Nutrition Facts of Food - Assignment Example

NUTRITION FACTS OF FOOD CRUNCH ACTION CEREAL Serving Size: 3/4th cup (55g) ; Total calories: 176 cal; Total grams of carbohydrate: 32g: Dietary Fiber: 4g; Good source of fiber( soluble) Water soluble dietary fiber have significant cholesterol-lowering effect. Foods rich in soluble fiber include oat bran and dried beans, with additional amounts in barley and fruits. Insoluble dietary fiber do not have lipid-lowering effects. They are cellulose, lignin, and many hemicellulose – found in vegetables, wheat, and most grains Sugar ; 11 g (dextrose, maltose, high fructose honey) Ingredients: Whole oats, milled corn, Enriched wheat flour, vitamins, sugars, salts natural flavors and vitamins Knowing how to read an ingredient lists puts you many steps ahead of a naïve buyer. This is a whole grain enriched product Kellogg’s Cornflakes ( nutrients per 100 g) Serving size; to be had with milk- ; Total calories: 375Kcal; Carbohydrates: 85g; Sugar; Fiber:1.7g ; Order of ingredients: Energy, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins Kellogg’s Cornflakes I a better choice because of its high calorie content and more carbohydrate DISCUSSION 1. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan is a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and lower diary products with are reduced content of saturated and total fat. It is advocated by the JNC7 as a reasonable and feasible diet that is known to lower BP. The recommended restriction is less than 2.4 g (100mEq) sodium per day (Dipiro, 195). This diet is recommended for the high risk groups – including Black Americans, persons with a family history of hypertension, those who are obese and those having coronary heart disease. Nutritional therapy plays a large role in treatment of hypertension. Focus on current nutritional therapy is on weight management, sodium control, general nutrient balance, and an individual food plan. In addition, regular exercise, meditation, and a calm lifestyle also help in reducing hypertension (Williams 468, 469) 2. Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia: These two concepts are incorrectly used synonymously. A hypothetical example is used to explain the concepts: assume that a negative iron balance is induced in an iron-replete woman by the insertion of an intra-uterine contraceptive device. Her menstrual iron losses will then be doubled. Iron absorption progressively increases but cannot fully balance the higher iron losses. Her iron stores will then be successively emptied. When iron can no longer be mobilized from the iron stores, insufficient amounts of iron will be delivered to transferring, the circulating transporting protein for iron. The binding sites for iron on transferring will thus contain less and less iron. The red-cell precursors, which continuously need iron for the formation of hemoglobin, will get an insufficient supply of iron as the transferrin saturation drops to a critical level. The hemoglobin production will be impaired rather early in the development of iron deficiency, and the hemoglobin level starts to fall below the individual woman’s own normal optimal value. If the negative iron balance is sufficiently severe and long standing, the impaired hemoglobin formation will sooner or later lead to the individual hemoglobin value passing below the 2.5th percentile value of the population. When this occurs, anemia is considered to be present according to current definitions. Worldwide nutritional iron deficiency is the most common cause of iron deficiency. In many tropical countries, infestation with hook worm leads to intestinal blood losses may be considerable. In clinical practice, patients with tumors in gastro-intestinal tract or uterus, especially if uterine bleedings have increased or changed in regularity. Patients with achlorhydria absorb dietary iron less well or patients who have undergone gastric surgery absorb iron less well and develop iron deficiency. In communities which are largely vegetarian, nutritional factors are purely the only cause of iron deficiency (Garrow and James, .181). Non-specific signs and symptoms associated with anemia include tiredness, pallor, fainting, exertional dyspnoea, tachycardia and palpitations. In addition to the general symptoms of anemia, various other features of iron deficiency anemia include pale skin and mucous membranes, painless glossitis, angular stomatitis, koilonychias (spoon shaped nails), dysphagia and pica (unusual cravings) and atrophic gastritis (Roger and Edwards, 726). The treatment of iron deficiency anemia has two components: treatment of the cause of iron deficiency and treatment of the deficiency. A good diet is important for the prevention of iron deficiency, but is not sufficient to treat existing iron deficiency anemia. Oral iron therapy is usually very effective if well absorbed iron tablets are given at sufficient doses for a very long time. Parenteral iron preparation scan also be used. 3. Calcium and Vitamin D in Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis is defined as a condition in which the amount of bone per unit volume is decreased but the composition remains unchanged. This leaves open the question of calcium, and also takes note of the fact that peak bone mass may be determined by other nutritional factor, particularly of protein and energy during growth. The most important mineral constituent of the skeleton is calcium. This is vital for a large number of functions within the body, including the muscular, neurological, and the endocrine systems. A large number of factors control calcium balance. The amount of calcium within the skeleton changes with age, according to its size and composition, increasing during growth and declining in parallel with the bone loss in later years. All the actions of vitamin D are mediated through its active metabolite 1,25(OH)2D3. Although the actions of 1,25(OH)2D3 concern calcium transport and are important in the control of plasma calcium (particularly by controlling the intestinal absorption of calcium and the osteoclastic resorption of bone, probably via osteoblasts) it has been shown that the calciotrophic function is only one aspect of 1,25(OH)2D3 metabolism. There is some evidence of lower vitamin K status in patients with osteoporosis. The vitamin K dependent protein, the main gla-protein of mineralized tissue is osteocalcin, which is produced by osteoclasts and odontoblast cells respectively. They are involved in bone mineralization. Vitamin D is present in a number of foods such egg yolk, oily fish, cereals, fats and oils, meat and meat products, and vegetables, in addition to milk and milk products. The major source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight. The amount of bone present in the young adult (when the bone mass is at its peak) is determined by genetic factors, gender, the use of skeleton, the nutritional intake, which include calcium, and endocrine factors. Less important factors tending to decrease bone mass are cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and self-imposed starvation, as in anorexia-nervosa. (Williams, 164, 166, 231) 4. Fortification or enrichment of food: Food with added nutrient, usually, to replaces some of those lost in processing. such as addition of several B vitamins and iron to wheat flour is enriched food. Fortified foods are food with added nutrients to make it a comparable substitute for a similar regular food, such as vitamin A fortified margarine used for butter; or food having a needed nutrient added, such as vitamin D fortified milk Common food additives include salt, sugar, baking powder, spices, flavorings, vitamins, minerals, preservatives, emulsifiers, and nonnutritive sweeteners. They i) add specific nutrients to enrich products ii) produce uniform properties such as flavor, aroma, texture, and general appearance iii) standardize many functional properties, such as thickening or stabilization iv) preserve foods by preventing oxidation and v) control acidity, alkalinity to improve flavor, texture, and cooked product. (Williams, 201) References Dipiro, J. T, Robert, L. T., Gary, C. Y., Gary RM, Barbara, G. W. & L. M. Posey (editors).(1999) Pharmacotherapy; A pathophysiologic approach, 6th ed, New York, McGraw_Hill Medical Publishing Division pp, 195 Garrow, J. S. & W. P. T. James(editors) (1993) Human nutrition and Dietetics, Churchill Livingstone , 9th edition, Edinburgh, pp, 181 Walker, R., & Clive, E (editors) (2003) Clinical Pharmacological Theraupeutics, 3rd ed, New York, Churchhill Livingstone pp, 726, 728 Williams, S. R. (1986) Essentials of Nutrition and diet therapy, 4th edition, Times Mirror/Mosby College Publishing, St. Louis, pp, 164, 166, 231, 201, .468, 469 Read More