Daily plate and losing tuna - Essay Example

These foods we eat can be anything from a simple sandwich to a full meal with appetizers and desserts. Throughout this exercise, many of us do not stop and think if the food will contribute to our well-being. The activity Daily Plate has helped me change this habit. Now, I try to eat at least three meals a day and, if possible, some snacks in between. This way, I will not be tempted to gorge whenever I miss a meal. Another lesson I learned is to make healthy food choices. According to a survey of American consumers, 11 out of 1,234 adults confessed to an unhealthy diet.

(Are we…, 2011) However, 2009 statistics from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention shows only 32% of adults eat fruit at least two times daily and only 29% eat vegetables thrice daily. (A decade short…, 2010) Meanwhile, Canada’s Food Guide discovered that Canadians “rarely consumed enough of fruits, veggies, grains, milk, milk products, meat and protein.” (Canada continues…, 2009) Based from these, we can see that people do not refer to the food pyramid when preparing their meals or choosing what to eat.

This used to be my practice as well. Eating healthy does not necessarily mean only having vegetables and fruits. Fats and carbohydrates can also keep me fit and healthy as long as I take the right amount for each and the right kind of fat. This is another thing I learned during the Daily Plate activity. “Good fats, meaning monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats … are good for the heart and most other parts of the body (The Nutrition Source …, n.d.) There are three kinds of fat. Unsaturated fats actually help the body.

These fats improve blood cholesterol levels and make the heart stronger. Saturated fats are bad for our body but are found in many foods. As such, we cannot avoid them. All we can do is to take little amounts of these so they will not be harmful for us. The last kind is called trans fats. These are the fats we should avoid. They are worse than saturated fats. These can be found in certain oils which are usually used in frying foods. Trans fat can cause the fat to solidify which may hinder the blood flow in our bodies.

In the Daily Plate activity, I monitored not only the fat content of the foods I ate but also the amounts of carbohydrates and protein. A lot of people say to trim down on food with carbohydrates because these can make me fatter and bigger. Once again, to be healthy is to be mindful of how much carbohydrates I intake. If it is sufficient for a balanced meal, then there is nothing wrong with eating foods that have carbohydrates. Obesity is a disorder that I can relate to. My mother is a little obese.

This has been a concern for my family because if not treated immediately obesity causes serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. In the United States alone, obesity and overweight were found to be the second leading reason for death. (Obesity, n.d.) For those who are obese, I believe healthy eating can help in returning a person to his safe and proper weight. For those who are becoming obese, I think knowing the nutritional value of each food item can prevent further weight gain.

Because of what I have learned in the Daily Plate activity, I have influenced my mother into eating properly. I was able to confidently explain to her why we need to consider the nutritional value of a food item. I also informed her that each meal should contain at least one item from each of the basic food