YEAR 8 – NUTRITION

When something’s missing: Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies.

Nutrition is the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth.

A nutrient is a substance that provides nourishment essential for the maintenance of life and for growth.

Nutrients can generally be broken into two categories: 1.Macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein, fats2.Micronutrients – vitamins and minerals.

Nowadays there are many nutrient poor foods available – this means they don’t contain much nutrition that your body needs to function. Rather, the food is full of energy (kilojoules) but it’s not nutritional. This means that the food will provide your body with energy (kilojoules) so you won’t feel hungry, but it is void of other essential nutrients that your body needs to function.

INQUIRY TASKWhat happens in the body when we don’t get the different nutrients we need?

1. In groups (no more than 3 to a group) collect a nutrient from your teacher.2. Using your knowledge of nutrients and what you believe about different foods,

research your nutrient and what happens to the body if we become deficient in this nutrient.

3. Materials you can use: Computer with internet access, packaging and nutrition labels from food packages, teacher help, library.

4. You are to answer the five questions and present your findings to the class at the start of our next lesson. Your presentation should be on Powerpoint or Prezi and take no more than 3-4 mins to present. All members of your group must talk during the presentation. Pictures/videos should accompany your presentation.

QUESTIONS:

a)Explain what your nutrient is. What is it’s responsibility in the body?

b)What foods do we need to consume in order to get our RDI (recommended daily intake) of this nutrient?

c) What are the short term effects in the body if this nutrient is not consumed enough or not at all?

d)What are the long term effects in the body if this nutrient is not consumed enough or not at all?

e)Are there any interesting facts or stories associated with this nutrient deficiency?

Eg. Boiling fruits and vegetables that contain Vitamin C will not destroy the nutrient, but it does leak easily into the water. If that water is discarded, the nutritional benefits are lost.