A Food log Analysis essay

What we consume can impact how well our bodies fight off illnesses. Therefore, it’s important to maintain a balanced diet that includes all the essential elements to aid in illness prevention. The Mediterranean diet is a healthy eating plan that you should adopt. According to the summary in Castro-Quezada, Roman-Vinas, and Serra-Majem (2014), the Mediterranean diet encourages eating lots of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and legumes. A moderate diet that includes dairy products, white meat, eggs, and seafood is part of it. It encourages consuming a lot of water, coffee, tea, and olive oil. The diet cautions that processed meat and foods rich in fats and sugar should be taken in small amounts and few occasion. Drinking of red wine is also encouraged in the diet (Castro-Quezada, Roman-Vinas & Serra-Majem 2014). The Mediterranean diet ensures a healthy status for people and it hence highly recommended.

Food log

The following is my seven-day food log.

Monday:

Breakfast – coffee, plain oatmeal with bananas

Lunch – brown rice, baked lemon-pepper chicken, apple, water

Dinner – homemade caesar salad, baked chicken

Tuesday:

Breakfast – English breakfast tea, blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese

Lunch – garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette and croutons, sautéed garlic shrimp, mandarin orange, water

Dinner – brown rice, baked salmon, water

Wednesday:

Breakfast – coffee, wheat bread with avocado and fried egg

Lunch – spinach salad with strawberries, mangoes, and grilled chicken drizzled in balsamic vinaigrette dressing, water

Dinner – tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwich, water

Thursday:

Breakfast – green tea, Greek yogurt with granola

Lunch – miso soup, salad with miso dressing, chicken teriyaki & rice plate, Sapporo beer

Dinner – homemade caesar salad, baked chicken, water

Friday:

Breakfast – coffee, plain oatmeal with bananas

Lunch – Lobster roll, clam chowder, water

Dinner – brown rice, filet mignon steak (cooked medium), Cabernet Sauvignon

Saturday

Breakfast - coffee, wheat bread with Nutella and strawberries

Lunch – Salmon Eggs Benedict, cup of seasonal fruit, orange juice

Dinner – Assorted Sashimi plate, salad with miso dressing, water

Sunday:

Breakfast - English breakfast tea, blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese

Lunch - garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette and croutons, baked garlic Salmon, grapes, water

Dinner – homemade chicken Alfredo fettuccine, Pinot Grigio

How did the beverages and food consume align with the Mediterranean diet dietary practices and critical nutrients?

The Mediterranean diet promotes drinking enough water. In each of the seven days, I made sure that water was included in my diet. During the seven days, I had different types of fruits and vegetables. Almost every day a fruit was included in my diet. On Thursday at lunch, I drank yogurt. On Thursday and Wednesday, I consumed Greek yogurt and eggs respectively. The two are a pasture of high quality which needs to be consumed with moderation (Quezada, Roman-Vinas & Serra-Majem 2014). Due to this, I consumed them only once in a week. Coffee and tea were also in my diet which is included in the Mediterranean diet. For white meat, I had salmon and chicken in the week. It was not done daily which shows it aligned with the Mediterranean dietary practices. I avoided red meat which is approved in the Mediterranean diet. I also made sure that I ad cereals in the form of brown rice. The Mediterranean diet ensures that critical nutrients are promoted. All these foods consisted of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, fats, and fiber as promoted in the Mediterranean diet.

How I will modify my diet.

I will add olive oil to my diet. Olive oil contains an acid known as alpha-linolenic. The acid reduces the risk of cardiac arrest. Adding olive oil will prevent me from getting heart diseases. I will also increase the intake of fruits and vegetables. They are known to contain omega-3 and omega-6 which prevent cancer. Wine also has omega-6 and 3, and it will help prevent cancer. However, I will not change the frequency of water intake. It is because the water I consume on a daily basis is enough to regulate my body temperature and maintain other body functions.

Factors and aspects that discourage or encourage one from following the Mediterranean diet.

In my culture, it is a taboo to drink wine. It is seen as a drink that interferes with the one’s thinking. It will affect my decision to include wine in my diet as the Mediterranean diet promotes. Apart from this factor, other factors discourage me from following the Mediterranean diet. They include my job. My job is demanding in that getting free time to go for lunch or cook myself a meal is difficult. As a result, most of the time I forego lunch or end up eating fast foods like fries in the office. My family also has a food timetable that it follows strictly. Consequently, it becomes hard to include some foods in my diet. It is because each day at meals time consists of fixed types of food. A week is not enough to include all the foods in the Mediterranean diet. The aspect will, therefore, will discourage me from following it. However, the fact that I am employed will encourage me to follow the Mediterranean diet in that will enable me to have funds to purchase the foods promoted in the diet.

Conclusion

The Mediterranean diet is a diet that ensures a healthy status to those who follow it. It is because incorporates all the critical nutrients, minerals, vitamins, fats, proteins, fiber, and carbohydrates, to ensure a healthy body. The Mediterranean diet has a lot of benefits which include the prevention of heart disease. It is therefore advisable to follow this diet. However, some factors and aspects can discourage or encourage someone from following the Mediterranean diet.

Reference

Castro-Quezada, I., Román-Viñas, B., & Serra-Majem, L. (2014). The Mediterranean diet and nutritional adequacy: a review. Nutrients, 6(1), 231-248.