NUTR 1020 Sci Foun Human Nutrition (LS)

 NUTR 1020 
Sci Found Human Nutrition (LS)
Professor Chad Harbaugh
Summer 2022


HLTH 1020 Signature Assignment: Option 2:$10 Challenge
 I live in a very rural area near Cortez, Colorado, and I chose to donate online with the Good Samaritan Center. It was a great way to help get funding to people that need it, and it made it possible for me to donate from home, whish is very helpful considering my proximity to things. I do wish that I had the ability to take time to volunteer with their facility, but it simply wasn't possible, so being able to make a donation online was really nice. My community does a ton of outreach, especially in the Navajo Reservation, and they cover a massive area. Every dollar counts. When we see how hard it is for the elderly or disabled to be able to access healthy choices in my area, we see the massive need for good transportation access and meal delivery. It's not just food donations that help my community. It's vehicle maintenance, gas money, and volunteer support. There may be 100 miles in one trip to feed the needy, and that is so very important to those people! We depend on each other in life, and providing for all of us is vital. 

Learning Outcomes:

  1. The interactions and inter-dependency of organisms upon each other and their environment.
Like the needs of the elderly scattered around my county, we all have needs and depend on each other to be able to fulfil our dietary requirements. If we look inwardly as well, our cells depend on the nutrients we give our body. We are a circle of life, ultimately. 
  1. Demonstrate knowledge of human nutritional needs and the role of nutrition in improving individual health and the societal economic impact of food choices.
As someone who lives in a food desert with extreme poverty and low health expectations, being able to have a healthy body is a blessing. With education comes power, and knowing how to feed myself and my family is tantamount to success.
  1. Explain the impact that the food industry has on human food choices and the subsequent relationship to health and disease at the individual, societal, and environmental level.
In my research paper, I explained how the government's choice to fortify food started off a positive thing, but has become a problem over the decades. This can be applied to a large portion of the food industry. Quantity cannot replace quality, because breakdown of the population begins to happen, with or without our knowledge. Focusing on improving quality should always be our goal. 


Reflection:

  1. Make connections between what you studied in this nutrition course with what you’ve learned in other courses at SLCC or before. Make specific references to your work in this class and in the other courses. How did what you learn in the other courses enhance what you learned in nutrition, and vice versa?
This course was really fun to compare to my own eating habits. I personally haven't had other classes like it, as I'm an English major, but I did enjoy writing and reading about what works and what doesn't for people in my class. I did feel that I thought I knew more, and realized that I had a lot to learn! That was pretty interesting for me to come to. 

  1. Reflect on how you thought about nutrition before you took this course and how you think about it now that the course is over. Have any of your assumptions or understandings changed? Why? What assignments/activities/readings were influential in this process? How will you approach (course topic) differently in the future?

I definitely realized that I need to be more aware of my personal nutrition because I'm a busy mom, and I focus on my children a lot, while letting my own need slip. It's a lot of work to make the meals of 5 people 3 times a day, and I know I let my personal health fall to the wayside when I am so focused on others. I am resolving to take better care of myself in the future.