1.15 A balanced diet

Natural science

Grade 4

Life and way of living

Module 16

Describe a balanced diet

Describe a balanced diet

See if you can remember what you ate for supper last night! And for breakfast before school?

Foods are divided into four food groups. We need to eat something from each group daily to follow a healthy diet.

All living creatures need food for energy to move around, to grow and to repair cells that become damaged. All living creatures also have digestive systems to extract the nutrients that the body needs from the food that is eaten.

Food groups:

Proteins help the body to produce new cells and to grow up healthy and strong.

Sources of protein are: meat, fish, cheese, eggs, milk, soy beans, nuts.

Vitamins keep the body healthy and make bones and teeth strong.

Sources of vitamins are: fruit and vegetables, liver, milk, oily fish.

Fats supply energy. Energy is stored in fats in the body until it is needed.

Sources of fats are: butter, milk, cheese, nuts, cream, sardines, margarine, oil.

Sugar and starch (carbohydrates) also supply energy to the body.

Sources of starch and sugar are: fruit, biscuits, sweets, bread, ordinary sugar, potatoes, rice.

Minerals: Calcium builds strong bones, teeth and muscles. Iron helps red corpuscles to transport oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

Sources of minerals are: milk, cheese, fish, vegetables, fruit, liver, white bread.

• Draw the sources of food groups on the vertices of the cube. Then cut and fold it as indicated and hang it in the class.

Work out a balanced menu for one day, for three meals.

Find out what is the staple food in our country, and in other countries.

Memorandum

Use the cube pattern that is supplied. Let the learners draw on it and hang the completed cubes in the classroom.

Staple foods:

• South Africa: bread (What about maize? – most black people eat this regularly)
• Italy: spaghetti
• Ireland: potatoes
• China: rice