Meals on Wheels Powerpoint- Orange Group

The 'Meals on Wheels' project was an assignment in which each group of 4 students would collaboratively analyze three menus given to the group, and decide which were healthy and which were for long/ short term diet. During the project, the groups would research things like the different types of nutrients (there functions and negative effects of having too much of them) and the functions of the nutrients in order to learn whether or not each menu was healthy.
My group learned, during this project, about the essential nutrients. We learned their functions, like how carbs are used as your main source of energy, and negative effects of excess amounts, like how too much protein will result in kidney complications. This project helped us to better understand how are bodies use the nutrients and why we need them in just the right amounts. We chose that the healthiest menu was menu 2 because it was very balanced and offered a variety of each nutrient.
We decided that menu 1 was a somewhat extreme diet menu which should only be used for about a week because it does not offer all the essential nutrients (such as lipids) which you need in your body, and does not offer a wide variety of the nutrients it does offer (such as vitamins and minerals).
We decided menu 2 was the healthiest menu that should be used long term. It offers sufficient amounts of each nutrient and has a wide variety of each.
We decided menu 3 was a very unhealthy extreme menu because it has way too much fat and protein in the diet. This can result in a heart attack (due to excess fat) or in kidney complications (due to excess protein). Apart from having too much of those nutrients, the menu lacks a variety of vitamins and minerals (which is essential for a healthy body).




 We learned varioius new facts about each nutrient:
-Carbohydrates: these can be simple (found in sugar [candy, chocolate, soda, etc.]; single sugar molecules) or complex (found in starch [bread, pasta, etc.]; various linked sugar molecules). These are also your main source of energy and a high amount of carbs is essential for an athletic diet. You should eat mainly complex carbs because they have longer-lasting energy.
-Proteins: Proteins are used for your muscle recronstruction and muscle tissue production. These can be found in foods such as meat, nuts, etc. It is important to have protein in your diet, however too much may result in kidney problems.
-Vitamins: these come in a variety (vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, etc.). They are used for various reactions in your body which improve your skin, hair, eye sight, brain funciton, etc. It is required that you get a variety of vitamins (not just one type). These can be found in fruits, vegetables, lean meats, etc. These can be water or fat soluble.
-Minerals: these, like vitamins, also come in a variety (iron, potassium, sodium, etc.) and are also used for chemical reactions to regulate your body for your bones, muscles, blood pressure, etc. You need a variety of minerals (not just one). These can be found in fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts, etc. These are also fat or water soluble.
-Fats: these can be saturated (unhealthy fats; solid) or unsaturated (healthy fats; liquid). Fats are used for insulation of your organs and to regulate chemical reactions by dissolving vitamins and minerals. Fats are important, but you don’t require too much. Too much may result in problems such as heart attacks or cardiac arrest. Fats can be found in foods such as meats, fried foods, butter, oils, etc.
-Water: Water is important because it is used in chemical reactions, dissolves vitamins and minerals, and homeostsasis (cooling you off by sweat or another form). Water can be found as the plain nutrient, or in foods such as fruits, vegetables, etc.

Team Evaluation
My group was Marina S., Guigo, Jaewon C., and myself. Marina did an exceptional job. She was always very on task and participated in all of our discussions. She put our powerpoint together with the different menus on them so we could analyze them infront of the class during our presentation. Guigo had a rough start; instead of staying with our group he would often times be somewhere else talking to other people, but in the end he pulled through and new his section well during the presentation. Jae insisted on not his work in class but rather at another time and told us he knew all his content already and didn't need to research. During the presentation, he lacked some information but still completed his job at the basic level. I was the leader of my group and I think that as a member I did a good job with researching and puting my parts together for the presentation, but as a leader, I lacked a firm hand and should have tried harder to make sure everyone did their part.
As a whole, I think we did a good job- at the times when everyone was willing to participate, we were able to make great progress. Despite some of the obstacles with our members not doing work, we delivered an imformative presentation that completed the assignment. I think that if everyone carried their own weight in the assignment, the presentation would have turned out better.

Below is a link to my groups powerpoint containing the 3 menus we analyzed:Powerpoint