Nutrition Low Income Diet Plan - Essay Example

?Formulation of a Diet Chart for One Week Based On the Principle of Balanced Diet for a Woman in a Low Income Group Diet Charts are essential to indicate the amount or portions of the various food items that one should consume in the entire day to meet the daily calorie requirements. Diet charts need to be formulated based on the socioeconomic conditions and occupation because a person with a low socioeconomic status, too need to be supplied with the necessary amounts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The data reflected that the subject had a daily calorie requirement of 2217 kcal/day(16940kcal/7 days including SDA). The protein and carbohydrate requirement were at par to RNI and DRV values, though carbohydrates were less in terms of RNI. Unfortunately the fat rich foods were purchased less. Although the fat requirement of 35% was obeyed but there was disparity in intake of trans fatty acids, saturated fatty acids and mono-unsaturated fatty acids. This could lead to impairment of transport and absorption of vitamins, less available energy for heavy endurance work, and decreased feeling of satiety. After reorienting her purchase by reducing 1 avocado, white wine and replacing with 12 more French dressings in her diet will not only address the issue of meeting RNI and DRV of fats but will also reduce her expenses by 0.32 pounds and her new expenditure will be 23.3pound/week. This indicates that she will be able to live on a 30 pound weekly income. Introduction Diet Charts are essential to indicate the amount or portions of the various food items that one should consume in the entire day to meet the daily calorie requirements. Calorie requirement depends on the gender of the individual, the type of daily activity undertaken, profession of the individual, specific disease states, and specific clinical conditions like pregnancy, lactation ( Darnton-Hill, Nishida and James,2004:101-121). Diet charts also need to be formulated based on the socioeconomic conditions of the individual and hence there cannot be a concept of universal diet chart (Barker, 2002:17). Calorie requirements are based on the concept of Balanced Diet. A Balanced Diet is one which contains all the necessary macro and micronutrients comprising of carbohydrates, fats and proteins including vitamins and trace elements to meet the daily calorie need of an individual, so that the individual can maintain his or her daily activities and at the same time keeping a good health and preventing the chance of diseases by building body immunity. The calorie requirements of an individual are expressed in the form of Adult Consumption Units. Adult Consumption Unit expresses the calorie requirement of a person in reference to the average calorie requirement of a reference man, which is normal sedentary adult man. The calorie requirement normally considered at an average of 2400kcal. The different ACU speculated are: The calories are provided by carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Dietary carbohydrates serves the principle source of energy, acts as protein sparers, as metabolic primers for protein and fat metabolisms and also forms the fuel of the Central Nervous system (Lippard and Berg, 1994).50-60% of total calories should come from carbohydrates (McArdle, Katch, and Katch ,2006). The calorific value of carbohydrates is 4.1kcal/gram (Kathleen Mahan, Raymond and Escott-Stump, 2012). Fats are required to supply the required amount of essential fatty acids, to act as dietary vehicles for transport and absorption of vitamins, provide high percentage of energy for heavy endurance work, to bring satiety (Haque and Mozaffar,1992:1351-4). Fat requirement increases with the rise in total calorie requirement because fat have a high calorie value around 9.1 kcal/gram, which is more than proteins or carbohydrates (Berg , Tymoczko, and Stryer 2002:603). The calorific values of proteins are 4.1kcal/gram. A protein containing adequate and balanced amounts of essential amino acids has high nutritive value because its amino acids are promptly incorporated into proteins (Di Pasquale and Mauro,2008:79) (Black et al,2008:243-260). Vitamins like A,are required for prevention of scotopic vision, which are supplied by milk. Green vegetables are a good source of folate, riboflavin and vitamin K. Fruits supply with adequate vitamin C. Minerals like calcium, phosphorus and iron and zinc are also required in trace amounts to have important physiological functions (Sommer and West,1996). There should also be an allowance of 10% to the total calorie requirement for specific dynamic action of food (Cox, 2000) (Shils et al,2005) Aim and Objectives of The Dissertation This dissertation will aim to analyze the purchase of food items as per the calorie requirement of individual women with a low income of 30 pounds per week and framing of diet charts for 7 days. Methodology First of all the purchase of food items for 1 week brought from a supermarket( ASDA) will be analyzed based on food bill to get the quantity and the price. Then the excess and deficits of nutrients will be calculated and compared with age, body weight, occupation and ACU. Based on that, the 7 day diet chart will be formulated. The calorie need was calculated as follows: Data were analyzed through forestfield software ,UK (Dietplan) . Results               Intake(g)/day RNI(g/day) DRV Comments   Total Carbohydrates 281 336.3 50% 20% less than RNI   Non Starch Polysachharides 20.3 18    More than RNI   Total Dietary fibre 27.5   18g/day More than DRV   Total Fats 84.4 86.2 35% 0.5% less than RNI   Saturated fatty acids 22 27.1 11% 20% less than RNI   Mono-unSaturated fatty acids 21.5 32 13% 30% less than RNI   Poly-unSaturated fatty acids 28.6 16.1 6.50% More than RNI   Total Trans Fats 0.25 4.93 2% much lesser than DRV   Total proteins 67.2 45 50gram More than DRV   Total calories 2106 2217 100% Less than RNI               Table 1: Indicates Intake versus requirement values in terms of RNI and DRV Fig 1: Fig 3: Indicates Calorie intake per day versus RNI (with current purchase) Fig2: Indicates Nutrient amounts per day versus RNI as per current purchase               Intake(g)/day RNI(g/day) DRV Comments   Total Carbohydrates 280.8 336.3 50% 1132 kcal/2106kcal= 53.7%   Non Starch Polysachharides 20.11 18       Total Dietary fibre 26.3   18g/day More than DRV   Total Fats 114.4 86.2 35% More than   Saturated fatty acids 28.5 27.1 11% Addressed   Mono-unSaturated fatty acids 28.5 32 13% Almost addressed   Poly-unSaturated fatty acids 38.6 16.1 6.50% More than DRV   Total Trans Fats 0.25 4.93 2% much lesser than DRV   Total proteins 67.2 45 50gram More than DRV   Total calories 2242 2217 100% Addressed               Table 2: Indicates Intake versus requirement values in terms of RNI and DRV( after removing avocado equivalent to 1 pound, and white wine worth 1 pound and replacing with 12 more french dressings worth 1.68 pounds) Fig 3: Indicates Calorie intake per day versus RNI (after removing avocado equivalent to 1 pound, and white wine worth 1 pound and replacing with 12 more french dressings worth 1.68 pounds) Fig 4: Indicates Nutrient amounts per day versus RNI (after removing avocado equivalent to 1 pound, and white wine worth 1 pound and replacing with 12 more french dressings worth 1.68 pounds) RNI for Micronutrients and Vitamins As per the salt intake the total quantity was deficit as per DRV values (5.4 g versus 6g) and the main reason was potassium deficiency. The vitamins of B complex matched DRV values and in some cases exceeded but were below the upper tolerable values. On the other hand there was deficiency in retinol content (304 versus 700) and vitamin D content (0.89 versus 1.5) which could lead to osteomalacia or brittleness of bones. Vitamin C consumption was higher than RNI values(156 versus 40) suggesting she could have a well developed immune function. The iron, copper, zinc content matched DRV. There was a deficiency of selenium (46 versus 60) and Iodine deficiency existed as the intake of 102.4 versus DRV of 140. Calcium, phosphorus and chloride content more or less matched DRV. Diet Chart for 7 days Day 1 Breakfast- 3 brown bread with 1 tsp jam (15gm) with nuts and raisin toppings(15gram) with one banana, Walnuts -85 gram. Lunch- Pasta with salad (200gm) Lettuce salad 50 gram, with 2 potatoes (60 gm smashed),Papaya-65gram Dinner- Brown rice 100gm with chicken fillet (50gram), Lentil soup-90gram, Orange 1(50gram). 2 french dressings Day2 Breakfast- 3 brown bread with 1 tsp jam (15gm) ,cheese(15gram), with nuts and raisin toppings(15gram) Walnuts -85 gram Lunch- Brown rice 200gm, Lettuce salad 50 gram with 2 potatoes (60 gm smashed)and 30 gram onion, Papaya-65gram Dinner- 150gm rice ,Lentil soup-90gram ,muesli with extra fruit-80 gram Mixed vegetable= 90 gram and 2 brown breads, Orange 1(50gram) 2 french dressings Day3 Breakfast- 3 brown bread with 1 tsp jam (15gm), with nuts and raisin toppings(15gram) Walnuts -85 gram Lunch- Pasta with salad (200gm) and french dressing(40gram) with 2 potatoes (60 gm smashed) Yoghurt-100gram, Papaya-65gram ,2 french dressings Dinner- 150gm rice, Lentil soup-90gram, Lettuce salad 50 gram. Porridge made with water (75 gram) muesli with extra fruit-80 gram, Orange 1(50gram), 2 french dressings Day4 Breakfast- 3 brown bread with 1 tsp jam (15gm) cheese(15gram), with nuts and raisin toppings(15gram) chicken egg poach(50gram), Walnuts -85 gram Lunch- Brown rice 200gm with 50gram trout with 2 potatoes (60 gm smashed), Apple eating-70gram, Papaya-65gram Dinner- 150gm rice, Lentil soup- 90gram, Milk- 250gram, Lettuce salad 50 gram. Porridge made with water (75 gram) , muesli with extra fruit-80 gram, Orange 1(50gram), 2 french dressings Day5 Breakfast- 3 brown bread with 1 tsp jam (15gm), with nuts and raisin toppings(15gram) Walnuts -85 gram Lunch- Pasta with salad (200gm) with 2 potatoes (60 gm smashed) Black bean-50 gram, Papaya-65gram Dinner-150gm rice, Lentil soup-90gram, Lettuce salad 50 gram, Raw apple cooked(67gram) and two brown breads, Yoghurt-100gram, Orange 1(50gram) 2 french dressings Day6 Breakfast- 3 brown bread with 1 tsp jam (10gm) with nuts and raisin toppings(15gram) chicken egg poach(50gram) ,Walnuts -85 gram Lunch- Brown rice 200gm with chicken fillet (50gram) with 2 potatoes (60 gm smashed) Yoghurt-100gram ,Apple eating-70gram, Papaya-65gram Dinner- 150gm rice, Lentil soup-90gram, Lettuce salad 50 gram, muesli with extra fruit-80 gram, Orange 1(50gram), 2 french dressings Day7 Breakfast- 3 brown bread with 1 tsp jam (10gm) with nuts and raisin toppings(15gram) and cheese(15gram), Walnuts -85 gram Lunch- Brown rice 200gm with 50gram trout with 2 potatoes (60 gm smashed) Apple eating-70gram, Papaya-65gram Dinner- 150gm rice, Pasta with salad (100gm), Lentil soup-90gram, Milk- 250gram, Lettuce salad 50 gram Cheese cake homemade-120 gram, Orange 1(50gram) Discussion From the above analysis it reflects that the individual in question being a woman with a body weight of 54 kg and being a moderate worker and aged 35 years had a daily calorie requirement of 2217 kcal/day(16940kcal/7 days including SDA). The protein intake was at par to RNI values, but carbohydrates were less in terms of RNI, and this was due to low consumption of starchy polysaccharides which was purchased due to low income. This could lead to decreased protein and fat sparing action which could lead to muscle wasting and increased utilization of fats may lead to decreased energy during endurance work.The fat rich foods were purchased less (Table 1). Although the fat requirement of 35% was obeyed but there was disparity in intake of trans fatty acids, saturated fatty acids and mono-unsaturated fatty acids. This could lead to impairment of transport and absorption of vitamins, less available energy for heavy endurance work, and decreased feeling of satiety. Fats are required to supply the required amount of essential fatty acids, to act as dietary vehicles for transport and absorption of vitamins, provide high percentage of energy for heavy endurance work, to bring satiety. After introspection it was found that since this woman belonged to low income group at 30 pounds per week and her expenditure was 23.6 pound/week. In UK minimum earning should be 192 pound per week to have a standard living, and even with unemployment the benefits extended is minimum 85 pound(Davis et al ,2012) Hence after reorienting her purchase by reducing 1 avocado, white wine and replacing with 12 more French dressings in her diet will not only address the issue of meeting RNI of fats .As per the salt intake deficit was due to potassium deficiency it might lead to hypokalemia and impaired electrolyte balance in the body to cause malfunctioning of the nerve conduction and excitability of a tissue. The vitamins of B complex matched DRV values and in some cases exceeded but were below the upper tolerable values. The deficiency in retinol content could lead to night blindness or Xeropthalmia, and vitamin D content could lead to osteomalacia or brittleness of bones. The iron, coper, zinc content matched RNI. The deficiency of selenium(46 versus 60) which could lead to malformation of various selenoproteins helping in tissue injury and signaling cascades. Iodine deficiency may lead to iodine deficiency goiter. Calcium, phosphorus and chloride content more or less matched RNI. Calcium and Phosphorus is required for bone health and fortunately the consumption is above RNI so formation of bone matrix would not be hampered. Conclusion The optimal fat requirements should comprise of 35% of total calories in the Western population like the US or the UK. Triacylglycerols of the short chain fatty acids have higher digestibility than the long chain fatty acids. Visible fats of food include the saturated (butter) and unsaturated ones (vegetable oils). Vegetable oils provide sources of vitamin A, D and E. Invisible fats of diverse food items serves to supply 2/3rd of essential fatty acids. People in low income group consume very little of the visible fats which becomes evident in this case. The recommendation should be to increase the salt intake and more exposure to sunlight should be there and in intake milk should be added in more quantities. Moreover fish oil should be consumed to increase the retinol levels but due to a low income category this woman cannot afford to have an expenditure more than 23 pound on food and purchase of fish oils might be costly. So with a earning of 30pound / week there will be nutrient deficiency in spite of fulfillment of daily calorie need. References Barker, Helen M. (2002). Nutrition and dietetics for health care. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. p. 17. Berg J, Tymoczko JL, Stryer L (2002). Biochemistry (5th ed.). San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. p. 603 Black RE et al. (2008). Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences. Lancet, 371:243–260. 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