Purpose: In this lab you will examine the amount of energy you obtain in your diet every day (and in what form you obtain it: carbohydrates, proteins, fats) and compare it to the amount of energy you use in one day. You will also examine the vitamins and minerals in your diet and determine why you need them since they don’t provide you with any energy.

Background: Every day most individuals consume food items which have an amount of energy equal to the amount of energy they use. When this is adhered to a stable weight is maintained, if more food energy is consumed than used then weight is gained, if less food energy is consumed than used, weight is lost.

The amount of energy for each group of macromolecules varies:
Carbohydrates: 4 kcal/gram
Proteins: 4 kcal/gram
Fats: 9 kcal/gram
Since the energy contribution from Nucleic Acids is negligible it is not necessary to include this group in our analysis.

Procedure:
Read both part one and part two before beginning this lab since you need to collect both sets of data at the same time. Be sure to collect your data in some organized fashion. I would like you to turn in your raw data sheets for both part one and part two.

Part One
1. Keep track of what you eat for 24 hours; make sure you include quantities. Please include this as part of your raw data.
2. Begin at the welcome page for the Nutrition Analysis Tools and System (NATS) developed by the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, UIUC.
http://nat.crgq.com/welcome.html
Click on the side bar link NATS VER 2.0 to analyze your diet. When you get to the final analysis be sure to click on, “Display all Nutrients”.
Please note: If you want to store your information on their site you will have to sign up (no charge). Click on the side bar link My NATS and follow the directions.
3. When you have finished inputing your diet for a 24 hour period, printout your diet analysis.

Part Two
1. Keep track of all your activities in the same 24 hour time period and include this as part of your raw data.
2. Click on the side bar link: Energy Calculator at the NATS site to determine the amount of energy you used in this 24 hour period. Use whichever calculator you prefer.
3. Printout your energy analysis.

Data I expect to see in the write-up:
1. A raw data table with all food eaten and amounts for 24 hours.
2. A diet analysis of this information (printout from the website).
3. A raw data table with all your activities for 24 hours.
4. An energy analysis of this information (printout from the website).

Questions:
1. Based on your data, comment on your daily energy consumption and energy use.
2. Rank the three groups of energy containing macromolecules (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) from greatest to least in terms of the amount of energy obtained in your diet. You will need to use the diet analysis data from the printout and covert it into calories. The amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats is given in grams. Use the conversion provided in the background information above to do your calculations. Show all your work.
3. Take a look at some of the other items in your data analysis- the non energy items. Some of these are the “vitamins and minerals” in your diet. Select one vitamin and one mineral and discuss what their function is in your body (i.e. what do they do since they don’t provide you with any energy). For guidance look in your book at Table 41.1 (page 795) and Table 41.2 (page 796), or search the internet. Give me a short paragraph on each (do not give me a one sentence answer for each if you want to get an "A" on this assignment!).
4. Where is almost all of the food you eat absorbed in the digestive system?

Conclusion
In one paragraph summarize what you learned and found interesting in this lab.