🥗 Class 5 • Science • Chapter 11

Food and Health

Eat wisely, stay healthy and understand your food.

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• Why we eat, and how hunger is different from a craving.
• The three kinds of food and what each one does.
• What a balanced diet is, and why variety matters.
• How to tell healthy food from junk food, and how to read a label.
• How food gets spoiled, and how to keep it safe and fresh.
• How a lack of a nutrient causes a deficiency disease.

Think about what you ate yesterday. Did you eat roti or rice, dal, vegetables, fruits or milk? Why do you think we need different kinds of food?

It was Rizu’s birthday party. The table was full of fruits, chips, chhole puri, pulao-raita, burgers and ice cream. Simba had already eaten before coming, so he was not hungry. But when he saw the chips and the ice cream, he could not stop himself from munching.

Khoji asked, “Simba, are you eating because you are hungry, or because the food looks yummy?” That made Simba think.

Think: Do we eat only when we are hungry? What else makes us eat?

1. Why Do We Need Food?

Hunger is a basic instinct. Long ago, our ancestors hunted animals and made tools to help them. Later, they learnt farming, so they did not have to hunt all the time. Hunger pushed humans to learn these skills.

Today, food is easily available. It is not only a need. It can also be a want or a craving. People eat for taste, boredom and emotions too. Knowing the difference between true hunger and a craving helps us keep a healthy relationship with food.

Food is the first basic need among food, clothes and shelter. It gives us energy for daily work and helps the body grow and stay healthy. There are three kinds of food:

2. A Balanced Diet and Food Habits

No single food can give all the nutrients our body needs. A balanced diet means eating a variety of foods that give the body all the nutrients it needs, in the right amounts. It includes fruits, vegetables, proteins like beans and nuts, dairy like milk and curd, grains like wheat and rice, and healthy fats.

The balanced diet pyramid shows this: carbohydrates at the base, then vitamins and fibre, then proteins, and fats at the top, to be eaten in the smallest amount. We need different amounts of nutrients at different stages of life.

Eating the same type of food every day, like only sambar rice, only sabzi roti, or only dosa and chutney, can leave out important nutrients. If a food is missed in one meal, we can include it in the next meal.

A good Indian lunch is roti or rice, dal, seasonal vegetables, curd and a fruit. Another good example is jowar roti, leafy vegetables and a glass of buttermilk.

Food habits differ. Vegetarians eat vegetables and dairy products. Vegans eat only vegetables and fruits and avoid all animal products, including milk. Non-vegetarians also eat meat, poultry and seafood. Some communities, like Jains, avoid onion, garlic and root vegetables. Coastal people eat more fish, and mountain people depend more on farm animals. Some people fast on special occasions. Knowing about others’ food habits makes us respectful.

Animals also need a balanced diet, but their needs are different from ours. Wild animals eat what they need without being taught. A pet fish needs the right amount of food, not too much and not too little.

3. Healthy Food, Junk Food and Lifestyle

Healthy food has three features. It is nutrient-rich, with carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and fibre. It is less processed, only slightly changed by cutting, boiling or sauteing, so it keeps most of its nutrients. And it fits into a balanced diet, like jowar roti, leafy vegetables and buttermilk.

Junk food is high in calories but low in nutrients, and it is highly processed, often with artificial colours and preservatives. Examples are candies, cookies, burgers, fries, soda, chips, cakes and ice cream. Too much junk food can cause obesity and heart disease.

Homemade food is not always healthy. Vada pav made at home with a lot of butter and a ready-made patty is still not a healthy meal. Pav bhaji has vegetables, but it also has butter, oil and salt. Taste matters, but it should not be the only reason for our choice.

A food label on a packet shows the nutrition facts, such as fat, sugar, sodium and protein, and the list of ingredients. Reading labels helps us choose healthier food.

Lifestyle matters too. Eating while watching TV or using a phone makes us eat quickly and miss the signal that we are full, so we overeat. Overeating fried food like samosas can cause acidity and bloating. Skipping meals is not a healthy way to keep a healthy weight.

4. Safe Food and Deficiency Diseases

Food becomes unfit to eat in three ways. It can be contaminated by bacteria and viruses. It can be adulterated with non-food things like pesticides, chemicals or insects. And it can spoil because of weather, such as milk curdling in heat.

Ways to keep food fresh:

• Store perishable foods like dairy, meat and vegetables in the refrigerator.
• Keep food in airtight, covered containers, and use clean utensils.
• Keep fruits like apples, bananas and muskmelon separately, because they give out gases that can spoil other foods.
• Wash fruits and vegetables, and eat food before its expiry date.

Old peanuts can taste bitter because they have gone bad. Do not taste food to find out if it is spoiled. Look at its colour, smell it, check the date and ask an adult.

Deficiency diseases are caused by a lack of a certain nutrient in the diet over a long time.

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1. Energy Foods

Rice, roti and potatoes give energy for some hours.

Key idea: carbohydrates are the main energy foods.

Image prompt: Indian kitchen table with a bowl of rice, a stack of rotis and boiled potatoes, bright flat illustration

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2. Body-building Foods

Milk, eggs, dal and sprouts help us grow and repair the body.

Key idea: proteins build and repair.

Image prompt: Indian child choosing a glass of milk, eggs, dal bowl and sprouts, colourful flat illustration

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3. Disease-fighting Foods

Fruits and vegetables give vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Key idea: protective foods keep us healthy.

Image prompt: Basket of Indian fruits and vegetables like guava, carrot, spinach and orange, flat illustration

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4. A Balanced Thali

A thali with roti, dal, sabzi, curd and fruit has all three kinds of food.

Key idea: variety makes a plate balanced.

Image prompt: Overhead view of an Indian thali with roti, dal, sabzi, curd, salad and fruit, with small labels

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5. The Balanced Diet Pyramid

Carbohydrates are at the base, then vitamins and fibre, proteins, and fats at the top.

Key idea: eat more from the bottom and less from the top.

Image prompt: Four-level food pyramid with Indian foods on each level, simple labelled flat illustration

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6. Healthy or Junk?

Fruit and nuts on one side, chips and soda on the other.

Key idea: healthy food is nutrient-rich, junk food is high in calories and low in nutrients.

Image prompt: Split picture of a fruit and nuts bowl versus chips, candy and cold drink, flat illustration

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7. Reading a Food Label

A packet shows nutrition facts and ingredients.

Key idea: labels help us make healthier choices.

Image prompt: Child reading the nutrition label on a biscuit packet, large readable label, flat illustration

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8. Vitamin C Foods

Oranges, lemons, amla and guava give vitamin C.

Key idea: vitamin C prevents scurvy.

Image prompt: Indian fruits rich in vitamin C: orange, lemon, amla, guava, flat illustration

Energy • Growth • Repair • Good health • Hunger and cravings

Energy-giving: sugar, rice, roti, ghee • Body-building: milk, eggs, dal • Disease-fighting: fruits and vegetables

Variety • Right amounts • Pyramid • Different food habits • Animals too

Nutrient-rich, less processed vs high calories, low nutrients • Labels • Lifestyle

Contamination • Adulteration • Spoilage • Fridge, airtight boxes, expiry date

Vitamin C: scurvy • Vitamin A: night blindness • Vitamin D: rickets • Iron: anaemia • Vitamin B1: beriberi

Case 1: Rizu’s Birthday Party

Simba had eaten his lunch and was not hungry at all. At Rizu’s birthday party, he saw chips and ice cream on the table, and he started munching at once. Khoji asked him, “Are you eating because you are hungry, or because the food looks yummy?” Simba thought about it. He realised that today food is easily available, so it is not only a need. It can also be a want or a craving. Taste, smell, boredom and emotions can make us eat too.

1. Why did Simba eat even though he was full?
2. Name two reasons, other than hunger, for which people eat.
3. What did Khoji want Simba to understand?
4. Why is it important to recognise true hunger?
5. How did hunger help our ancestors?

Case 2: Simba’s Lunch Plate

Simba’s mother packed roti, dal and beans sabzi for his lunch. His friend Bholu looked at the plate and said, “Only roti and dal? Where are the fruits?” Simba laughed and said that dal gives protein, roti gives energy and beans give vitamins and fibre. Then Rizu asked what could be added to make the meal more balanced. Simba said that a bowl of curd or a fruit after lunch would be nice. He also said that if something is missed in one meal, he can eat it in the next meal.

1. Which food on the plate gives energy?
2. Which food gives protein?
3. What do the beans give?
4. Name two foods that could be added to the plate.
5. If a food is missing from one meal, what can we do?

Case 3: The Same Meal Every Day

Bholu eats sambar rice every day. Khoji likes only sabzi and roti, and Rizu loves dosa with chutney. Their teacher asked the class, “Are they getting all the nutrients?” Bholu said, “But my food is nutritious!” The teacher agreed that these foods can be nutritious. She explained that one type of food cannot give every nutrient. Eating the same kind of food daily means missing important nutrients from other food groups. She asked the children to track their meals for five days and compare their tables with a friend.

1. Is sambar rice a nutritious food?
2. What is the problem with eating the same food every day?
3. What could Khoji add to sabzi and roti?
4. What could Rizu add to dosa and chutney?
5. How can tracking meals for five days help?

Case 4: Eating While Watching TV

Simba’s parents often let him watch TV or use a mobile phone while eating. This helps him finish his food quickly and happily. Even the parents have dinner in front of the TV. Recently, Simba has started to gain weight, and he often complains of a heavy stomach. When he is watching a cartoon, he does not notice how much he has eaten. Rizu’s dad also overeats when he sees samosas and bhajiyas, and he often has acidity and bloating. Their teacher said that lifestyle habits affect our health.

1. Why does Simba not notice how much he has eaten?
2. What can eating in front of a screen cause?
3. Why does Rizu’s dad have acidity and bloating?
4. Suggest two healthy habits to avoid overeating.
5. Is skipping meals a good way to stay healthy?

Case 5: Swollen Gums and the Sailors

A child felt tired every day and had swollen gums that bled easily. She rarely ate fruits or vegetables. Her mother remembered the story of sailors long ago who got the same problem, called scurvy, on long sea journeys. A British doctor named James Lind had tested different foods on sick sailors. Those who ate citrus fruits like lemons and oranges recovered. Later, the nutrient was named vitamin C. The mother added amla and guava to the child’s meals and also took her to a doctor, because symptoms alone cannot confirm the cause.

1. Which nutrient was the child probably missing?
2. What disease is caused by lack of vitamin C?
3. How did James Lind find out what cured scurvy?
4. Name two Indian foods rich in vitamin C.
5. Why did the mother also take the child to a doctor?