3+Mazzilli,+Kaitlyn

Analysis of diet from 5/26 to 6/02:
Nutrient Report (you have to plug in 5/29/13 as the start date) Pros: - I don't have too much cholesterol (134 mg average eaten over five days) - The total fat I eat is at the minimum of the target level: 25% - I eat enough protein (66g average over 5 days) -Besides wedding cake, I don't have too many sweets - I eat an okay amount of sodium (2271 mg over five days) -I eat a good amount of zinc (10 mg) -I eat healthy amounts of Vitamins B6, B12, C and Thiamin, Folate, Riboflavin and Niacin

Cons: -I do not eat enough calories (1272) -I don't eat enough fruits, vegetables and dairy -I don't have enough fiber (11g out of 26) -I don't eat enough calcium, potassium, iron, copper, magnesium, and phospherous -I don't have enough Vitamin A, D, E, K

Overall, I need to eat more to increase my calorie intake. I think this mostly needs to occur at breakfast cause during the week I hardly eat anything. I can also use that time to increase my dietary fiber intake. I usually have yogurt during the week, but this week I did not, which is what affected my dairy and calcium intake, however I don't think that would still be enough calcium for one day. I think I need to eat more things with calcium in them in general. I also need to increase my fruit and vegetable intake, which will also change my levels of vitamins and minerals. I may need to start taking vitamins as dietary supplements because I am certainly not getting enough of important vitamins and minerals. I should continue to be conscientious of my cholesterol intake as well as sodium and the amount of sweets I eat.

Thoughts on "The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food" - I was surprised with the first part of the article mostly because of the fact that the executives were not persuaded to take steps to make their products healthier. I thought that the connection Mudd made to the cigarette companies quote would have been enough to scare everyone, and I thought that connection was very interesting and also very true. - I had no idea so much math and so many little details went into food science. I knew products were "optimized" but I didn't think they went into such detail as far as the different combinations of dyes and syrups down to the last detail. - I thought the point about tomato sauce being high in sugar was interesting because that is not something people would usually realize. I think the American diet has become too dependent on sugar, to the point where most of what we eat has a lot of sugar in it. -I thought the science behind everything was very interesting such as how the potato chip is addicting because it spikes glucose levels and how it causes many people (even those in health professions) to gain weight. More companies need to focus on making potato chips less weight inducing and more healthy. -I think all companies should slowly and gradually lower the amounts of sugar, salt, and fat they use. Maybe scientists could find a way to do that at levels that are almost unnoticable - Instead of food scientists working to make people addicted to junk food, they should be working on how to get people addicted to things that are healthier - More products like the bagged carrots that Dunn was trying to sell need to be created and advertised gearing towards children. If they could create healthy snacks and put them in commercials that advertise the way that Lucky Charms does for example, they could be very successful. - Someone in the comment section described junk food as a "highly engineered toxic substance". I completely agree. I think there are too many junk food products being sold in this country and that way too much math and science goes in to creating these foods. While it's okay to treat yourself once in a while, the American public does not seem to understand that, and junk food is only making people sick and giving them all sorts of diseases.If we could just limit the amount of foods that are unhealthy that get sold in the grocery store, I think we would have less disease. I think children and teens especially should understand the addictive nature of junk food because they are the ones who can prevent getting out of control in the future. Adults may have a harder time understanding if their diets already revolve around junk food and they may have a harder time changing their diet.

Project 2

__**Autism**__
Autism is a developmental disorder marked by impaired communication and social interactions, and abnormal motor behavior. It is usually noticeable before three years of age. There is no specific known cause of autism. It is believed that environmental factors (a wide variety of toxins) may play a part in the etiology, as well as reactions to vaccinations. There have also been studies which looked at the structure of the brain of those with autism compared to those without. They found that cerebellular activation is altered in those with autism, so cerebellular regions appear to play a role in the difference in cognitive processing.

**__Parkinson's__**
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that results in tremors and muscle rigidity. Approximately 80% of the cells that should produce dopamine (which is important in voluntary movements) die out, are damaged, or otherwise degenerate. Sometimes symptoms are not noticed right away, but Parkinson's can later become crippling and disabling. There is no known cause of Parkinson's but the following risk factors are associated: age (risk increases with age), family history, sex (males more at risk), and head trauma. It affects 1 in 300 people.

__**Why are these two disorders linked?**__
Autism may be caused in part by genetic sensitivity to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress refers to the impairment of a cell due to the presence of excess oxygen molecules within the cell. A study of post mortem brains of those with Parkinson’s found that they also experienced oxidative stress.

It is also believed that mitochondrial dysfunction may also be an important part of the etiology of both disorders. In 1998, a study found that five people with Parkinson’s had a mutated PARK2 protein. PARK2 is believed to function in the mitochondria and normally helps degrade neurons. A 2009 study found an association with a deletion of the gene in 1,031 people with autism. According to the American Journal of Medical Genetics, two children with Asperger syndrome were observed who had different issues with the PARK2 gene. One had a deletion and he suffered from ADHD and disrupted sleep but was also high functioning and in gifted classes. The other had a duplication, and had delayed development, enlarged head, and difficulty with language and social interactions.

Autism and Parkinson’s disease also share the possibility that they could be caused by exposure to environmental toxins. In a study using animal models, it was shown that various toxicants associated with each disease induced deficits that resemble the states of the diseases. Overall, Parkinson’s and Autism may be linked because of genetic sensitivity to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and exposure to toxins. They may have similar etiologies and prevention methods, In the future, research will look at the critical timing of when toxins could affect people to cause these disorders.

__**10/20 :**__
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