2.1 Healthy eating

Life skills

Grade 2

Robinson crusoe

Module 2

Healthy eating

• Read the passage about Robinson Crusoe again.

Healthy eating

• Why were the children so pleased to find the fruit?

• Why was it so important for Robinson Crusoe to find fresh fruit? After all, he had the food which he had found on the ship.
• Do you think the water was clean?
• Where will he get pure/clean water?
• What can he do to purify the water?
• Many years ago ships could not carry much fresh food as it would all go bad. There were no fridges to keep it fresh. Sailors mostly ate dried food and food which would keep.

But our bodies need the vitamins, which we get from fresh fruit and vegetables. Sailors on long voyages would often get scurvy from a lack of vitamin C. This caused their teeth to feel loose in their gums and could even fall out.

This is one of the main reasons why the Europeans came to South Africa. They wanted a place to stop and get fresh food when on their long voyages to the eastern countries like India and China.

Think of your favourite fruit and vegetable. Draw it here and find out how it helps your body.

My favourite fruit and vegetables:

Fruit

Vegetables

The first thing Robinson wanted to do when he was shipwrecked was to find food and water. We cannot live without it. Our bodies cannot work without the energy that they get from food.

One of the most important things that we need for our bodies to grow is protein. We find this in most products that come from animals.

List, draw or find pictures of some of the food we get from animals.

milk; eggs; chops; butter; cream

But we don’t only need protein. Our bodies need the important vitamins found in fruit and vegetables. Vitamins help our bodies in different ways.

Vitamin A is found in carrots, broccoli, squash and spinach . It helps our skin, bones and teeth to grow well.

Carbohydrates and sugar give us energy. But too much of these can make you fat!

Some people don’t eat meat at all. They are called vegetarians. How will their bodies grow properly if they don’t eat proteins?

Proteins can also be found in nuts and soya products.

People have different reasons for not eating meat.

• Try to think of some.

One of the main reasons has to do with religion. Many religions set out rules for following a healthy diet.

Just as you need to keep God’s rules to live a good life, you need to eat the right food to keep your body healthy.

Muslims, for example, make sure that their food has been prepared according to the rules of their religion and they call this food Halaal.

The Jewish people do the same. If their food is prepared properly, it is called Kosher. The Jewish faith also forbids people to eat the meat from a pig and the Hindu people will not eat the meat from a cow. This is because the cow is regarded as a sacred animal.

Although there are many different beliefs, most people believe that Life is precious. They give thanks that they are alive and have healthy bodies. They do what they can to stay healthy and respect their bodies.

Find out what your own religion feels about the way you should look after your body. What do you think?