Compare and contrast popular diets
“Identify and justify reliable sources of nutrition information.

Compare and contrast popular diets.”

Research Paper Project

Research a diet in depth and learn everything about it. A simple consumer-level approach is not enough, because now you are in nutrition science class! Be able to describe the diet to someone who doesn’t know anything about it. Know/discover the diet’s strengths and weaknesses. Stay objective. Use the knowledge you have gained in this course to do your evaluation. Make a final judgment and recommendation based on your findings.

Be able to provide a 1 day meal plan based on this diet.

There are numerous diets out there. Here is a short sampling:

TypeExamples Medical

· DASH and Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diets for blood pressure management

· Ketogenic diet for management of epilepsy

· BRAT diet

· Esselstyn diet for heart health

Cultural

· Okinawan diet

· Mediterranean diet

· Vegan diet (originally from Hindu and Buddhist Asian cultures)

· Vegetarian diet (a Westernized, less restrictive version of veganism)

Commercial

· South Beach diet

· Ornish diet

· F-factor diet

· Paleolithic diet

· Atkins diet

· Zone diet

· Mayo Clinic diet

New Age

· Fruitarian diet

· Raw food diet

· Macrobiotic diet

· Calorie Restriction diet

Research Paper Requirements

Content

In the paper cover the following:

· Describe the history of the diet.

· What geography and culture does it come from?

· How old is this diet – for how long people practiced it?

· Who invented it?

· What is the diet’s foundational philosophy?

· What the diet actually consist of in general?

· Give an example for a one-day meal plan representative of this diet.

Critical assessment:

· Describe how well/badly it covers the macronutrients and micronutrients.

· Does that diet have any probiotic components?

· Does the diet achieve in long term what it claims to achieve?

· Should one following this diet take precautionary steps, such as take extra vitamins or supplements?

· What do you think is the greatest weakness of this diet? How about its greatest strength?

· Is this diet practical for a modern lifestyle? (Maybe if you need to prep a meal for 6 hours it is not that practical)

· Is this diet expensive? Can average people afford it?

· Could this diet be particularly harmful for certain age groups, or patients with certain medical conditions?

· Could this diet induce food allergies?

· Could this diet be applicable to a high intensity life style? (competitive sports)

· Are there celebrities trying to popularize this diet?

· Is there a particular food industry that would promote this diet?

· Your personal opinion: Would you do it?

· Would you recommend it to your family?

Format

The format should be simple without anything fancy in it. You are graded on ideas, not on appearances.

· Fonts: 10-12 size, any regular type will do (Calibri, Times, Times New Roman, Arial, Courier etc.)

· Line spacing: 1 to 1.5 spacing; 2-line spacing is not acceptable!

· Margins: 1 inch margins

· Length: 3-4 pages

· No pictures nor graphs of any kind.

· Bibliography: Use APA citations and these do not count toward the length of the paper.

· File format: Word or PDF

Use reputable sources

Anyone can claim to be a diet expert on the Internet these days. Consequently most available information is misleading junk. To navigate through this jungle only use independent and reputable sources that provide professionally curated information.

Also never forget people’s agendas… The egg industry will always sponsor studies concluding that eggs are wonderful. The dairy industry, the meat industry will do likewise.

Here are some examples of reputable sources:

· The USDA Nutrition Center at Tufts University (Links to an external site.)

· The FDA (Links to an external site.)

· The Harvard Health Publications (Links to an external site.)

· The Mayo Clinic (Links to an external site.)

· The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals (Links to an external site.)

· Micronutrients Information Center at the Linus Pauling Institute (Links to an external site.)

· The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (Links to an external site.)

· The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (Links to an external site.)

· The NIH recommended dietary reference intakes (Links to an external site.)

· Nutritionfacts.org (Links to an external site.)

· Nutrition.gov (Links to an external site.)