UNIT- 6 - DIET

(Refer textbook topics: 7.1 TO 7.5, Page No: 92 -101)

Food provides energy and all the chemicals needed for growth and to keep the body
working properly. It contains several nutrient groups such as carbohydrates, fats,
proteins, vitamins and minerals, fibre and water.
CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates or sugars are biological molecules made of Carbon, Hydrogen and

Oxygen. Most carbohydrates can be broken down by digestion into glucose [C6H12O6 ].
Therefore glucose is called the basic unit of carbohydrates.

Importance: They provide instant energy and are the main source of energy.

They provide 16 kilojoules per gram 16kJ/g of energy.

Sources: Honey, sugarcane, bread, fruits, vegetables like potato,

biscuits, etc.

Diseases: Too much of carbohydrates in the diet cause OBESITY AND

DIABETES.

There are two main groups of carbohydrates:

a) Simple Carbohydrates (simple sugars): are made up of one or two units of glucose.
They are sweet to taste and dissolve in water. They are found in fruits, vegetables.

Example: glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.

b) Complex carbohydrates (complex sugars): are large molecules made up of chain of

glucose units. They are not sweet and are insoluble in water.

Example: They are stored as starch in plants and glycogen in animals.

Tests for carbohydrates:

Iodine Test – To find the presence of starch in food.
 Add 2-3 drops of Iodine solution to food substances.
 If positive – food sample changes to Blue black colour
 If negative – food sample stays brown colour.

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Benedict’s test - To find the presence of sugar in food
 Add 2-3 drops of Benedict’s solution to the sample and boil in water bath for 2-
3minutes.
 If positive – sample changes Brick Red colour
 If negative – Sample stays blue colour

FATS

Fats are biological molecules made of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. The basic unit
of fat consists of one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of fatty acid. They do
not dissolve in water.

Importance: Fats are used to store energy for later use. When fat is broken
down in respiration it gives 37 kJ/g of energy. It also acts as an insulator
by keeping the body warm, helps in the formation of cell membranes.

Sources: Cheese, butter, ghee, oils, milk cream, red meat, etc.

Diseases: Too much fat in the diet causes obesity and heart diseases.

Test for Fats- Emulsion Test - To find the presence of fat in the food sample

 Add few drops of food sample of distilled water, shake well and add 2-3 drops of
Ethanol, shake well.
 If positive : food sample turns cloudy.
 If negative: food sample doesn’t turns cloudy.

PROTEINS

Proteins are biological molecules made of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen

sometimes Sulphur. The basic unit of proteins is called amino acid.

Importance: They are used for growth and repair of damaged parts of the body like
tissues, muscles, hair, nails, etc. In the absence of fats and carbohydrates proteins are
used as a source of energy in the body. They give 16 kJ/g of energy.

Sources: meat, eggs, fish, beans, nuts, peas, etc.

Diseases: Deficiency of proteins causes diseases like Kwashiorkor and its

symptoms are muscle shrinkage and swollen belly.

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Test for Proteins: To find the presence of proteins in food sample

 Add 2-3 drops of Biuret solution to the food sample

 If postive- food sample turns violet / purple colour
 If negative – food sample stays blue colour

VITAMINS & MINERALS

Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that are needed in very less amounts and help
chemical reaction take place in the cells. Deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the diet
causes specific symptoms (signs) called deficiency diseases. Water soluble vitamins
such as vitamin B and vitamin C are sensitive to heat and get destroyed on cooking.

Vitamin Sources Functions Deficiency disease

Fish, carrot,
A spinach, papaya, Improves night vision Night blindness
Egg yolk

Helps in chemical reactions in Beri Beri- causes partial

Milk, cereals, eggs,
B respiration & proper working paralysis and mental
meat, brown rice
of nerves and muscles confusion

Citrus fruits, Scurvy (bleeding gums), poor

C Tissue repair
tomatoes wound healing.

Sunlight, milk, Helps bones and teeth to

D Rickets- soft bent bones.
butter, Cod liver oil absorb calcium

Minerals Sources Functions Deficiency disease

Milk, cheese
Calcium Strengthens bones and teeth Rickets or brittle bones

Red meat, spinach, Anaemia (symptoms:

Carries oxygen in Red Blood
Iron dates tiredness, painful sores in
Cells (RBC’s)
their mouth and weak nails)
Maintains water balance in
Sodium Table salt Irregular heart beat
cells

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Too much of anything is not good:
 Vitamins and Minerals can be harmful if consumed in large quantities.

 Arctic explorers – were poisoned when they ate polar bear liver. It contains huge

quantities of Vitamin A.

 Pregnant women – advised not to eat liver at all. Small amounts of Vitamin A help

a baby’s organs develop, but too much can be harmful.

Tackling Deficiency diseases:

 Wheat is one of the world’s main cereal crops. Modern wheat plants have bigger

seeds, but they contain fewer vitamins and minerals than older crops.

 Fortified- describes food that has extra nutrients added to it.

 Most bread and cereals are fortified to get more vitamins and minerals without

changing what they eat.

 Rice is also another major crop. Natural rice does not contain much Vitamin A. To

tackle this problem scientist developed “GOLDEN RICE”.

 These rice plants produce Vitamin A as scientists have added extra genes to the

crops to make them produce vitamins.

 A bowl of golden rice is enough of adult’s daily intake of Vitamin A, if scientists are

successful it could help stop millions of people going blind. But they are not

enough evidence that this will work!

FIBRES (ROUGHAGE)
Fibres consist of cell walls of plant cells that cannot be digested (fibres are made of large

molecules that our body cannot digest). We need about 30g of fibre each day.

Function: 1. Fibres helps in adding bulk to our diet.

2. It helps in moving the food through your digestive system.

Importance: It prevents constipation and other disorders such as haemorrhoids.

Sources: cereals, fruits, vegetables

Deficiency: Causes disorder of the lower digestive tract such as haemorrhoids.

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 WATER

About 70% of our body consists of water. Water is essential because all the chemical

reactions of the body take place in solution.

Importance:

It transports substances around the body.

It helps to get rid of body wastes.

It helps to regulate the body temperature.

It participates in all the chemical reactions in cells.

Deficiency: Causes dehydration, lack of energy, dry skin, chapped lips, headaches and

constipation.

BALANCED DIET

A diet that contains all the seven nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins,

minerals, roughage and water) in the right proportion is called balanced diet. Excess or

deficiency of any of these nutrients for a long time may lead to diseases such as scurvy

(Vitamin C), obesity (fat), kwashiorkor (protein), etc.

[Note: Malnutrition is lack of proper nutrition or unbalanced diet, caused by not having

enough to nutrients in right amount in diet].

The Eat well Plate

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