Standard Food Tests on the Meal
Below are the methods I used in my experiments to test the meal for lipids, carbohydrates, protein and reducing sugar.
Method for Starch Test
- Place two drops of the solution into a well on the spotting tile
- Add two drops of Iodine in potassium Iodide solution
- The positive reaction is a blue-black colour
- The negative result is the solution remaining orange/brown
Method for Reducing sugar Test
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Place 1 cm3 of the test solution into a test tube
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Add 1 cm3 of Benedict’s Reagent the test tube and shake the mixture
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Place the test tube in a water bath at 80 oC for five minutes.
- The positive reaction is the formation of a red precipitate.
- Depending upon the concentration of the deducing sugar the test solution changes from blue to green to yellow to brown to red
- The negative result is the solution remaining blue
Method for Protein Test
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Place 1 cm3 of the test solution into a test tube
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Add 1 cm3 of NaOH and shake the mixture
- Add five drops of CuSO4
- The positive result is the solution changing to a purple colour.
- The negative result’s is the solution remaining blue.
Method for Lipid Test
- Place in a test tube 1cm of ethanol
- Add 5 drops of the test solution and 0.5cm of water
- The positive result is a cloudy white suspension
- The negative result is a clear solution
Conclusion on the Student’s Diet
The Recommended Daily Allowance:
The Recommended Daily Allowance also called the RDA is a table, which shows the recommended amounts of nutrients an individual should eat a day to stay healthy. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council created it. The table is updated as new research findings surface. As you can see in the below table, the nutrients requirements depend on sex and age of the person. The table shows that, males have energy and protein requirements higher than females.
The amount of nutrient eaten during the day:
Breakfast:
The table below contains the total amount of each nutrient in a Chicken Premier Meal, with a Chicken Premier Burger, medium Fries and a medium Coca-Cola drink.
Lunch:
The table below contains the total amount of each nutrient in a Chicken Premier Meal, with a Chicken Premier Burger, medium Fries and a medium Coca-Cola drink.
Dinner
The table below contains the total amount of each nutrient in a Chicken Premier Meal, with a Chicken Premier Burger, medium Fries and a medium Coca-Cola drink.
The table below contains the total amount of each nutrient eaten each day. It is calculated by multiplying the quantities of each nutrient in the meal by three.
The table below contains the total amount of each nutrient that should be eaten each day.
Through eating a Chicken Premier Meal three times a day the university student is receiving a good amount of energy (2916 kcal), which is very close to the recommended value (3,000 kcal). Therefore I believe the amount of energy gained through eating the meals is satisfactory. The student is receiving a poor amount of carbohydrates from the three meals (415.5 g), which should be about the recommended value (450 g). At least 60 percent of his meals should consist of carbohydrates and the Chicken Premier Meals is not proving this. The problem is that the Chicken Premier Meal is proving too much protein, which should be replaced with carbohydrates. The protein levels contained in the meals (87 g) are nearly twice the recommended value (54-58 g). This is a serious concern to those wishing to eat a healthy diet, as no healthy diet provides this much protein per day. Through eating a Chicken Premier Meal three times a day the university student is receiving nearly double the amount of salt (11.4 g) he should be having about (6 g) per day. This high level of salt is seriously dangerous to the health of the student. The intake of too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. At the moment the average daily intake of salt by adults is over 9g of salt each day.
In 2004 a film named ‘Super Size Me’ became the centre of the media. It was a documentary about a man taking part in his own experiment. His experiment consisted of eating a Mc Donald’s Meal for each meal for one month; his diet was similar to the student. The big difference between the man in the film and the student is that the student ate a smaller potion (medium) than the man (super size). In the film after 19 days of the experiment the man was feeling certain faults with his body. His liver practically turned to fat, his cholesterol increased by 65 points, he gained 24.5 pound’s and his body fat increased by 7 %. He felt depressed and tired most of the time and had a craving for food the Mc Donald’s food, and when he didn’t eat it he got massive headaches. The thing about Mc Donald’s is that it provides the body with a cheap source of food, which fills a person up, but also harms the person’s heart, liver and blood.
I think that the eating a Chicken Premier Meal three times a day is not healthy for the student’s health as he is receiving far too much protein and salt from the meals. And as he is not receiving much of any other nutrients.
Dietary Components of a Diet:
A healthy diet consists of many different nutrients, each with its own particular functions. Some nutrients are more important than others. It this section of my coursework I will discus the following nutrients and their relevant to the Chicken Premier Meal
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Protein
- Calcium
- Iron
- Energy
Vitamin C is one of those essential components of a healthy diet. Vitamin C, which is also known as Ascorbic acid has many important functions within the human body. The recommended amount of vitamin C for the university student is 30 mg per day. It is required to keep blood vessels, muscles, gums, bones and teeth healthy. It also aids in healing cuts and sores and is a strong antioxidant that helps the human body fight against infection, with its antiviral, antibacterial and immune boosting properties. Vitamin C also helps in the production of collagen (for healthy skin), the metabolism of cholesterol and the absorption of , which is another important component of a healthy diet. Having at least 30 mg of vitamin C a day brings many benefits to the human body. It will have a positive effect on the following conditions, regular infections, poor skin and hair, bleeding gums, colds and the flu and the rate of healing of cuts and sores. These conditions are also signs that a person is not having enough vitamin C. And high quantity above 1,000mg can occasionally cause diarrhea in some people. Vitamin C is available from a number of different sources such as fruits like oranges and lemons, vegetables like currants, and peppers. The university student is practically not receiving any vitamin C from his Mc Donald’s diet, defiantly not even through his drink, which is Coca-Cola. It is possible to get some vitamin C from soda drinks such as Fanta and other orange juice flavored soda drinks, however the amounts of vitamin C contained in these drinks are very little and not efficient enough o maintain a healthy life. He will get some vitamin C through the tomatoes in his chicken premier burger.
Vitamin D is also one of those essential components of a healthy diet. As it is needed in the metabolism of , the development of bones and nerves and keeping the heart healthy, which are important components of the human body. Vitamin D is essential for people who are not exposed to rays of sunlight regularly and people who are on a low-fat diet. And of course those who are unable to absorb vitamin D. Vitamin D is available from a number of different sources such as oily fish, dairy products like milk and egg yolk. But the main source of vitamin D for the human body comes from the sunlight shining on a persons skin. Having at least 5µg of vitamin D a day brings many benefits to the human body. It will have a positive effect on the following conditions, poor growth, bone deformities, joint pains and rickets (skeletal deformities) in children. These conditions are also signs that a person is not having enough vitamin D. And high quantity above 10µg as it can occasionally cause diarrhea in some people. The university student is not receiving any vitamin D from his Mc Donald’s diet.
Protein is a crucial component of a healthy diet and it is needed within the body for many reasons, such as maintaining healthy muscle, growing new cells and repairing tissue. We need protein for the growth and repair of tissues. The human body brakes down protein during digestion into smaller units, called amino acids. There are twenty different amino acids and they can be joined to make more different proteins. The human body is able to make proteins from amino acids, except for nine of them. These nine amino acids are very important and the human body requires them to function correctly. Therefore one must get it from their diet. There are number of sources one can get these proteins and amino acids from, such as dairy products like milk, eggs, fish and meat sources. If one does not eat meat, eggs or fish one can get it from plants such as corn, lentils, peas, beans and rice.
A person’s protein requirement is based upon ones weight. Nutrition experts say that a person should eat 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of ones weight. Therefore the university student who weighs 75 kg, is recommend to eat 56.25 g of protein each day. When a person is regularly exercising a few hours a day, then ones protein requirement increases by 1. g per kg of body weight. Many people have the misconception that when one exercises regularly, one need’s to eat a lot more protein than normal to keep healthy. This has been the subject of discussion for a long time, but most nutrition experts say that the level of protein needed only increase a little and is subject only to those performing more than one hour of exercise regularly. It is recommended that endurance athletes increase their daily potion of protein per kg of body weight by 1.2 to 1.4 g and weight lifters by 1.6 to 2 g. Experts say that increasing the protein level by more than 2 g per kg of body weight will not benefit the human body in performance or muscle growth. The university student is receiving more than enough protein than he needs from his Mc Donald’s diet. Through his Mc Donald’s diet he is eating 87 g of protein. One might think that eating more protein is better for the health? Well it’s not! He is receiving 1.16 g per kg of his body weight. This value is much too high to sustain a healthy life. The amount of protein he is eating is not beneficial to his body and it is actually having a negative effect. To gain any benefit from the amount he is eating, he must exercise at least one to two hours a day. As he is an inactive person and since protein cannot be stored in the body, the excess protein is just removed from his system through his urine and feces. When a person consumes over 2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, that person is actually placing unnecessary stress his/her kidneys. The student is not consuming over 2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight per day therefore there is no immediately risk to his kidneys. However he is wasting his body energy processing the extra protein. And as time goes by his kidneys will start to feel the negative effects of too much protein, as his kidney has to process the extra protein. High levels of dietary protein have also been connected with increased urinary calcium excretion. The loss of calcium through a person’s urine weakens the bones and there is a risk of . But this is not related to the student, as his meal does not consist of any dietary protein. It could if he changes his morning drink to a milkshake. Studies have shown that excessive protein intake will damage the liver. The liver is the main organ that breaks down the amino acids, therefore when it’s damaged the amino acids will build up in the body and become toxic. This is particularly worrisome in the case of the so-called aromatic amino acids, such as tryptophan and phenylalanine, which are processed by the liver.
Calcium is an essential component of a healthy diet. It is involved with the growth and development teeth and bones, helps in controlling the cholesterol level in the blood, helps the heart, nerves, muscles and the digestive system to function properly. It also encourages good sleeping and the absorption of vitamin B12. Calcium will have a positive effect on the following conditions, depression, insomnia, poor bone density, muscle pains, cramps, hyperactivity, digestive disorders, osteoporosis, nervous tic. These conditions are also signs that a person is not having enough calcium. Calcium is available from a number of different sources such as bones, soya beans, nuts, green leafy vegetables like broccoli and seaweeds and dairy products like milk and cheese. Milk isn't the best source of dietary calcium because it is low in therefore it is poorly absorbed into the body and high in protein, so lots of it is loss through urine. Excess intake of calcium can cause kidney problems. The student is not getting an adequate amount of calcium from the Mc Donald’s Meal. If the student replaced his coca-cola drink for a milkshake, he would increase his intake of calcium a grate deal. The recommended daily allowance of calcium is 800mg and the Mc Donald’s Meal provides nowhere near to this value.
Iron is a very important component of a healthy diet. It carries oxygen around the body, boosts the immune system and is important for growing health hair. It is also needed for metabolism of B vitamins, calcium and copper. Calcium will have a positive effect on the following conditions, brittle nails, hair loss, tiredness, muscle aches, headaches and digestive problems, which are associated with low levels of stomach acid. Calcium is available from a number of different sources such as cocoa, whole grains, egg yolk, shellfish, soya products, nuts, dark green vegetables, dried fruit and liver and kidneys. The daily intake of iron shouldn't exceed 50mg as it can cause stomach upset, constipation and blackened stools. The recommended daily allowanc0e of iron per day is 10 mg and the Mc Donald’s Meal provides nowhere near to this value. Therefore the student is not getting an adequate amount of iron from the Mc Donald’s Meal.
Bibliography
I found some interesting information using the following web sites.
I also found the following pieces of information useful.
- Mc Donald’s Information Sheet