Class 6 Science Chapter 3: Mindful Eating: A Path to a Healthy Body Notes

Food gives life

The chapter opens with a wise saying: a healthy person eats food that is wholesome, in moderate quantities, and right for the season, time and place. On the school noticeboard, Medu and Mishti read the thought of the day, ‘annena jātāni jivanti’, a Sanskrit saying that means food gives life to living beings.

In Activity 3.1 you list everything you eat in a week. Comparing lists with friends shows a lot of variety: you may eat different things at different meals, and your friends’ food may be quite different from yours.

Food in different regions

India is an agricultural country with many soil and climate types, so different crops grow in different regions. The traditional food of a state is usually based on the crops grown there.

State	Locally grown crops	Traditional food items	Beverages
Punjab	Maize, wheat, chickpea, pulses	Makki di roti, sarson da saag, chhole bhature, parantha, halwa, kheer	Lassi, chhach (buttermilk), milk, tea
Karnataka	Rice, ragi, urad, coconut	Idli, dosa, sambhar, coconut chutney, ragi mudde, palya, rasam, rice	Buttermilk, coffee, tea
Manipur	Rice, bamboo, soya bean	Rice, eromba (chutney), utti (yellow peas and green onion curry), singju, kangsoi	Black tea

Some foods are common to many states, while others are eaten only in one. Food choices vary with the crops of a region, taste preferences, culture and traditions.

Cooking then and now

Cooking practices, also called culinary practices, have changed over time. Earlier, most cooking was done on a chulha and grinding was done by hand on a sil-batta; today most of us use a gas stove and an electrical grinder. These changes came with technological development, improved transportation and better communication. In Activity 3.3 you interview elderly people about what they ate and how they cooked.

The components of food

At the school’s ‘Traditional Food Festival’, with the theme ‘Eat Healthy, Live Healthy’, the nutrition expert Dr Poshita says that health is the ultimate wealth.

• Carbohydrates give energy. Glucose gives instant energy, which is why a marathon runner drinks glucose water. Wheat, rice, maize, bajra, potato, sweet potato, banana, pineapple, mango and common sugar are sources.
• Fats give energy and are a store of energy. Ghee, oils, butter, nuts such as groundnuts, walnuts and almonds, and seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower seeds are sources. Laddoos rich in ghee and nuts keep us warm in winter, and polar bears live on stored fat during their months-long winter sleep.
• Proteins help in growth and repair, so they are body-building foods. Plant sources are pulses, beans, peas and nuts; animal sources are milk, paneer, eggs, fish and meat. Edible mushrooms are good sources too.

Carbohydrates and fats are energy-giving foods. Read more in components of food.

Vitamins, minerals and deficiency diseases

Two cases show why fruits, vegetables and other plant foods matter. In 1746, on a long sea voyage, the Scottish physician James Lind saw that sailors with bleeding, swollen gums recovered after eating lemons and oranges. These are symptoms of scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C. In the 1960s, Indian scientists found swelling at the front of the neck, goitre, common in the Himalayan region and the Northern plains, because the soil, food and water there lacked iodine. Adding iodine to common salt to make iodised salt visibly reduced it.

Vitamins and minerals are protective nutrients: needed in small amounts, but essential. Diseases caused by a long lack of a nutrient are deficiency diseases. Salt comes from seawater or rocks, as with the Agariya salt farmers of the Little Rann of Kutch (see separating salt by evaporation), and our body makes vitamin D in sunlight. Read more in deficiency diseases.

Fibre, water, and raw or cooked food

Dietary fibre, or roughage, gives no nutrients but helps the body get rid of undigested food and ensures smooth passage of stools. Green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, wholegrains, pulses and nuts are good sources. Water helps the body absorb nutrients and removes waste through sweat and urine.

Cooking at high heat destroys some nutrients such as vitamin C, and washing cut or peeled vegetables can wash away some vitamins, so include some fruits and uncooked vegetables, and wash everything well before eating. The scientist Coluthur Gopalan (1918–2019) analysed more than 500 Indian foods; his work led to the Mid Day Meal Programme, now PM POSHAN, which gives balanced food in government and government-aided schools.

Testing food for starch, fat and protein

• Starch: 2–3 drops of diluted iodine solution turn it blue-black.
• Fat: pressed in paper, it leaves an oily patch through which light faintly shines.
• Protein: a paste in water with 2 drops of copper sulfate solution and 10 drops of caustic soda solution turns violet. These chemicals are harmful, so the teacher demonstrates this test.

Many foods have more than one nutrient: peanuts contain both fat and protein. Read more in tests for starch, protein and fat.

A balanced diet, not junk food

A balanced diet has all essential nutrients, roughage and water in the right amounts for proper growth and development. Needs vary with age, gender, physical activity, health status and lifestyle.

In Activity 3.9, potato wafers give 536 kcal and 35 g of fat per 100 g, against 355 kcal and 6.26 g of fat for roasted chana, which also has far more protein and fibre. Foods high in sugar and fat but low in other nutrients are junk foods: potato wafers, candy bars and carbonated drinks. Eating them often can make a person obese. Packaged foods must list their nutrients; adding nutrients during processing is fortification, and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulates food quality. Read more in what is a balanced diet.

Millets: nutri-cereals

Jowar, bajra, ragi and sanwa are small, nutritious grains native to India that grow easily in different climates. They are rich in vitamins, minerals such as iron and calcium, and dietary fibre, so they are called nutri-cereals.

Food miles: from farm to plate

A chapati’s journey: a farmer grows wheat; the grains are threshed and winnowed (see handpicking, threshing and winnowing), stored, ground and packed, and transported to a shop before reaching our plate. The whole distance a food travels from producer to consumer is its food miles. Eating local food reduces food miles, cuts the cost and pollution of transport, supports local farmers and keeps food fresh and healthy. Remember the farmers’ effort: take only as much food as you can eat, and never waste it.

Answers to every activity and question are in the NCERT solutions for Chapter 3.