Diet Analysis Project Using the

USDA SuperTracker

1. Log into the SuperTracker program:

https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/default.aspx

a. Start by creating a profile, which includes entering your age, height, weight, activity level etc. and register your profile.

2. Record your food intake for 7 days. It’s best to enter your food daily but you can keep a log of everything that you eat and enter all your food at one time by clicking on the calendar and selecting the correct days. Try to be as accurate as possible. You might want to measure your favorite bowl or glass to see how much it holds. When you are logging foods, be as specific as you can.

a. For example: turkey sandwich – 3oz turkey, 1 tea. mayonnaise, 1 tea. mustard, 1 slice tomato, 1 lettuce leaf, 2 slices of whole wheat bread. If you don’t want to log individual food items, you can pick a prepared/processed choice but your results will not be as accurate.

b. If you eat homemade meals, do the best you can. You might need to enter each ingredient individually. The program allows you to create recipes or typical meals that you can name and use to make entering food easier. If you create recipes and eat then consistently, please include the recipe so I can see what you are eating.

c. Please do not enter your vitamin supplement into the program. The goal is to see how your food choices stack up. If you consume protein powder supplements, try running your program with and without the supplement to see the impact that it has on your diet. Again, the goal is to see how your food intake impacts your required nutrients. A vitamin supplement can make a poor diet look great.

d. Please note that this program will not have every brand of a particular processed food. You may need to select a product that is closest to what you would normally consume.

Print the following reports as seven-day averages. You can do this by selecting date ranges from the calendar on the webpage under reports. (Examples are found at the end of this document):

a. Meal Summary Report – 7 pts.

b. Food Groups & Calories Report- 2 pts.

c. Nutrients Report – 2 pts.

3. Looking over your 7-day reports (Food Groups and Calories and Nutrient Report), please highlight the following (this means using a highlighter marker). 4 pts.

a. Any nutrient category that has an under status on the Nutrient Report and the Food Groups and Calories report.

b. The following nutrients that are have an over status , which might increase your risk of disease or other health issue.

c. Nutrient groups (carbs, fats, protein) that are not within recommended ranges. This is on the Nutrients report page and will show as over or under if not in range

d. Food groups on the Food Groups and Calories report that are low for any category. These will also be marked with an under status. The Food Groups includes grains, fruit, vegetables, dairy, protein and oils. Some of these categories give more specific information such as different colors of vegetables or types of protein. Please highlight any group and subgroup that comes up “under” status. So, if you see the word “under”, highlight it!!!

· For example: Vegetables as a group are under and in the subgroups starchy vegetables and red/orange colored vegetables are also under. All categories must be highlighted with an under status.

4. Writing up your personal analysis.

a. Start by telling me a brief overview of your experience keeping the log and what you learned about your eating habits. Ex.: “I eat late at night because I never have time to eat during the day” or “When I am out with friends, I tend to eat or drink more.” This should take about 2 to 3 paragraphs. 2 pts.

b. Look over your average report pages, what have you highlighted? For every nutrient or food category found on your nutrients report that is highlighted, you will need to take action (you will be using the food group and calories report in a later table). This means figuring out what you can do to change your diet. What food will you eat more or less of to correct the problem? Make sure to look up good food sources. Your textbook has tables on foods and nutrients in the vitamin chapter as well as the appendix. Put this information into a table. 15 pts.

Points will be deducted based on how many corrections were required in the table. If you only needed to include 5-vitamins/minerals/other dietary components in your table, and you do not include one, you will lose 4 points while if you had 20 items that were required in your table and you exclude 3 items, you will lose 3 points.

This is how I want your table to look but make sure to put all the nutrients that you highlighted in this chart. This is an example only and does not mean that these are the only nutrients that need to go into the chart. This table is only uses the Nutrients Report.

Nutrient/Category

Current Intake

(What you are actually consuming?)

Amount needed to increase or reduce to get to RDA or safe zone

Correction

(What you are going to do to increase or decrease the nutrient)

Total Calories
1400
+300
Increase calories by 300 daily by eating larger portions or an extra snack daily

Carbohydrates
130 grams
+30 grams increase
Add a serving of whole grains daily

Linolenic Fatty Acids*
.5 grams
+. 6 grams
Add a serving of salmon twice per week

Fiber
13 grams
+12 grams
Eat oatmeal, switch to whole wheat bread

Saturated fat
16%
Reduce by 7%
Switch to skim milk, order sandwiches without cheese

Vitamin E
11 mg
+4 mg
Eat sunflower seeds on salads

Calcium
751mg
+449mg
Add a serving of yogurt

Sodium
2607mg
-1100mg

reduction

Switch to low sodium soup, cut back on fast food

Folate
135 micro
265 micro
Increase leafy greens

https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/default.aspx

(See directions at the end of assignments for a description).

You will need to print the following reports:

i. Meal Summary Report – this is your example of your one day food intake following your food guide design recommendations

ii. Food Groups and % Calories Report

iii. Nutrients Report

Please attach your findings to your summary page. 6 pts.

e. Make sure to include suggestions for changes after you run your sample day through the MyPlate Super Tracker. This should be several paragraphs and cover the following: 8 points

i. Would you be able to eat your suggested guidelines on a daily basis for an extended period of time without health issues arising such as nutrient deficiencies, weight gain etc.?

ii. How did your diet stack up?

iii. Were the calories high enough?

iv. What about important essential nutrients?

v. What vitamins and or minerals were low and what would you need to change in your eating plan to make sure that individuals received the proper nutrition? Do not tell me that you would supplement unless it is vitamin D or B12. Supplementation is not a substitute for food.

vi. Include several paragraphs with suggestions to make your diet better if needed. I expect detail here making note of areas of deficiency or excess with food examples to increase low nutrients or recommendations to reduce other problems issues.

f. Layout of Paper: A good way to set up your paper is to start with a short summary of what motivated you to design your guide and then follow with a description of each food category, why it is included and your research support for it. End your paper with the results of your nutrient analysis and what you might suggest to fix or modify any major nutrient issues.

i. Short summary of rationale for paper

1. Example: Grandfather has diabetes so wanted to design an eating plan for over age 60 with diabetes.

ii. Discuss each food group that is part of the plan. Make sure to include why it is important such as vitamins or minerals it contains as well as the role in the body and other information that might defend why you included it in your eating plan. If you have a food group on your visual it must be part of the summary paper and if your summary paper discusses it, it must be on your visual. If you include a food on your one-day sample meal, it must be part of your food groups.

iii. Make sure to include a list of sources and have at least one for each food group for a minimum of 6.

iv. Make sure to include serving sizes and number of servings in your food group discussion as well as on your visual.

v. Analyze one day of food from following your eating plan. Make sure to attach your report pages including the meal summary report, food groups and % calorie report and the nutrients report.

vi. Discuss any areas of change that are needed to fix problem nutrient issues. For example: Vitamin E may be low so you might recommend including sunflower seeds or almonds daily. Be specific with recommendations.

vii. Make sure to have a visual that represents your eating plan. It should be easy to read and include the number of servings and sizes for each of your food groups. You may list these on the back if there is no room on the front.

Your paper will be graded as follows:

Food Guide Icon (visual) 14 points

Is it clear and easy to understand?

Does it include your different food groups and serving sizes as well as recommendations for daily consumption (number of servings per day)? Remember that this can be on the back of your icon or on a separate piece of paper and should be included in your paper as well.

References/Sources 12 points

Make sure to include on a separate sheet of paper that you attach to your summary. These need to be appropriately cited (see how to cite and internet source below). You cannot list the website alone! Are they from reputable journals, Internet sites, etc.? Make sure to discuss them in your paper as you talk about why you picked the food groups that you recommend for consumption.

Summary 34 points

Please refer to instructions above in section 4 and remember that your 3 – 4 page summary needs to explain your food guide, why you chose the foods/groups that you did and your rationale along with any suggestions for change once you analyze your diet. Don’t forget to refer to your references. Make sure to attach your sample one-day analysis, list of foods analyzed and include any recommendations for change. (Sample day with analysis – 6pts, suggestions for change – 8pts, summary paper 20 pts.)

A couple of problem areas for students:

1. If you have a food group listed on your visual or in your one-day sample diet, you need to have a corresponding discussion in your paper as to why the food/food group is important to consume.

2. Make sure to run a sample one-day menu of your proposed diet (and make sure that I get a copy of that one day) through a program that can analyze the nutrient content of both macro and micronutrients. You will not be able to see problem areas of your proposed diet and provide recommendations if you do not do this portion correctly and you will lose 8 points.

3. Make sure to use reputable articles and sites such as Harvard, Tufts, USDA, etc. I do not want to see Wikipedia, Live Strong, or other sties that sell products or promote a particular agenda.

How to Cite an Internet Source:

· Name the author, last name first. If no author is listed, then skip this step.

· Put the title of the work next. This is not the title of the website but the title of the page within the website that you are accessing. Put this information in quotation marks.

· Italicize overall website name. Look at the web address or find the link to the homepage to find the title.

· List the publication information. If you cannot find the publication information write, n.p. Most articles (or web pages) have a “last updated” date if you can’t find an actual date for the specific article you are quoting. If you cannot find a last updated date, write n.d.

· Include the date of access. This is the date you accessed the Internet source.

· Writing down the URL is no longer a required step in MLA, so check with your instructor for their personal preferences.

· Check your Internet citation for accuracy. The final Internet source citation should look like this:

· Handschuh, Judith. “Author Profile: Harper Lee.” Teen Reads.com. n.p. 2003. August 8, 2008 < http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-lee-harper.asp>.

EVALUATION OF A POPULAR DIET BOOK

1. Choose and read a popular diet book of your choice (Atkins, The Zone, Eat Right for Your Blood Type, etc.). The book must be a weight loss book, a book that promises to cure or treat disease or a book that describes some specific way of eating such as plant based with specific foods to be eaten or eliminated.

2. Write a paper (please type) that includes the following:

a. A detailed summary of what the diet is and the rationale for the diet. I need to know what the diet is based on and what you get to eat or what is off limits and why. If it has several stages, you need to tell me about each stage. This should take at least 2 pages double spaced minimum. (10pts)

b. You will need to run a typical day of the diet you are analyzing (food intake) through the MyPlate Super Tracker which can be found at https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/foodtracker.aspx to get information to answer several of the following questions (see directions at the end of all assignments). If you have access to a similar nutrient analysis program, feel free to use it. There are many free programs online that will work just fine but you must be able to print a report that details the micronutrients (all vitamins and minerals) as well as macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) as well as a break down in food groups.

Make sure to attach your reports to your assignment. If using SuperTracker you will need to run the following reports: nutrients report, a food group and %calorie report and a meal summary report. See examples of the required printouts at the end of assignment descriptions. (6pts or 2pts for each report)

c. Evaluate the diet by answering the following questions. Make sure to answer the questions in your paper in the same order that they appear on the instructions. I would prefer you to number or letter your paper in the same format as the questions. Make sure to explain your answers in several sentences and include details as needed. 2 pts. per question except i and ii which are worth 3 each and xiii which is worth 4. Each reliable source used to answer xiii is worth 2 points so make sure to include those sites as well. Total of 38 of points for this section.

i. Is it missing or under in any essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, carbs, fat, protein, food group)? What are they? Could these lead to any health issue? Refer to your printout to answer and check your text to learn about deficiency issues. You cannot answer this question without the correct SuperTracker reports. You can put your answers for i and ii into a chart form if that helps you to organize your answers.

ii. Does it provide too much of any nutrient or food group? What are they? Could these lead to any health issue? Refer to your printout reports as well as your text to answer.

iii. Is it so different from an average individual’s normal eating pattern that compliance is unlikely? Think typical American diet here. Explain.

iv. Will the person learn new and healthful ways of eating so they can keep the weight off? Explain what makes it more healthful.

v. Is it expensive? Think about the average American and what they might spend. Explain.

vi. Does it provide a calorie deficit (does it result in the individual eating fewer calories than they are burning?), which then leads to weight loss? Look at your print outs to see what is recommended for caloric intake and what amount would actually be consumed. Explain.

vii. Is it too low in calories (below 1200 calories daily), which could lead to health issues? Refer to chapter 11 in text.

viii. Does the diet make reasonable claims regarding weight loss? 1-2 pounds per week is a reasonable weight loss goal. Explain.

ix. Does it include necessary or required restrictions of certain foods? What are they? Be specific. If you have answered this question in detail in your summary, you may refer back to your summary description so as not to be redundant.

x. Are the credentials of the author promoting the diet sound? Make sure to list the credentials, education etc. You might need to Google to find out what the credentials are. Why do you feel the author’s credentials make him/her a reputable authority on the subject?

xi. Does the author provide research to support his/her claims? Is it cited or is a reference list provided? Are testimonials used as a way to sell the diet?

xii. Do you have to purchase any special products such as foods or supplements to follow the diet? Does the author sell the products that are required?

xiii. Does our current body of scientific evidence support the diet approach/theory? Make sure to include several paragraphs that discuss your findings. What are the opinions of experts in the field about the diet or what did you learn about researching a particular aspect of the diet if you could not find diet reviews. Please find 3 reliable sources/reviews, which discuss the diet. They could be positive, negative or neutral (check out US World and News Report, January 2015/16/17). If you cannot find any reviews of the diet then you will need to find articles that support or oppose any of the principles or premises of the diet that you have read (you must use diet reviews as your first choice). For example, if you read a book that has not been reviewed or you can find little information on it and the diet focuses on Omega 3 fatty acids, find 3 articles that discuss the pros and or cons of fatty acids. Make sure to cite them correctly on a separate page, which you attach to your summary. Make sure to watch out for websites that promote particular products or are linked to the book you have read. You will lose points if your sources are actually for-profit sites marketing products or diets or are blogs of a particular diet.

xiv. How does it compare to material that we have covered in the class or found in the text? Explain.

d. Wrap Up/Critical Analysis (6 pts.)

i. What are your reactions to this diet?

ii. How would you rate this diet on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (great)? Why? Think about your answers from the previous questions. Did you find the diet to be healthy? Were nutrient needs met? Was it expensive or restrictive? If your research found that the diet is unproven or unhealthy yet you rate the diet with a high score, please explain why you would still consider the diet as something reasonable to follow.

iii. Would you recommend it to family or friends? Why or why not?

How to Cite an Internet Source:

· Name the author, last name first. If no author is listed, then skip this step.

· Put the title of the work next. This is not the title of the website but the title of the page within the website that you are accessing. Put this information in quotation marks.

· Italicize overall website name. Look at the web address or find the link to the homepage to find the title.

· List the publication information. If you cannot find the publication information write, n.p. Most articles (or web pages) have a “last updated” date if you can’t find an actual date for the specific article you are quoting. If you cannot find a last updated date, write n.d.

· Include the date of access. This is the date you accessed the Internet source.

· Writing down the URL is no longer a required step in MLA, so check with your instructor for their personal preferences.

· Check your Internet citation for accuracy. The final Internet source citation should look like this:

· Handschuh, Judith. “Author Profile: Harper Lee.” Teen Reads.com. n.p. 2003. August 8, 2008 < http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-lee-harper.asp>.

MyPlate Super Tracker Instructions

Instructions for free food analysis that includes all the micronutrients and macronutrients required for the Book Review or Food Guide Design:

1. Get on the Choosemyplate super tracker website

2. https://www.choosemyplate.gov/SuperTracker/default.aspx

3. Click on Food Tracker

4. Click on Create a profile

5. Return to track food and enter food and amount. I found it easiest to click on all foods as opposed to looking by food type.

6. Click on My Reports. Enter in dates that you want analyzed and print the meal summary, food groups and calories and the nutrients report. It will compare what you ate to the RDA for vitamins and minerals for your age and gender along with telling you how your diet stacked up for macronutrients and the recommendations for the food groups. If you surf around on this site, you can find information about portion sizes as well as other useful information.

Below you can see the reports that I need you to attach to your assignment.

Meals

Your plan is based on a default 2,000 Calorie allowance.

Date

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks

01/03/14

1 medium (7″ to 7-7/8″ long) Banana, raw

1 cup, shredded or chopped Lettuce, mixed (mixed greens, salad mix, spring mix), raw

1 cup Green beans, fresh, cooked (no salt or fat added)

1 medium (2-3/4″ across) Apple, raw

½ cup Milk, low fat (1%)

1 medium whole (2-3/5″ across) Tomato, raw

1½ cup Lentil soup

1 cup Oatmeal, regular, cooked (no salt or fat added)

1 sandwich Tuna salad sandwich

1 tablespoon Olive oil

1 ounce (14 halves) Walnuts

¼ container (8 oz.) Yogurt, plain, low fat

Food Groups and Calories Report 01/03/14 – 01/03/14

Your plan is based on a default 2000 Calorie allowance.

Food Groups
Target
Average Eaten
Status

 Grains
6 ounce(s)
4 ounce(s)
Under

 Whole Grains
≥ 3 ounce(s)
2 ounce(s)
Under

 Refined Grains
≤ 3 ounce(s)
2 ounce(s)
OK

 Vegetables
2½ cup(s)
3¾ cup(s)
Over

 Dark Green
1½ cup(s)/week
¼ cup(s)
Under

 Red & Orange
5½ cup(s)/week
1 cup(s)
Under

 Beans & Peas
1½ cup(s)/week
¾ cup(s)
Under

 Starchy
5 cup(s)/week
0 cup(s)
Under

 Other
4 cup(s)/week
1¾ cup(s)
Under

 Fruits
2 cup(s)
2¼ cup(s)
OK

 Whole Fruit
No Specific Target
2¼ cup(s)
No Specific Target

 Fruit Juice
No Specific Target
0 cup(s)
No Specific Target

 Dairy
3 cup(s)
¾ cup(s)
Under

 Milk & Yogurt
No Specific Target
¾ cup(s)
No Specific Target

 Cheese
No Specific Target
0 cup(s)
No Specific Target

 Protein Foods
5½ ounce(s)
4 ounce(s)
Under

 Seafood
8 ounce(s)/week
2 ounce(s)
Under

 Meat, Poultry & Eggs
No Specific Target
0 ounce(s)
No Specific Target

 Nuts, Seeds & Soy
No Specific Target
2 ounce(s)
No Specific Target

 Oils
6 teaspoon
9 teaspoon
Over

Limits
Allowance
Average Eaten
Status

 Total Calories
2000 Calories
1353 Calories
Under

 Empty Calories*
≤ 258 Calories
36 Calories
OK

 Solid Fats
*
16 Calories
*

 Added Sugars
*
20 Calories
*

*Calories from food components such as added sugars and solid fats that provide little nutritional value. Empty Calories are part of Total Calories.

 

Note: If you ate Beans & Peas and chose “Count as Protein Foods instead,” they will be included in the Nuts, Seeds & Soy subgroup.

 

And the Nutrients Report:

Nutrients Report 01/03/14 – 01/03/14

Your plan is based on a default 2000 Calorie allowance.

Nutrients
Target
Average Eaten
Status

 Total Calories
2000 Calories
1353 Calories
Under

 Protein (g)***
46 g
57 g
OK

 Protein (% Calories)***
10 – 35% Calories
17% Calories
OK

 Carbohydrate (g)***
130 g
178 g
OK

 Carbohydrate (% Calories)***
45 – 65% Calories
53% Calories
OK

 Dietary Fiber
25 g
39 g
OK

 Total Fat
20 – 35% Calories
35% Calories
OK

 Saturated Fat
< 10% Calories 5% Calories OK  Monounsaturated Fat No Daily Target or Limit 12% Calories No Daily Target or Limit  Polyunsaturated Fat No Daily Target or Limit 15% Calories No Daily Target or Limit  Linoleic Acid (g)*** 12 g 19 g OK  Linoleic Acid (% Calories)*** 5 – 10% Calories 13% Calories Over  α-Linolenic Acid (g)*** 1.1 g 3.7 g OK  α-Linolenic Acid (% Calories)*** 0.6 – 1.2% Calories 2.5% Calories Over  Omega 3 – EPA No Daily Target or Limit 27 mg No Daily Target or Limit  Omega 3 – DHA No Daily Target or Limit 129 mg No Daily Target or Limit  Cholesterol < 300 mg 30 mg OK Minerals Target Average Eaten Status  Calcium 1000 mg 574 mg Under  Potassium 4700 mg 2542 mg Under  Sodium** < 2300 mg 1862 mg OK  Copper 900 µg 1378 µg OK  Iron 18 mg 12 mg Under  Magnesium 310 mg 304 mg Under  Phosphorus 700 mg 964 mg OK  Selenium 55 µg 81 µg OK  Zinc 8 mg 8 mg OK Vitamins Target Average Eaten Status  Vitamin A 700 µg RAE 439 µg RAE Under  Vitamin B6 1.3 mg 1.5 mg OK  Vitamin B12 2.4 µg 2.6 µg OK  Vitamin C 75 mg 62 mg Under  Vitamin D 15 µg 4 µg Under  Vitamin E 15 mg AT 6 mg AT Under  Vitamin K 90 µg 193 µg OK  Folate 400 µg DFE 402 µg DFE OK  Thiamin 1.1 mg 1.0 mg Under  Riboflavin 1.1 mg 1.1 mg OK  Niacin 14 mg 15 mg OK  Choline 425 mg 198 mg Under

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