FOOD - ESSENTIAL POINTS
Use of food we eat:
i. We need food to live
ii. We need food to get energy
iii. We need food to grow strong
iv. We need food to keep us healthy
Daily diet includes:
i. Cereals:Rice, Wheat and Maize.
ii. Pulses:Bengal Gram, Red Gram.
iii. Animal Products:Milk, Curd, Fish, Meat and Eggs.
iv. Oils, Ghee and Butter.
v. Vegetables: Onion, Carrot, Potato, Beans etc.
vi. Fruits:Mango, Apple, Banana etc.
Nutrition is the process of obtaining and consuming food.
The foods we eat contain nutrients that provide energy and other things the
body needs. Most of the nutrients in food fall into three major groups: Proteins,
Carbohydrates & Fats.
Types of nutrients:
i. Proteins: Proteins are Body building nutrient important for growth and
development and to build muscles. Examples, pulses, meat, fish, milk
etc.
ii. Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are energy giving foods. Example,
cereals, honey, ice cream, potato, butter etc. Food having lots of sugar
and starch are rich in carbohydrates.
iii. Fats: Fats are energy giving foods. Fats give more energy than
carbohydrates and make food tasty. Examples, coconut, oil, ghee, butter
etc. Mustard oil, coconut oil, groundnut oil are used in cooking.
iv. Fibres: The fibrous food help in bowel movement. They are also called
roughages.
v. Minerals and vitamins: Foods rich in minerals are called protective
foods. Examples, green leafy vegetables and fruits. Vitamins protect us
from diseases. These foods keep your skin healthy and improves our
eyesight.
Fruit is a fleshy product of a plant that contains seed and can be eaten as food.
Some fruits like Bananas generally do not have seeds. Apple and watermelon
have few seeds while mango has one seed.
Some fruits are edible like mango, apple etc. while some are inedible like
rubber.
Citrus fruits like Lemons and oranges are rich in Vitamin C which protect our
body against cold.
Mustard is a land plant and its leaves are used as vegetable and seeds are used
to produce mustard oil.
Milk is a complete food as it contains carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals
and vitamins. Babies mostly live on milk.
Our body also needs water for circulation of blood and for digestion.
Balanced diet provides energy, growth and repair of all body parts and protect
body from ill health and sickness.
We cook cereals, pulses and most vegetables to Improve the taste, Digest easily
and to kill the germs.
Butter is prepared from milk while chappati, bread and biscuits are prepared
from wheat.
Plants prepare their own food from air, water and sunlight. Leaves prepare food
for plants. We consume many parts of plants as our food. Example, carrot is
modified root that stores food, chilli is used as spices in our food.
Cow provides us milk Cream, curd and butter are prepared from milk. Honey is
obtained from honey bee.
Preserving the food means to prevent the food from being spoiled. Keeping the
food in water and at high temperature will allow microbes to grow which will
spoil the food.
Preservation of food is done by keeping food at low temperature in air tight
container and salting & sugaring of food.
Precautions to be taken while cooking:
1. Wash the vegetables before cutting to remove the dust. If the vegetables
are washed after cutting then the water will wash the minerals.
2. Use pressure cooker to cook the food.
3. Clean all the utensils before cooking.
4. Never overcook the food as it destroys the nutrition value of food.
Good food habits
a. Eat right food at right time.
b. Eat plenty of fruits.
c. Cover all cut fruits and fruit juices.
d. Throw rotten food items.
e. Clean hands before and after eating.
f. Don’t eat anything exposed to dust.
Depending on food animals eat:
Herbivores: Animals, which eat only plants and plant products, are herbivores.
Example, Elephant, Giraffe, Rabbit, Cow etc.
Carnivores: Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores. Example,
Lion, Tiger, Lizard etc.
Omnivores: Animals that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.
Example, Dog, Cat, Crow etc.
