+	Sunday, February 27, 2011

Final Reflections :'(

Overall, I think this project has been very fruitful and interesting. It has taught me many things about my daily food that I didn't even know, and now I've learnt how to check for nutritional values on the food that I put into my stomach. I've learnt how to eat in moderation and which foods are good for me, as well as which foods are bad. For example, I never knew that shrimp paste rolls had so much sodium in them! And the amount of fats and sugars in some foods really surprised me.

I think it's important to know all of these as it's not an indirect influence; it directly affects us the moment we choose to eat these foods. It's important to eat a variety of food and use the healthy food pyramid, not to mention other available health tools, to find out what type of food we need: fibres, carbohydrates, sugars, sodium, etc. I also never realised that certain foods that seemed so similar would be so different! For example, the Light Alpen granola bar has 90% daily value of dietary fibre, yet the Quaker granola bar has only 3%. Although both might be advertised as granola bars, one is very much different from the other.

Knowing what goes into our body can aid us in preventing diseases like heart disease and diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, obesity and underweight-ness. Learning how to eat according to our daily needs is vital, and we must make sure not to over- or under-eat, especially since we're teenagers and still growing.

I think my diet was alright; as it was Chinese New Year, I shall give myself a bit of leeway. Heh. But yes, I think the key to good eating is eating in moderation. I eat enough proteins, although I should make an effort to eat more lean meat (as it's the only type of meat I'll eat...) and I eat enough fruits. I'll make an effort to eat my allowed intake of vegetables everyday. I think I eat way too much dietary fibre though; my breakfast already has 90% daily value, and I still have to take into account my other meals. Excess fibre can lead to bloating, gas, diarrhoea, constipation... I'll have to try and keep an eye on my fibre intake from now on! However, fibre's an important nutrient too. It helps slow down digestion, which makes you feel fuller longer (aiding in weight loss, hurhurhur), purifies blood by ridding the body of toxins et cetera. I found out that if I eat too much fiber, I should try to drink more water so that I can retain the soluble fibers and expel the insoluble ones.

All in all, I think it's been a very fun experience doing this PT and all the skills and information I've learnt will surely come in handy in the future.