Iron In A Balanced Diet Analysis

Coursework Task 1

It is very important to include iron in a balanced diet. Iron is available from many different sources and some groups of people may require additional quantities.

Prepare a variety of interesting dishes which would include a good supply of this mineral.

Task analysis:

From what I understand from the question, I will describe why iron is required in a balanced diet. Iron is a mineral and minerals play a vital role along with vitamins and other nutrients to keep our body healthy. Iron is a trace mineral, which means that our body only requires it in miniscule amounts.

Without iron in the body, red blood cells will lack the ability to transport oxygen to all parts of our body which will lead to anemia, a condition whereby

How much iron is considered to be dangerous for the body?

If an individual’s iron level is over 35-50 milligrams, it is considered toxic. Levels over 100 milligrams it is considered as severe iron poisoning. The recommended daily intake of iron per day should be at most 18-19 milligrams.

What is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet means eating the right amount of food for the amount of work an individual does in a day. A balanced diet also has to have different vitamins and nutrients included in it.

Some factors that affect a balanced diet are the age. Gender is one of them. Males usually require more food as they have a higher energy need than females due to being more active.

A person with a high metabolic rate requires more energy intake than a person that has a lower metabolic rate, a person who is more active and performs strenuous activities requires more energy, the age of the person as adults require more energy than a child and elderlies require lesser energy than adults due to a sedentary lifestyle and lastly, state of health. A person may lack certain nutrients and vitamins or they need more due to certain health

Healthy cooking methods – Dishes chosen should have healthy cooking methods that do not incorporate the uses of oil or only a little use of oil. This is to prevent any health related problems that associate it with taking in of too much oil. One such health complications are cardiovascular diseases. Some guidelines that I can use are the healthy plate, RDA and the dietary guidelines.

2. High nutritive value – The amount of iron in the dish has to be enough to cater towards groups of people that need more iron such as females on their period as they lose a large amount of blood during menstruation. Some other factors that would affect iron in a diet would be the source of iron whether is it from animal or plants. Another factor is the amount of vitamin C included in the dishes as vitamin C helps in absorption of iron.

3. Religion – Many of the features that shape dietary habits are derived from religious laws. All over the world many people choose to eat or avoid certain foods according to their religious beliefs. When a dietary practice is preserved by religious dogma it is given additional force. Dietary differences linked to religion should be considered when planning a balanced