Food and Nutrition

Be gone, chili cheese fries!

  • Course Length: 3 weeks
  • Course Type: Short Course
  • Category:
    • Health, Physical Education, and Counseling
    • High School

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Between school, homework, extracurriculars, and, you know, breathing, it's no surprise that sometimes you end up eating pizza for dinner—and breakfast. Despite how tasty a New York slice can be, do you ever wonder how that pepperoni will affect you in, say, 10, 20, or 40 years from now? Considering 35.7% of Americans are obese, we're guessing you might not.

Given that scientific studies show that what you feed your body is 87% more important to your health, strength, and quality of life than your Twitter feed, Shmoop's all about helping you make good food choices. We’ll separate nutrition fact from fiction, and when we're done, you'll be healthier than a horse in a western.

In this course we'll

  • learn why an unbalanced diet and unhealthy lifestyle is the worst thing ever. (Chronic disease is not your friend.)
  • understand why what you put into your body can affect your mental, social, and emotional health.
  • recognize the macronutrients and micronutrients that impact your health and identify the foods that contain them.
  • research and calculate calorie and nutrient needs and understand how they differ depending on age, gender, physical activity level, or health status.
  • investigate what forces influence your food choices.
  • get comfy with "tools of the trade" like the Dietary Guidelines of 2010 and MyPlate.

This short course meets all of the California Department of Education's Nutrition and Physical Activity standards for grades 9-12.


Unit Breakdown

1 Food and Nutrition - Food and Nutrition

This short course is a jam-packed introduction to all things nutrition. From chronic disease, to nutrients, to reading food labels and media messages, our goal is to educate students on the value of nutritious eating and prompt them to take that first step toward a healthy lifestyle.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.02: Nutrition Tetris

Life is like a box of...Tetris shapes.

(Source)

T-spins, T-blocks, and T-spots. If you've ever played Tetris, you know how satisfying it is when your next block slots perfectly into place. We could play all day just for the thrill of watching that line at the bottom blink and disappear. (We've been told we've got too much time on our hands.)

Nutrition is a lot like Tetris, complete with the satisfaction that comes with getting rid of a particularly bulky load. It reminds us how nutrients—the building blocks of life—are processed by the digestive system to be used by the body. Each Tetris shape falls down to the space that it's meant to fit in. In the non-Tetris world, each nutrient goes to the body part it is meant to "fit" in. Then they disappear and you're hungry again. New game.

In the game of nutrition, we're all Tetris players because we're all eaters. We get the energy we need from the foods we eat (unless you're solar-powered, like one of these guys. Yes, food is fuel. No, that's not a metaphor. Food really fuels your body. But where does the fuel from food come from? (Hint: It's a lot closer to home than a Middle Eastern oil field.) This lesson breaks down food's nutrients to get at the energy in them, then shows you how your body does exactly the same thing.


Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.02: Just What I Needed

You are what you eat. Don't believe us? Here's some ground-breaking evidence we can thank Saturday morning cartoons for.

Your body turns food into...well, you. (So eat your breakfast or risk an egg-shaped hole in your life.) Your meals supply the basic units of life—nutrients—and the solvent that holds it all together—water.

  • Nutrients are substances from food used by the body to promote growth, maintenance, and repair.
  • Essential nutrients are nutrients that must be obtained from food because the body cannot make them itself.
  • Macronutrients are nutrients we need in large amounts. They provide energy to the body in the form of calories.
  • Micronutrients. Where there's a "macro" there has to be a "micro," right? Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that are needed in much smaller amounts than macronutrients. Instead of supplying calories to the body, they help regulate its maintenance, growth and metabolism. In other words, micronutrients help you extract the energy from the macronutrients you eat.
  • Water. Two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, we're sure water needs no introduction. Water makes up half our body weight. Without it, our red blood cells would not be able to carry oxygen to our body or nutrients to our cells. No oxygen? This story cannot end well.

Two Parts Hydrogen, One Part Oxygen

We've said it once and we'll say it again: Without water, the nutrients we eat could not be transported to our cells. In other words, metabolism would not be possible.

  • Metabolism is the chemical process by which the human body uses food and water to grow, repair, or maintain the body as well as make energy. (It is also the thing you use to explain why you and your brother can eat exactly the same all-pizza diet with hugely variable results, pun intended).

The process of metabolism produces waste products that need to be excreted. Without water, this would not be possible. Water: making people poop since 193,000 BC.

  • What on earth would we do without water? Find out here.
  • How can you make sure you're getting enough? Check out the subheading "How Much is Enough" on this page to find out. It won't tell you how you're supposed to drink eight glasses a day without losing most of your productivity to bathroom breaks, though. That's one of life's biggest mysteries.

We get our water from more sources than you think. Our water intake includes more than just plain old drinking water. The moisture in foods (such as watermelon, tomatoes, celery, or soups) can account for about 20% of our total water intake. All beverages (such as tea, coffee, juice, or soda) can also provide some water.

Deficiencies and Toxicities

What happens when we don't get enough nutrients? Several different sad-face-making conditions can occur.

  • Malnutrition occurs when a diet does not provide adequate nutrients for proper growth and development. The consequences of not having enough nutrients are severe.
  • A deficiency is the absence or insufficiency of a specific nutrient needed for normal growth and development. In the past, many micronutrient deficiencies were common. For example, find out why lemons give pirates something to smile about.

Why do some people lack nutrients? An obvious reason is not consuming enough food. However, some people may have plenty to eat and still be deficient in nutrients. The food itself may not be nutrient-rich. Consuming a diet of Twinkies and Ho-Hos will definitely net you enough calories, but you'll still be deficient in a lot of nutrients. (You'll probably also have more crinkly plastic wrappers than you know what to do with.)

Unfortunately, even in our day, many countries (especially developing countries) are facing micronutrient deficiency problems. Three micronutrients of global concern are:

Each of these micronutrients could actually save lives in developing countries, as the World Health Organization explains. Micronutrients are small, but they are mighty. Deficiency in just one can have a big effect.

On the other hand, when it comes to nutrients, you can have too much of a good thing. Having too much of a nutrient is called toxicity, and its consequences can also be severe.


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.02a: Nutrition's Big Boys

We chow down on macronutrients like our life depends on it—because it does. Macronutrients supply us with energy. Energy is the capacity to do work. (It is also the capacity to avoid doing work when our dad wants help cleaning the storm gutters.) The "Big Three" macronutrients—carbohydrates, fats, and proteins—are the energizer bunnies of the nutrient world.

  1. Carbohydrates

    If you've been anywhere near the diet section of your local Barnes and Noble, you may run screaming in terror at the mere mention of carbohydrates. But you should really re-think that response considering they're your body's main fuel source, especially for the brain, kidneys, muscles, and heart.

    All the hype about low-carb diets started because there are some types of carbohydrates that are better for us than others.

    • Read up on the two types, simple and complex.

    As you can see, simple carbohydrates are more likely to send you down the road to diabetes and heart disease than complex. So eat more complex and less simple carbohydrates, and please don't ban them entirely. A life without bread is no life at all.

    1. In what foods do you find simple carbohydrates? Why are you hungry sooner after eating simple carbohydrates?

    2. In what foods do you find complex carbohydrates? Why do complex carbohydrates keep you feeling full longer?

  2. Proteins

    No macronutrient illustrates "you are what you eat" better than proteins, since tons of stuff in your body—from those muscles you walked in on to the heart that keeps them supplied with blood—are made up of proteins.

    • Learn more about them here.

    As you read, take note of:

    • what an amino acid is
    • what an essential amino acid is
    • the different kinds of protein
    • how to figure out how much protein is enough
    1. What is an amino acid?

    2. What is an essential amino acid?

    3. What are the two different kinds of protein? What are the sources of each?

    4. How do you know if you're getting enough protein?

  3. Fats

    Like carbohydrate, fat is another macronutrient fad diet hawkers love to hate. But it gets a bad rap. Fats give us a concentrated source of energy. Our body's important organs are surrounded and protected by fats. They also form an insulating layer to keep us warm (Blubber: It's not just for whales.) Without fat, we'd be missing out on some important fat-soluble vitamins: vitamins stored in fat and only absorbed in its presence—vitamins A, D, E, and K.

    Your body can make certain types of fatty acids without you even realizing or thinking about it. These are nonessential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids, however, need to be obtained from food because your body cannot manufacture them. All sources of fats are actually a mixture of three types of essential fatty acids—saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids—in different proportions.

    • Learn about the bad, the better, and the best of fats here.

    As you read, take note of the definitions and sources of:

    • unsaturated fats
    • saturated fats
    • trans fat
    • cholesterol (click on the link to find the definition)
    1. What is unsaturated fat?

    2. What is saturated fat?

    3. What is trans fat?

    4. What is cholesterol?


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.02b: Micronutrients Under the Microscope

Need energy or calories? Don't expect micronutrients to provide them. Macronutrients have got that market cornered.

So then, what are micronutrients good for? And while we're at it, what are they? Two words: vitamins and minerals.

  • Find a clear definition of each here.
  1. Okay, so what are vitamins and minerals?

  2. Vitamins

    Like all good things (macaroni and cheese, Macklemore and Lewis, you and Shmoop) vitamins come as a pair:

    • Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and are easily absorbed by the gut. The body takes what it needs and flushes the rest out via the kidneys. (The body's kind of a user like that.) Since the excess water-soluble vitamins you eat are flushed out, you need a constant supply of them.
    • Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in fatty tissue and the liver. The body can retain them for future use. The four fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K.
    1. Use the fact sheets on each vitamin linked to here to match up each of the fat-soluble vitamins with its role in the body.

      • Help blood clot, bone growth
      • Growth and maintenance of strong, healthy bones and teeth, aids in mineral absorption of calcium and phosphorus
      • Vision in dim light, healthy skin and immune system, and growth
    2. You may have noticed a funny word under one of the roles of Vitamin E—antioxidants. Like love, your body is a battlefield. Inside it, diseases and infections are a constant enemy. Antioxidants such as Vitamin E protect cells from damage. They fight excess free radicals.

      Though they sound like that nice hippy dude that hangs out next to Stop'n'Shop and always tells us to "stay cool," we are happy to fight them.

      What are free radicals and why are we fighting them?

    3. No doubt about it. We're happy to have Vitamin E and all the other fat-soluble vitamins along for the ride. We just hope they'll take a turn at the wheel occasionally, because it's a long trip through our digestive system.

      If not, we may have to call on the water-soluble vitamins –C and all the B-vitamins.

      • We're going to go all alphabetical on this and read up on the B-Vitamins, starting here.

      What are the most common B-Vitamins? What do they do?

  3. Minerals

    What were those inorganic substances needed by the body called? (Hint: They also get top billing on the packaging for those Dead Sea mud masks your mom spends way too much money on.) Oh yeah, minerals. So what do they do besides allow dirt farmers to charge way too much for their product?

    1. Use this chart to match calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and zinc to their roles in the body.

      • Builds strong bones and teeth
      • Helps red blood cells carry oxygen to the body
      • Regulates heart rhythm, muscle and nerve function
      • Maintain body's water balance, heart, muscle and nervous system function
      • Growth, immunity and healing
    2. If you eat a healthy, balanced diet and have a well-functioning digestive system, you can get all your lucky 13 vitamins and minerals from diet alone. When those two conditions are not met, however, a person may need a dietary supplement, such as a multi-vitamin, to get the vitamins and minerals she needs.

      Use this chart to find out what the deficiency symptoms are for the following nutrients:

      • Vitamin D
      • Vitamin A
      • Calcium
      • Fat
      • Iron
  4. How Much is Enough?

    What can you do to prevent macronutrient or micronutrient deficiencies or toxicities? You can ensure adequate nutrition by eating a balanced, healthy diet that includes all the food groups. Newsflash: That's kind of what this course is about.

    But in the meantime, if you are nit-picky-curious about your specific nutrient needs, you can use this time-saving interactive tool that calculates your personal nutrient needs based on the Dietary Reference Index (DRIs).The DRIs represent the most up-to-date scientific knowledge and research on nutrient needs. Fancy.

    The DRI actually represents an umbrella term for a set of four different values: RDA, AI, UL, and EAR. Say what now?

    • Unscramble the alphabet soup here.
    1. This value tells you the amount of a nutrient thought to be adequate for most people. Since it's an estimate, it's only used when an RDA cannot be determined. What is it?

    2. This value tells you how much is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of about 98% of healthy people.

    3. This value tells you the maximum amount of a nutrient you can have without harming your health.

Let's not forget about Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid. This water-soluble vitamin is also an antioxidant. It helps wounds heal and bones grow by aiding in the production of a protein called collagen, which (fun fact!) you can also inject into your lips to make them super, um, sexy.

If this alphabet soup of abbreviations is confusing you, fear no more. Let's break it down, starting with the RDA.

  • RDA. If you meet the RDA for all nutrients that have an RDA, you are RAD. For those of us who don't live in the 70's, that means your body is getting enough of what it needs and there's scientific research to prove it.
  • UL. Think of UL as a speed limit. Unless you're on the German Autobahn, you do not want to exceed the UL number. For this reason, dietary supplement intakes (like vitamin and mineral supplements) need to be closely monitored by a health professional so that you don't exceed the UL and experience adverse health effects. (Remember that sad-face-making toxicity? Yeah, let's avoid that.)
  • AI. is RDA's twin sister. RDA's the overachiever, with lots of scientific research to back it up, whereas AI's more of an "educated guess."
  • EAR. Let's HEAR it for EAR. This value tells you the amount of a nutrient that meets the requirement of 50% of the people in a particular age and/or gender group. You won't see it often because like AI, it's simply an estimate.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.02c: Can You Stomach It?

Now you know that macronutrients and micronutrients are a thing. But how does that thing give you the energy to shake your thing?

To learn how it all works, you must join your food on a journey. It starts in your mouth and ends in your sewer system (or your septic tank, if you're one of those rural types). Don't be alarmed if your travel buddy gets crushed to a pulp along the way—it's a natural part of the digestive process.

Learn more about your digestive system here. As you do, trace the pathway food takes through the four main areas it "visits" (mouth, esophagus, stomach area, intestines) and note the main event at each location.

Keep an eye out for the meaning of these terms:

  • gastrointestinal tract
  • peristalsis
  • bolus
  • enzymes
  • chyme
  • small intestine
  • large intestine

And don't ignore the digestive system's hottest accessories:

  • liver
  • gallbladder
  • pancreas
  1. In which general area does chemical digestion begin? How?

  2. Define peristalsis.

    Want to see an animation of peristalsis? Better yet, here's some real footage.

  3. Where else do we see peristalsis besides the esophagus? What purpose does it serve there?

  4. What would happen if our lower esophageal sphincter weakened or stopped working? (Hint: Do some research on the typical pH of the stomach and the common disease GERD.)

  5. Mary eats a healthy, balanced diet—all the nutrients in her RDA make it past her lips into the system. However, she has a few nutrient deficiencies. How can you explain this? Which digestive system organ are you most concerned about? Why?

  6. Trace a carbohydrate-rich food like bread through the digestive system. Compare its pathway to that of a protein-rich food like steak. What differences do you find between the breakdown of a carbohydrate and the breakdown of a protein? (Hint: Where does chemical breakdown start for each)? What similarities do carbohydrate and protein breakdown share?)

  7. Since steak contains fat, it has to undergo further digestion. What two stages occur? How do they break down the fat?


Sample Lesson - Activity

  1. Vitamins can be divided into what two categories?

  2. Calcium and potassium are examples of

  3. Which organ is chiefly involved in nutrient absorption?

  4. The stomach is an organ that _______ and churns, using _______ to digest the food we eat.

  5. Which of these is not true of obesity?