, way over the recommended amount of daily intake. I have always liked salty food, so normally, I prefer to add in soy sauce to my rice. Adding the salt from other food, the total amount of salt I consume is quite high. Not only that, I don't really like to eat vegetables and prefer not to eat them if I get the chance. That resulted in my lack of dietary fibre intake. I should start eating more vegetables and start cutting down on the amount of salty food I eat. I should also make an attempt to make my eating habits healthier :)

- Do you consider your diet a healthy one? Why?
I do not really think that my diet is very healthy. I don't think that I have eaten enough vegetables and fruits. From time to time, I might have eaten some vegetables but only a few pieces and I rarely eat fruits.  I prefer junk food over the normal meal. Not much junk food is seen in my diet for the past three days as I have been mostly eating out for the past few days so I didn't get much chances to eat much. I think that I should cut down on the junk food and fried food that I prefer eating and eat more vegetables and fruits.

- Are the suggested nutritional tools useful too? How?
The nutritional tools are useful as helps me to develop a further understanding of my diet. The food intake assessment present me with a detailed analysis of my diet. It helps me to find out exactly what is wrong with my diet and gives me suggestions on how I might want to improve on my diet so make it healthier. However, it is a little time consuming. The healthy food pyramid is also useful because of its simplicity. I can easily compare my diet to the pyramid to find out what type of food do my diet need to be healthy or how many more servings of food I need.

- Why is your suggested one-dish meal healthy?
It is healthier than before because, the addition of vegetables increase the intake of dietery fibre as well as other vitamins that the vegetable may contain. Not only that, by adding lesser cheese and sauce helps to decrease the intake of fats and sodium. Wholemeal spaghetti should be used as wholemeal products are healthier in general.

A healthy one-dish meal

Among the meals that I have eaten in the past few days, my favourite is definitely the spaghetti. So, I am going to make the spaghetti a healtheier meal. 

1. Put lesser cheese

- Too much cheese is fattening

2. Lesser sauce

- The huge amount of sauce is not only fattening but it also contains a high amount of sodium which acts like a sponge, holding water in our body. Excess sodium increases the blood volume, which then raises the pressure in our blood vessels. Hypertension or high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke and heart attacks. 

3. The pasta should be of wholemeal product

- Wholemeal products in general are healthier since it is made by grinding whole grains which are a natural source of protein as well as a source of carbohydrates.

4. Add in vegetables
- No vegetables is present in the spaghetti. I could try adding some veges on top, near the meatballs as decoration so it not only makes the dish look more colourful but also makes the dish healthier :)

Heatlhy Diet pyramid, RDDA

Over the past 3 days, my diet consisted of about 9 servings of rice and alternatives; 3 servings of rice, 3 servings of noodles, and 3 servings of bread or wholegrain products.
For fruit and vegetables however, I only had one serving of fruit. Luckily for vegetables, I had about 3 servings. 
For meat and alternatives, I do eat up to around 3 servings, so that is a good thing.
However, I do think that as many of the products I ate contained more oil, fats, sugar and salt than necessary, particularly more salt. 


As a general, according to the Healthy Diet Pyramid, my diet quite normal, not too unhealthy. However, I do need to eat my more fruits and lessen my intake of salty food. 

Recipe Analysis

It is too tedious to do an analysis on everything that i have eaten, so I just chose one of my favourite dish, the Spaghetti. Here is the result:

Recipe Name	:	spaghetti
No. of serving(s)	:	1
Recipe Analysis

Ingredient Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Total Fat (g) Saturated Fat (g) Cholesterol (mg) Carbohydrate (g) Dietary Fibre (g) Sodium (mg) Sauce, pasta, tomato based, commercial, heated 135 4 2 0.3 0 26 5.0 1,316 Spaghetti, uncooked, dried 1,464 41 6 1.2 0 310 15.6 12 Meat ball, pork, steamed 226 12 19 6.8 25 1 0.0 364 Total (per serving) 1,825 58 27 8.2 25 337 20.7 1,692

Anaylsis Food intake assessment

This is basically my nutrients intake from the food i eat over the span of 3 days. 


Period of Analysis: 04/06/2011 - 06/06/2011

	Energy (kcal)	Carbohydrate (g)	Protein (g)	Total Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Calcium (mg)	Dietary Fibre (g)	Sodium (mg)
Average intake per day	1,244	197.5	37.2	25.4	15.4	51.4	516.4	7.4	2,083.0
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)	1,866	279.9	55.5	62.2	20.7	186.6	1,000.0	18.7	1,244.4
% of recommendation met	72	62	67	41	74	28	52	40	167

	% of total energy intake
	Your diet	Recommendation
Total Carbohydrates	56%	55 - 65%
Total Protein	18%	10 - 15%
Total Fat	27%	25 - 30%

Nutrition messages based on results 

Sodium
Your sodium intake was greater than the recommended amounts. Sodium acts like a sponge, holding water in our body. Excess sodium increases the blood volume, which then raises the pressure in our blood vessels. Hypertension or high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke and heart attacks. 

The main source of sodium in our diet comes from salt (sodium chloride) and sauces added during cooking or at the table. To cut down on sodium intake, gradually reduce the use of salt and sauces when preparing or cooking food so that your taste buds have the chance to adjust. Try flavouring foods with natural seasonings like lemon juice or herbs and spices. Choose fresh food over processed foods over processed foods and enjoy the natural taste of foods. When eating out, ask for less sauces or gravy in dishes. 

Dietary Fibre
You were not getting enough dietary fibre in your diet. An adequate intake of dietary fibre can help to promote proper bowel functions, reduce blood cholesterol and control blood glucose levels. Dietary fibre can also help to make you feel full longer. Dietary fibre can only be obtained from plant-based foods. Remember to have your 2 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables everyday. Choose fresh fruit or vegetables rather than the juice, and eat the skin (if edible) of cleaned fruit or vegetables. Replace meat-based dishes with beans, peas or lentils in you diet on alternate days. Try to consume 1 serving of wholegrain products from the rice and alternatives group daily, for example unpolished rice and wholemeal bread. 

Calcium
You were not getting enough calcium in your diet. Without adequate calcium, you may be at risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition where your bones become weak and brittle. If left untreated, osteoporosis can worsen until a fracture (crack or break in the bone) occurs. 

Increase your calcium intake from a variety of sources. Consume calcium-enriched breads and biscuits, green leafy vegetables, calcium-fortified juices, high-calcium soya bean milk, ikan bilis, sardines (with bones), tofu, as well as milk and other dairy products. Vitamin D helps our body absorb calcium. Your body can make this vitamin after sunlight hits your skin. You can easily obtain enough by getting at least 30-60 minutes of sunlight a day. 


Aside from eating wisely, remember to make exercise a part of your life. Exercise helps to burn fat, tone your muscles, improve your stamina, relax and sleep better, as well as keep you alert and study better! Exercise at least 20 to 60 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week, until you sweat and breathe deeply without getting breathless. Choose an exercise that you enjoy, and try a variety so that you don’t get bored. Keep your exercise routine simple, fun and interesting. 

Day 3 (06/06/11)

TIme	Food eaten	Quantity
11 00	fried egg garlic bread milk	1  1 piece 150ml
13 45	rice egg spinach fried peanuts Yakult	1 plate 1 piece 6 pieces 12- peanuts 1 bottle
19 20	Werther’s original sweet	2 pieces
20 20	Steamed fish Rice cabbage potato steamed egg	Half a fish I plate around 9 pieces 3 pieces 4 spoonful

Day 2 (05/06/2011)

Time	Food eaten	Quantity
10 30	Peanut butter bread Milk	1 piece 250ml
13 30	Bee hoon  Milo	I bowl  half a cup
19 45	Chicken Rice Coffee Cookies Papaya	1 plate 500ml 3 pieces 1 plate