Term 1 Class 8

The City School

Handout: 2.3
Topic: Food and Digestion

By reading this handout, learners will be able to:

➢ Explain why organisms need food

➢ Explain why it is important to eat a healthy diet
➢ Identify food which is rich in particular nutrients
➢ Use chemical tests to identify proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Why do organisms need to take food?

Food is one of the basic components of our life. It provides all the basic vital nutrients like
proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, and minerals to our body. All nutrients provide energy
to our body when our body gets energy for our body’s metabolism, and our body functions
properly.

Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into
energy. During this complex process, calories in food and beverages are combined
with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function.

How food helps our body metabolism?

Our body functions when food is consumed. The organs start functioning when food and energy
are supplied.

• Organisms need to take food to get energy and perform life processes.
• A living organism undergoes many life processes like nutrition, respiration, digestion,
transportation, excretion, blood circulation, and reproduction. To perform all these life
processes, the organism needs energy and nutrients.
• The energy to the organism is supplied through food.
• Food intake helps to perform all the activities and develops immunity to fight against
infectious diseases.
• The vital nutrients absorbed by blood from food also plays a major role in healing the
wound and curing the disease attacked to the organism.
• Food is a vital ingredient that plays a superior role in maintaining, function, and
developing the organism. Hence, organisms need to take food.

What are Healthy Foods?

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Healthy foods are considered to be the food items that are rich in nutrition and have a
beneficial effect on our overall health. Healthy food includes many organic food options like
natural food, whole foods, etc.

Nutrition is essential for every individual. If you want to stay

fit, healthy, and strong, eating well is crucial, besides being

physically active, to maintain a healthy weight.

Healthy eating is usually referred to as eating clean meals

that provide nutrients and are important to give you energy,

maintain health, and make you feel good.

What are Unhealthy Foods?

Unhealthy foods can be described as foods that have less nutritional value and are high in fat,
sugar, and calories. Such food may be high in protein but your body needs a certain amount of
protein – not in excess.

If a food item is not helping you maintain a healthy weight,

it’s considered unhealthy. For instance, some unhealthy

foods include high tropical oils and salt, low fiber content,

low vitamins, unhealthy fats, etc. Mostly, unhealthy foods

contain processed items like snacks and fast foods, which

are low in essential nutrients that our body requires for

healthy living.
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Describing Food Tests

1. Test for glucose (a reducing sugar)

• Add Benedict's solution into sample solution in test tube

• Heat at 60 - 70 °c in water bath for 5 minutes
• Take test tube out of water bath and observe the colour
• A positive test will show a colour change from blue to orange or brick red.

2. Test for starch using iodine

We can use iodine to test for the presence or absence of starch in a food sample.

• Add drops of iodine solution to the food sample

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• A positive test will show a colour change from orange-brown to blue-black.

3. Test for protein

• Add drops of Biuret solution to the food sample

• A positive test will show a colour change from blue to violet / purple

4. Test for lipids

• Food sample is mixed with 2cm3 of ethanol and shaken

• The ethanol is added to an equal volume of cold water
• A positive test will show a cloudy emulsion forming