On a night out with your friends, scanning the menu options at your local Mexican restaurant, you think, “I’m going to be healthy tonight and order a salad.” Think again. Depending on the salad, you might save more calories by ordering a Big Mac, Fries, and a chocolate shake. Some taco salads pack as many calories you should consume in an entire day, as much saturated fat as 38 strips of bacon and the sodium equivalent of 16 orders of McDonalds French fries. No big deal, you can walk it off on the treadmill later. It’ll only take 16 miles of walking!
This project is designed to help you analyze the foods that you are eating.
STEP 1: FIND A WORST FOOD ITEM AND ANALYZE ITS NUTRITIONAL CONTENT
The quick Internet search that we all did in the beginning of the Foods and Nutrition module should have helped you identify an example of an unhealthy food.
You will need to determine the nutritional content of your food. Search online for “nutrient facts,” or “nutrition information [insert your favorite fast food restaurant name or food here]” to help identify food labels and ingredient information.
Evaluate the nutritional information on the label for your food using the “Reading Nutrition Labels” or Calculating Calories” readings to identify the calories, number of grams of fat, carbohydrates like sugar, salt, and proteins and determine the quantities of different types of fats and carbohydrates. You can also refer to the background content on the different types of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins in our text readings.
Step 2: Construct a scientific argument concerning the health effects of your worst food item
Think about the description of the taco salad from above. Did it work to convince you not to eat the food? What was most convincing to you? What (if any) source of evidence was used to support the claim that the food was unhealthy?
Now, look at your food item. Determine exactly what characteristics about the level of macromolecules found in your food item would support the claim that it is not a health choice. Focus on one or two specific problem such as trans fats or sodium. Now, articulate your claim that these characteristics make it a worst food.
Conduct an Internet search for evidence that supports or refutes your claim. Begin with a search for tertiary sites like magazines (Scientific American, Discover, American Scientist) and government sites. Then proceed to searching for scientific studies such as primary research articles as well as secondary reviews. Typing “googlescholar” or “PubMed” in your browser will help you locate search engines that are more appropriate for narrowing your sources of evidence. You will need to find 5 highly reliable sources of evidence that support your claim. Use the information on evaluating sources of evidence found in the Distinguishing Science Bunk from Science module.
Submit your claim and the sources of evidence that you have uncovered using the google sheet link from the Distinguishing Science Bunk from Science module. Use the sheet to enter your claim and organize your referenced pieces of evidence into a cohesive argument that will be submitted to your instructor for feedback.
Once you have your instructor feedback you may need to search for additional references or revise your overall argument statement.
Sample Solution