Balanced Diets & Dietary Recommendations

Have you ever wondered what makes a meal "healthy"? Ever felt overwhelmed by all the conflicting information about diets?

This webquest will equips you with the skills to navigate the world of nutrition and build a personalized plan for a balanced diet.

By the end of this quest, you'll be able to:

Define a balanced diet and understand its importance for optimal health.
Explore different dietary recommendations based on age, activity level, and cultural backgrounds.
Identify key nutrients for your body's needs.
Create and analyze a personalized meal plan that's both nutritious and delicious!

What words come to mind when you hear "healthy meal"?

You may choose up to 1 answer.

*Nutritious

*Delicious

*Energizing

*All the above

*Submit answer

Do you know which are the basic elements of a "balanced" diet?

You may submit up to 1 answer for vote.

Vegetables,tomatoes Legumes,fish

Your answer:

Take a look at the following presentation (slides 1-8), where is also included an activity where you are encouraged to add your opinion on the statement: "When we eat satisfying food in a pleasant environment, the pleasure we experiences ADDS to our satisfaction. And food satisfaction and pleasure not only adds to our happiness, it makes it more likely that we will happily eat a variety of nutritious foods."

https://view.genially.com/669e4f00b71b35375e4ad9c7/guide-balanced-diets

"Do you think individual needs might influence what constitutes a balanced diet?" Please add your opinions to the following tricider trying to analyze some factors that influence what constitutes a balanced diet and aren't included to the presentation, such as age, activity level, allergies, cultural and religion beliefs.

Please, take a look at the slides 9-end of the same presentation so to be introduced to the topic of Dietary Reference Intakes, explaining the different components: RDA, AI, UL, EAR, and AMDR.

Then make a research on the web regarding the topic.

Usefull links:

https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/nutrientrecommendations.aspx

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK114332/

Post to the following padlet your opinions on the importance of DRIs in planning balanced diets and ensuring adequate nutrient intake:

https://padlet.com/meddiet4health/the-importance-of-dris-6d47jwrax3gn2k2x

Using the knowledge gained, please form the same teams used in the former webquest worksheet so to utilize again the ExploreFood web tool, and re-design their diet plan ensuring that it's balanced.

Thus, they have to:

Ensure that the meal plan includes all the basic meals and two snacks.

Ensure that the meal plan includes foods from all the major food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy).

Make sure the meal plan meets the recommended daily intake for calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and essential vitamins (A, C, D, E, K, and B complex), and minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron), according to DRIs

Worksheet that will be used:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MkgbrHZIHmmjMZVi779bF5hFldEIZVSkU0pQ2rUqovI/edit?usp=sharing

You become a Super Foodie!!

Participate in a class discussion on Twinspace forum about the challenges of maintaining a balanced diet and share strategies for overcoming these challenges.