HEALTH

LESSON 1 NUTRITION

Introductio
In this study session, you will learn about some of the basics of nutrition. You will learn
n by food and diet as well as the meaning of nutrition and nutrients in general.
what is meant
What food does to our body and how the body uses nutrients is also explained. Estimates of the
eligible population for nutritional care and support are provided. Finally, the relationship between
health, nutrition and development is described. The overall purpose of this session is to teach
you some of the basics about nutrition that you will be able to use in your work and will inform
your learning throughout the whole of the Module.

Learning
Outcomes
 Briefly describe the differences and relationships between food, diet and nutrients.
 Understand how food nourishes the body.
 Explain the relationship between nutrition and health, and nutrition and development.

Preliminary
Activities

[Link]

 Direction:
Watch and reflect on the video from YouTube. Open the link above. After watching
the video you are told that children in many communities in Philippines are suffering
from malnutrition. Can you name the different kinds of malnutrition and then describe
the signs that might tell you that childhood malnutrition is a problem in your
community?

Teaching Physical Education and Health in Elementary Grades

KARLA C. SALVALLON
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Preliminary
Food, diet and nutrition
Content
What we eat and drink to help keep us alive and well, to help us grow, develop, work
and play is called food. Food is anything edible. It includes all foods and drinks acceptable for
that particular society, culture or religion.

Food gives us a feeling of comfort and satisfaction. Eating certain foods establishes our
identity. What we eat and how we eat makes up our food habit. Most of our food habits are
learned in the home from our parents. As we grow up, our experience and learning help us to
change some of these food habits. You are learning about food and nutrition in order to be able
to teach and help mothers to change their food habits for the better.

Diet is the sequence and balance of meals in a day. It is concerned with the eating
patterns of individuals or a group. Some people may eat twice in a day (breakfast and dinner);
others may eat four times (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner); still others may seem to be
chewing all day long.

Nutrition is the interaction between food and the body. It is about

the nutrients contained in food, and their action, interaction and balance in relation to health
and disease. It is the process by which people can ingest, digest, absorb, transport, utilize and
excrete food substances. In addition, nutrition is concerned with social, cultural and
physiological implications of food and eating. In general, the science of nutrition is the science of
showing how food nourishes the body.

A nutrient is an active chemical component in food that plays a specific structural or

functional role in the body’s activity. Sugars, starches and fiber are often grouped together as
they are all carbohydrates. Vitamins and minerals are needed in very small amounts and they
are called micronutrients.

Teaching Physical Education and Health in Elementary Grades

KARLA C. SALVALLON
 NUTRIENT FOOD GROUP EXAMPLE

Sugar Starch Fiber Carbohydrates

Fats Oils Fats

Protein Proteins

Vitamins Minerals Micronutrients

Water Water

How food keeps us healthy

Food is needed for energy and nutrients to exist, it provides energy for work, and warmth
for the body. Everybody also needs food to build, maintain and repair their body. It is also
required for control of body processes and for protection against disease and infections. By
performing these functions, food helps us to keep healthy, warm, well-nourished, free of
infections and alive.

By helping us to understand how food and nutrients work, the science of nutrition plays a
fundamental role in the promotion of health, in the prevention of illness and in the restoration of
health following illness or injury. Your work as a Health Extension Practitioner can be
instrumental in preventing problems related to nutrition.

What does food do for our body?

As you just read, food contains chemical substances called nutrients and these are found
in varying amounts and combinations in different foods. Nutrients are the part of food which the
body uses to:

 build tissues

Teaching Physical Education and Health in Elementary Grades

KARLA C. SALVALLON
  produce energy
 keep healthy.

Enough food containing the necessary nutrients should be eaten every day (such as
carbohydrates, proteins, water, vitamins and minerals). It is likely that you will get enough of the
other nutrients (for example dietary fibre) that your body needs by doing this. No one food
supplies all the nutrients the body needs. No one nutrient is more important than the others.
Each nutrient does specific jobs. The nutrients work together to keep us healthy.

It is important to include fibre (roughage) in the diet because it makes the bowels work

properly and provides bulk to make us feel full. Fresh fruits and vegetables, peas and beans,
whole wheat flour and unrefined maize or sorghum flour give us fibre.

In the next two sections, you will learn why and how the body uses nutrients to build the
body and produce energy.

The importance of nutrients

The nutrients we get from the food we eat will affect the size and shape of our body. The
use of nutrients to build tissues and supply energy at various stages of our life is explained here.

Using nutrients to build tissue

The human body consists of different types of nutrients. For example, a person who
weighs 50 kg consists of 31 kilograms of water, 9 kg of protein, 7 kg of fat and 3 kg of minerals.
Therefore, besides water, the most important building nutrient is protein. Fat is also important to
build cells and energy stores. Some minerals are important, for example calcium, which is
necessary to build bones and teeth, and iron which helps to build haemoglobin in the blood.

Nutrient content of the human body.

Nutrient %
Minerals 6%
Fat 14%
Protein 18%
Water 62%

Using nutrients to produce energy

When you turn on the engine of a car, the petrol combines with oxygen and ‘burns’ to
make energy. The energy makes the car move, and it also makes the engine warm. Similarly,

Teaching Physical Education and Health in Elementary Grades

KARLA C. SALVALLON
the body ‘burns’ nutrients to make energy. Sometime people are surprised to learn that nutrients
are ‘burning’ inside their bodies. Nutrients do really burn – but in a different way from a fire so
that there is no fire or smoke.

Starch, sugar and fat are made of the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. When
they ‘burn’ in the cells, they combine with oxygen from the air that we breathe in. They release
energy, and they change into carbon dioxide and water, which we breathe out

Different uses of carbohydrates in our body.

Function Reason
To keep alive Our bodies are ‘turned’ on and use energy from the moment of conception
until we die. For example, energy is used to keep the heart and kidneys
working.
To keep Our bodies are warm, even if we are asleep. Keeping warm uses energy.
warm
To build The body uses nutrients such as starch to provide the energy for building.
tissues
To secrete The body uses energy to secrete fluids such as saliva and breastmilk.
fluids
To repair After injury or illness, the body uses energy to repair damaged tissues.
tissues
To move and We need energy to move muscles, to move our bodies, to walk, to talk, to
work play, to run and to work.

How the body uses nutrients in food we eat.

Nutrient Use
Carbohydrates (starches and sugars) For energy
To keep gut healthy
Fibre
To help digestion
For energy
Fats To build cells
Stored for use as energy when needed

To build cells
To make fluids
Proteins For chemical processes
For energy
To protect against infection

Teaching Physical Education and Health in Elementary Grades

KARLA C. SALVALLON
 To build cells
Minerals To make fluids
For chemical processes

For chemical processes

Vitamins To build cells
To protect against infection

For chemical processes

Water For building cells
To make fluids

Learning Task
Answer the following questions:
1. Mrs Dela Cruz children are underweight but she tells you that they are eating lots of
food. However you know that this is mainly carbohydrates. How can you persuade her
that the family needs to eat many different kinds of food?
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2. Mrs X tells you that her family expects her to carry on working hard, with little food, even
though she is seven months pregnant. She wants to persuade her family to let her rest
and eat more. What advice would you give her?
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3. How can improving the food people eat contribute to some of the Millennium
Development Goals?
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4. In this time of pandemic, many are suffering from poverty which causes Hunger which
resulted to Malnutrition. Create a program plan or action plan on how you can take part
in solving the program.

Teaching Physical Education and Health in Elementary Grades

KARLA C. SALVALLON
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Learning
Assessment
1. How does the body use nutrients? Give examples of foods for each type of nutrient
based on your experience of your community.
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2. List some of the ways the body uses nutrients to produce energy. Which population
group in your community needs the most energy and why?

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Teaching Physical Education and Health in Elementary Grades

KARLA C. SALVALLON