Reflection Paper

This course has been very educative and has helped me connect a lot of what I learn in
this class to what happens in my life. I was able to see many connections both in my courses and
in my life outside of school. For example, my family is really interested in trying to improve our
diet and health so this course helped me know what the best way to do it was. Changing ones
lifestyle is not simple and to do it right requires a lot of effort and planning. This course provided
me with a lot of the knowledge necessary to do just that.
This semester, I took a lot of courses that were related to health and lifestyle. I was able
to see how nutrition plays an important part in the healthy development of a child in my human
lifespan development course. I was also able to see how eating disorders can affect the health and
self-esteem of an adolescent or young adult in that class. Another course that I was able to
connect what I learned in this class to was my Fitness for Life course. In that class I learned a lot
about how to exercise properly but also that nutrition plays an important role. Its important that
when making any kind of plan to change exercise behavior, that nutrition be considered, as that
is what is going to fuel ones body. That course also covered a lot of nutritional information that
was covered in this course so I was able to study the information twice as much.
This semester, I also took Lifetime Wellness and Fitness. Its a course that looks at all the
areas of life in order to improve them all to make a better life in general. If one area of life is
lacking, say for example physical health, it will affect all the other areas of life such as emotional
health and social health. In that class, I also covered a chapter about nutrition and it allowed me
to put what I already knew into practice as well as helped me see what I was lacking in my
physical health. This included nutrition and physical exercise. I realize now that everything is
interconnected and I can greatly improve my life by taking care of my body to begin with, and
this class helped me understand how to better fuel it. I was also able to study more about what I
had learned in this class and reinforce my knowledge.
Before I took this class, I had a basic understanding about nutrition. I had recently
completed an internship that focused a lot on public health and nutrition so it was already on my
mind. During my time there I mostly worked with the model given by My Plate so that was what
I was familiar with but I was still largely unfamiliar with nutrition in general. I didnt know, for
example, sources for Vitamin B12 or that Zinc is beneficial to the immune system. I knew sugar
and child obesity was a problem but I didnt know exactly how bit it was. Before this class, I
thought I was getting all the nutrients I needed because I was eating enough, but now I realize
its not how much Im eating but what Im eating. Now I think about the vitamins I am probably
lacking because of my diet and how I can improve it so that I can function to my potential. I
realized now that there is more to good nutrition than just eating.
I look at the food given during school lunches and I see how badly balanced they are,
barely making the recommendations given by the government. I also see how certain cultures,
such as my own Latino culture, desperately need to change their eating habits. Many people
believe that eating healthy is basically tasteless and that making Mexican food in a healthy way
will remove the rich flavor, but it is still possible to make good and healthy food. I think that this
course has helped me be able to see what is in food more clearly.
Another thing that I changed my assumptions about was food allergies. I wasnt sure
what caused them or why they happened. Maybe it had to do with ethnicity or with chemicals or
something, but I chose to write my research paper on it and learned a lot. I learned that food

allergies are preventable for many; that lifestyle has a large impact and that exposure to allergens
before the age of one but after the age of 6 months is important for prevention. Although a lot of
research about food allergies still needs to be done, I wont have to keep my children in a bubble
and hope that they wont develop an allergy.
Before this course I was also unaware about malnutrition or nutrient deficiencies that are
prevalent in a large part of the world. I was not ignorant about the subjects but I wasnt very
informed about them. I learned that iron deficiency is the largest nutrient deficiency in the world.
I also learned about various diseases related to nutrient deficiencies. Also, I found it interesting
that there is a lot of malnutrition in developed countries. I had known that many people did not
get adequate nutrition in the US but learning that in detail was still pretty shocking. It made me
wonder why there wasnt more being done to solve or at lease alleviate that problem.
As I said previously, my family is also interested in nutrition, especially my mother.
Sometimes shell ask me about a certain weight loss method that is very popular, but because of
this course I can help better inform her if its a scam or is actually very unhealthy even if it
works. I also find myself just randomly giving my mom nutrition facts or tips that I learned from
this class. For example, that taking vitamin C to help get rid of a cold is more of a preventative
measure and doesnt actually help get rid of a cold. I have also considered becoming a vegetarian
or just eating fish and this course helped me understand the needs that I might have if I do, such
as Vitamin B12 deficiency since I wouldnt eat meat.
I know that in the future I will have to take other nutrition courses, especially since I want
to major in Public Health. Because of this course, I will have a broader understanding of
nutrition and it will help me understand other subjects that have to do with health more. It might
even help me a little with chemistry courses. I will also appreciate more about how my body
functions and how each of the nutrients it needs affect it. Also if I am going to teach people about
health, I have to put it in to practice; and, this course, among the others I took this semester, can
help me do that.