The Effects of Foods and Drinks on One's Heart Rate

Lab Report

The Effects Of Foods And Drinks On One's Heart Rate

Mohammed Abdulhalim

MYP 4 - 9D

Mr.Ibrahim Science

Throughout this lab report, you will come to find that I discuss the effects of different foods and drinks on one's heart rate. In which, many people around the world aren't aware that eating unhealthy foods such as oily, greasy, or high in fat and sugar can effect their heart rate drastically especially if they already obtain other side effects like obesity, heart disease, physical activity, blood pressure, and medications all may increase or decrease a person’s heart rate. Therefore, within my observation as well as analysis of the data collected in the experiment we will be able to identify the reasons for the way one's heart rate reacts to certain foods/drinks and the consequences of these meals!

What type of food will best affect the heart rate the most?
If the experimenters consume different types of foods, does it affect their blood pressure (rise) as well as their heart rate?

The experiment based on how different foods affect one's heart rate will further interpret the consequences or outcomes regarding how the heart rate reacts to certain foods; whether increasing or decreasing. In which, after scrutinizing the results well as the data analysis, it will determine how the heart rate reacts to specific foods and the reasons behind these reactions.

The essential subject of my science fair project is food’s effect on heart rate; knowing the way certain body functions work is also essential in this project. Firstly what do we mean by the term heart rate? Heart rate is the acceleration one heartbeats per minute whereas the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart) determine the heart rate based on the number of contractions it has. The heart rate could accelerate at high speed (tachycardia) or far too slow (bradycardia). By which, the heart rate of one varies from person to person, yet a normal range for adults is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Consequently, to measure one's heart rate, place your index finger on his/her neck or wrist, whereas the most recommended spot would be on the neck near the chin. As a result, find a pulse then count how many times it beats for fifteen seconds then multiply it by four. Not to mention that the average heartbeat in a whole day is 100,000. Let's not forget that a person's heart rate lies within their heart and as we all know numerous things can affect a person's heart rate. Therefore, we must know what can determine a person's heart rate and how it functions. Emotions, food, heart disease, physical activity, blood pressure, and medications all may increase or decrease a person’s heart rate. For instance, greasy or oily meals are notably demanding on the heart. Further contributing to higher cholesterol levels, remarkably heavy meals may increase your risk of heart attack, conceivably due to changes in blood flow and increases in heart rate and blood pressure after eating. Thus if you have heart disease, it's recommended to narrow down foods that are high in fat and carbohydrates, especially at a huge meal. In addition, diet plays a significant role in the high heart rate because the foods we eat affect our blood pressure. Moreover, without a doubt food can also have a negative or positive effect on one's heart rate depending on the ingredients. A lower heart rate is better because it implies that you have a more efficient heart function. The cardiovascular system lies just behind and somewhat to the left of the breast bone refers to the heart, blood vessels, and blood. When dealing with food you would need to make sure it is prepared with the ingredients in mind. Since, the way food is prepared could change the result of the experiments thus becoming aware of the ingredients in the food is significantly important. Certain foods can have different effects on someone’s heart rate, accordingly, some foods that affect heart rate are caffeine, chocolate, and peppers. On the other hand, a couple of the best foods for heart rate are salmon, flaxseed, avocado, nuts and berries, oatmeal, olive oil, legumes, spinach and soy. Now as we all know despite our heart rate being affected by the specific meals we eat the body digests food using the digestive system which will eventually exterminate the food recollecting its normal heart rate as well as absorbing the nutrients the body needs. There are six essential nutrients that our body needs; they are composed of carbs, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. In summation, the foods we eat can affect our heart rate due to two main reasons. Firstly, the foods we eat affect our blood pressure, and secondly foods high in fat and sugar also cause an increased heart rate, primarily because they contribute to being overweight or obese, which places more pressure on the heart.

If certain foods obtain high in fat and sugar they will cause an increase in one's heart rate, for the most part because they contribute to being overweight or obese, which places more pressure on the heart. For instance, throughout my project, I will use seven different types of food varying with different ingredients which are gummies, Starbucks coffee, green tea, cheeseburger, deli sandwich, Gatorade, and dove chocolate. If all seven foods are eaten and tested each product will have a different effect on the heart rate whether an increase or decrease due to their contrasting nutrients. Since most of the different types of foods being tested contain high amounts of fat and sugar such as gummies, Starbucks coffee, Gatorade and dove chocolate. Additionally, the deli sandwich, and cheeseburger would presumably, increase one's heart rate due to the fact that it could be considered an oily meal as well as unhealthy. Finally, green tea is highly known to increase a person's heart rate as well as blood pressure since it contains caffeine which is known to stimulate the nervous system.

Independent:
The different types of foods (gummies, Starbucks coffee, green tea, cheeseburger, deli sandwich, Gatorade, and dove chocolate) utilized in the experiment play the role of the independent variables since they don't really depend on anything yet they affect the heart rate. In which, the heart depends on the food while the food is independent.

Dependent:

The heart rate of each individual would be the dependent variable due to the fact that each person will be tested based upon their heart rate before and after eating. In which, one's heart rate is expected to change depending on the different types of food they ate and will not remain the same as it had been before eating anything.

Controlled:

The amount of food the participant is eating in each trial run would be controlled since all the participants have equal amounts of proportions.

• Dixie Cups (5 oz.)
• Omron 3 series wrist blood pressure monitor
• Water (1 Dixie cup full)
• 2 Sour Gummy Octopus
• Starbucks Vanilla Coffee (4.75 oz.)
• 1/3 Arizona Green Tea
• One plain Carl’s Jr. cheeseburger
• 1/4 New York Deli Sandwich
• One dixie cup of Glacier Cherry Gatorade
• 10 pieces of Dove Dark Chocolate Covered Blueberries

1. Gather all the necessary materials.
2. Cook or prepare the food for the current testing.
3. Measure/divide up the food or drink to specification.
4. Split into 1-4 servings depending on the number of people being tested.
5. The participants should proceed to eat/drinking the substances.
6. Record the time the person finished consuming it.
7. Wait ten minutes.
8. Record heart rate.
9. Wait five minutes.
10. Apply data to the data table.
11. Repeat process to desired foods/drinks.

After collecting as well as observing the data collected based upon the participants regarding either decrease or increase depending on the conflicting foods a lot of changes had occurred revealing a couple of patterns. This analysis refers to each individual's outcome and the overall heart rate averages, thus its portrayed to us that the averages and the personal BPM percent of change varied. Firstly, with the gummy octopus, two people went up in BPM (one drastic and one slightly), one person went down, and one showed no change. Likewise with the coffee since it's been illustrated to us that it had the same pattern that occurs with the gummy octopus. On the other hand the outcome of the cheeseburger conveyed to us that three of the participants had increased while one decreased slightly. In which the Gatorade drink resulted opposite the cheeseburger whereas three of the participants decreased while one increased slightly. Consequently, the green tea was left out since it was a fifty-fifty percent chance because of two of the participants increased while the others decreased. At last, both the chocolate and sandwich had the exact same outcome due to the fact that they both resulted in an increase in the heart rate for all participants. Therefore, it's been displayed to us that all the participants varied based upon the food they ate, however, were able to conclude that the chocolate and sandwich result in complete increasing of heart rate, yet the foods either have a seventy-five percent chance increase (cheeseburger) or seventy-five percent decrease (Gatorade).

The hypothesis one’s predicted ended up completely correct when looking towards the demand increase of heart rate of deli sandwiches and cheeseburgers due to the fact that they contain huge amounts of oil whereas, oil has been scientifically proven to slow heart rates and block arteries whereas mentioned before they could be the main cause of obesity and weight gain. Moreover, one’s prediction towards the decrease and increase of heart rate when drinking green tea has been previously proven within the results that it could vary between people. By means, characterized people could face a decrease in heart rate while others may encounter the opposite. Due to the containment of one's ability and the reactions caused by the containment.

The method used for this experiment was (Heartbeat Measurement after 10mins. For food – initial heartbeat before food) – (Heartbeat Measurement after 10 mins. For water – initial heartbeat before water) / + (Heartbeat Measurement after 10 mins. For water – initial heartbeat before water). The method above was sufficiently and efficiently used. However, the process of conducting an experiment like so needed the use of many products. In addition, the time it took to prepare each meal while dividing proportions for every experimenter consumed the time that could have been for the experiment. Additionally, the experiment took a long time in order to complete the trails taken. Furthermore, the time taken in order to perform this experiment was very successful and worth the effort due to the fact that it gave scientific and reasonable results.

Looking back at this experiment it has benefitted the experimenter in numerous aspects some of which are; figuring out different ways of checking pulses without any device which will in fact, benefit one's future learnings. Secondly, this experiment has opened one's innovative thoughts and desire to learn and explore this experiment in a deeper manner. Lastly, choosing an experiment like this was very unique whereas it hasn’t been seen or experimented by anyone before. Whereas on the other hand, it was a challenge to conduct an experiment on time however, if the experimenter had created a plan with deadlines beforehand it would’ve made it a faster process. Additionally, it was a confusing process to pick and choose what exactly would have a bigger impact on one's heart rate due to the fact that other effects could have an impact such as diseases, disorders, weight gain and many more. Therefore, these could be possible errors that had occurred within the collection data, in which in the future I could further, investigate all the side effects that impact the heart rate of a person. Unfortunately, due to the crisis that has turned our plans upside down has made this experience quite a challenge, however, is an IB learner it has been an experience for improving our skills.

• “Short-Term Exposure to Essential Oils Lowers Blood Pressure and Heart Rate ... but Only When Exposure Is Less than One Hour.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 29 Nov. 2012, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/12112909341... (BACKGROUND INFORMATION)
• Weber, Craig O. “How Different Foods May Be Negatively Affecting Your Blood Pressure.” Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 23 Nov. 2019, www.verywellhealth.com/seven-foods-that-may-affec... (BACKGROUND INFORMATION)
• kourtnei197. “Does Food Affect Your Heart Rate? – Homeostasis Lab.” Kourtnei's Anatomy and Physiology Blog :), 5 Oct. 2015, kourtneisantomyandphysiologyblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/does-food-affect-your-heart-rate-homeostasis-lab (DATA SECTION)
• “Conclusion - Food VS. Heart Rate.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/hanalani.org/mof16-fujisawa-tesoro-rarangol-vegas/conclusion. (DATA SECTION)
• “What Foods and Drinks Can Affect Your Heart Rate?” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group,www.livestrong.com/article/323160-what-foods-and-drinks-can-affect-your-heart-rate/. (BACKGROUND INFORMATION)
• Northwestern Medicine. “Overeating and Your Heart.” Northwestern Medicine, www.verywellhealth.com/seven-foods-that-may-affec... (BACKGROUND INFORMATION)
• www.verywellhealth.com/seven-foods-that-may-affec... (PICTURES)
• www.verywellhealth.com/seven-foods-that-may-affec... (PICTURES)
• www.verywellhealth.com/seven-foods-that-may-affec... (PICTURES)
• www.verywellhealth.com/seven-foods-that-may-affec... (PICTURES)