Healthy eating is selecting a balanced diet that is low in fat, cholestrol, sugar and salt, but high in dietary fibre. Healthy eating also means having different types of food in the right amounts, not overeating any one type of food, for different foods contain different nutrients, and no single food is able to supply your body with all the nutrients you need. Hence, by using the Healthy Diet Pyramid as a guide, I analysed my diet based on the 3-day diet track to check if i was eating healthy or otherwise.
The Healthy Diet Pyramid translates nutrient needs into actual foods, categorising commonly eaten food into four main groups, namely rice and alternatives, fruit and vegetables, meat and alternatives as well as fats, oils, salt and sugar. It serves as a guide to aid you in the formation of a suitable healthy diet.
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| Healthy Diet Pyramid |
By using this pyramid as a guide, I analysed bits of my 3-day diet track to check for a healthy diet.
Day 1
Rice and alternatives- 6.5 servings
Fruit and vegetables- 1 serving of fruit, 2 servings of vegetables
Meat and alternatives- 3 servings
Fats, oils, sugar and salts- Small amount
For this day, I consumed a sufficient amount of rice and alternatives as well as meat and alternatives, eating within the recommended range. However, I also lacked one serving of fruit. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, helping to strengthen the body's immune system. Moreover, a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is important as it helps to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer by around 20%-30%, and they also help to stimulate the senses. Hence, although the servings of fruit was low today, I aim on increasing my consumption of fruits and vegetables, aiming for a wide and rich variety as well.
Day 2
Rice and alternatives- 6 servings
Fruit and vegetables- 1 serving of fruit, 1 serving of vegetables
Meat and alternatives- 3 servings
Fats, oils, sugar and salts- Moderate amount
Similar to day 1, my consumption of fruits and vegetables needs to be increased in order to attain a healthy diet. The reason for the increase in the amounts of fats, oils and sugar and salts is mainly due to the fact that I ate a relatively large slice of sweet chocolate banana cake, which definitely contained high amounts of sugar. Sugar, although is slower to impact our health as we don’t die from an overdose right away, it’s that slow destructive process that is the most dangerous and unfortunately, most people don’t know the damage until it has already been done. For example, diabetes. Sugar increases fat storing, disrupts normal brain function and decreases your overall health and makes you age quicker. Thus, I plan on watching the amount of sugar as I take in, ensuring that I keep it at a small amount.
Day 3
Rice and alternatives- 4 servings
Fruit and vegetables- 1 servings of fruit, 0 servings of vegetables
Meat and alternatives- 4 servings
Fats, oils, sugar and salts- Slightly high amount
Just like the previous two days, today I was at a lack of fruits and vegetables. The food that I ate today mainly comprised of meat and alternatives, as can be seen from the drop to only 4 servings of rice and alternatives, which does not meet the required number of servings we need to consume. These foods provide our body with complex carbohydrates, also known as starches, which are very important sources of energy. They also provide vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Therefore, I plan on keeping track that my consumption of rice and alternatives meets the required number of servings.
Furthermore, today, my consumption of meat and alternatives increased to 4 servings, exceeding the recommended 2-3 servings. Over consumption of meat can lead to detrimental diseases such as cancer, heart attack and other chronic degenerative diseases. My intake of fats, oils, sugar and salts rose again today, and it is mostly attributed to the fact that I ate deep fried fish and chips, which definitely contained relatively high amounts of fats, oils and salt. Although it is not necessary to completely stop eating all this deep fried food when you feel like snacking, I plan on restricting myself to consuming food of this sort to no more than 3 times a month. This is because fats provide more than twice the number of calories for an equal
amount of carbohydrate or protein. If these calories aren't burnt off through physical activity, you gain weight and may become obese over time.
Through this analysis of my diet over three days, I am now able to see what I am eating right and wrong, and I hope to use this as a basis to form a suitable healthy diet for myself in future.
