Nutrition Analysis Using SuperTracker

From my diet monitoring, I learned that I should be eating more fruits more consistently, and consuming more refined grains, as I do not eat many foods that are high in carbohydrates. I also learned that I overeat proteins, but consume enough calcium and vegetables on a daily basis. From the Falcon Market lab, I learned that it is very easy to be fooled by commercial packaging and marketing strategies on the food in super markets, as a lot of the products are packaged to look like they are natural and healthy, when in fact they contain lots of unhealthy chemicals that are detrimental to your health. Not only that, but many foods also manage to sneak in hydrogenated oils, or trans fats, without clearly stating it on the packaging. One specific example of my nutrient deficiencies/excesses is that on Day 1, the graph showed that I only consumed about 60% of my recommended intake for the Whole Fruit category. In Days 2 and 3, I gradually increased my intake in whole fruit, rising to almost 75% on Day 2 and about 80% on day 3. One thing to note about the data is that I regularly take calcium supplements, so the Cheese category on the three days is inaccurately portrayed, as I do get sufficient amounts of calcium daily. 

Here are the screenshots of the 3 days:

Day 1: 

Day 2

 Day 3

To improve my diet, I will continue to increase my intake in fruit until I reach the 100% threshold, and try to keep my intake of refined grains constant. To increase my intake in whole fruit, I will incorporate more fruit into my diet during the day, such as eating grapes or apples with my toast during breakfast, or bringing fruit to snack on at school. To limit my intake of carbohydrates to a constant rate, I will try to pay closer attention to the types of foods that contain a high amount of refined grains and only eat those in moderation. For example, on Day 2, I had a couple of cookies for snack and some noodles for dinner, but since those are both fairly high in refined grains, it basically blew up my refined grains category. In the future, if I know that I am going to have noodles for dinner, then I will remember to get another snack, such as a a bowl of fruit, instead of a few cookies. This way, the intake on refined grains can be limited and I am still able to have a yummy, healthy afternoon snack. 

If I had the opportunity to coach someone on proper health and nutrition, I would definitely warn them to pay close attention to the products that they buy and watch out for refined grains and detrimental chemicals and other substances in food products, such as hydrogenated oils. People tend to not pay as much attention to refined grains, so as the day goes on, the amount they consume exceeds the recommended daily amount very quickly. Hydrogenated oils should not be eaten because they are shown to increase the LDL "Bad" cholesterol while lowering the HDL "good" cholesterol, which in causes a multitude of health concerns including heart disease. I would tell the person I am coaching to make sure that they eat enough fruits and vegetables. Even though I always eat enough vegetables, I don't think that majority of the American population consumes enough vegetables on a daily basis, and whole fruits are often overlooked and insufficiently consumed because people favor deserts and other unhealthy sweets, such as candy and ice cream.  

Health Collage

Health to me means a balanced lifestyle where you and the people around you are happy. The pillars I am strongest at are nutrition, exercise, and social as I get exercise through swimming and am able to interact with children when I coach swimming and through my club at school. I hope to improve in sleep because as a junior, I do not get enough sleep in order to function optimally. This can hopefully be done by completing work more efficiently and therefore sleeping earlier. I would like to learn more about the social aspect of health, as a lot of emphasis has been placed on the other areas, but not so much on the social aspect of health, like what exactly it includes, and how it affects and connects with the other areas of health.

Unit 1 Reflection

This unit was about the four main types of tissue, specifically their function and structure. We also learned about the anatomical positions and the four macromolecules. The themes of this unit were how form fits function, and how all the different functions work together to serve a specific purpose in the human body. I think one of the key essential understandings was to be able to describe and locate any point on the body, as well as understand the main components of the human body, which include epithelia, connective tissue, muscle, and nervous tissue. I learned a lot about these different cells, specifically epithelial and connective tissues, as well as the structure of smooth and skeletal muscles. I did not know that skeletal muscles were multinucleate, and another interesting thing I learned was that epithelial cells are continuous sheets and not only serve as protection, but are also responsible for absorption, secretion, filtration, and forming slippery surfaces. I still do not fully understand the functions of neuroglial cells and also why bones and blood cells count as connective tissue. Next unit, I will improve by studying for the test earlier, and also writing neater if I can so that my notes are easier to read. One real world connection is a pathologist. If someone were to be a pathologist, his understanding and fluency of the anatomical positions would be crucial because he would have to describe where various injuries are on a human body. He would also need to know all the major components of the human body, and how the injuries could have affected the organs or other body parts to cause death. If the pathologist did not have a good understanding on the human body, then there is no way that he would be able to do his job with accuracy and reliability. Even if someone doesn't become a pathologist, knowing the anatomical positions is especially useful because if you or someone else is injured, then you need to describe the anatomical position of the injury to an EMS personnel over the phone. Here are 3 pictures that summarize this unit:

Tissue Lab Relate and Review

Through this lab, I was able to get a really good visualization of what the cells look like and the location of their nuclei, as well as how the cells all interact together. One cell that I thought was particular interesting was the human bone cell, which showed a beautiful black center with lighter gray patterned regions around it. The dark center of the bone was where the blood vessel would flow through, and it was surrounded by the dense, hard gray bone around it. See below for a picture:

The differences between the different tissue types is the shapes of the cells. For example, connective tissue tends to be more l=columnar in shape, and is often very compactly packed together in groups. This makes sense because connective tissues cannot have holes in them, as they have to completely wrap around organs and fill space in between the different organs. Nerve cells are much rounder and tend to be in random circular clumps. They have tiny axons and dendrites, and they can be more spaced out because information can be passed between cells efficiently between dendrites of cells. Muscular cells are often larger and appear more branched, with multiple nuclei and striations, as seen in the human smooth muscle. They need multiple nuclei and lots of space (thus there is branching) because they must code lots of proteins and have space to contract.