Unit 1: Food

1 Food—Our Basic Necessity

NCF Competencies Covered:
Expected Learning Outcomes C-1.1, C-2.1, C-2.2, C-2.3 and C-6.2

Knowledge to be gained : • What does food contain • Balanced diet • Food preserva on
Skill to be developed : • How to make our diet balanced.
A tude to be inculcated : • Follow the rules of healthy ea ng habits.

All living things need food. Food gives us energy. It also keeps us fit and healthy.

WHAT DOES FOOD CONTAIN?

The food we eat contains essential substances that make us strong and healthy. These
substances are called nutrients. Nutrients have the following functions:
Ÿ They give us energy to do work.
Ÿ They are required for growth.
Ÿ They help to repair our body and protect us from falling sick.
Our body needs different types of food for different purposes.
Different food items are rich in different nutrients. The main nutrients present in different
food items are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, roughage and
water.
Carbohydrates
Functions
Carbohydrates give us energy. Hence, food items rich in
carbohydrates are called energy-giving food.
Sources
Cereals, bread, potatoes, bananas and sweets are rich in
carbohydrates. People who do more physical activity
need more carbohydrates.
Fats Food items rich in carbohydrates
Functions
Fats also give us energy. We get more energy from fats than from carbohydrates. Fats help to
keep the body warm. Extra fat is stored in our body for future use. Therefore, fats are the
9 Science-4
 energy bank of our body. However, we must not
consume too much fat, as it can lead to various
health issues like obesity and heart diseases.
Sources OIL

Oil, ghee, butter, meat and nuts are rich in fats.

Proteins Food items rich in fats
Functions
Proteins help us to grow. Proteins are needed for
building and repairing the body. Hence, food items
rich in proteins are called body-building food.
That is why children need more protein than adults.
Sources
Milk, eggs, cheese, fish, meat and pulses are rich in
proteins.
Vitamins and Minerals
Functions Food items rich in proteins
Vitamins and minerals are needed for growth and maintenance of our body. They also help
our body to fight diseases and protect us from getting sick. Hence, food items rich in
vitamins and minerals are called protective foods. Vitamins help our body to fight
diseases, while minerals help in the formation of bones, teeth and blood.
Types
Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K are the vitamins
found in our diet.
Minerals Calcium, potassium, iodine and
iron are some minerals we
consume.
Sources
Vitamins Fruits, vegetables, milk and eggs
are rich in vitamins.
Minerals Milk, curd, almonds, apples, carrots
and green leafy vegetables such as
spinach are rich in minerals. Food items rich in vitamins & minerals
Roughage
Some of the food we eat does not get digested completely. The undigested part of the food is
called roughage.
Science-4 10
Roughage is the fibre present in our food. It does
not contain any nutrients, but it is necessary for
the proper function of the digestive system.
Functions
It helps to remove waste material from our body.
Sources Food items rich in roughage
Wheat, oats, corn, green leafy vegetables and fruits are rich sources of roughage.
Water
Water does not contain any nutrient, but it is essential for our body. It helps not only to
digest food properly but also helps to remove waste from our body. Water is needed for the
proper health of our body. Therefore, we should drink plenty of water every day.

CHECK YOURSELF Our body is made up to

Do 50-75% of water. Water
A. Name the following. One has been done for you: You ? carries nutrients and
oxygen to the cells of our
Carbohydrates
1. Energy-giving food ______________________ Know
body and lubricates the
2. Body-building food ______________________ joints.
3. Protective food ______________________
4. Undigested food ______________________
B. Give two examples of food items that are rich in nutrients given in the nutrients
column:
Sl. No. Nutrients Sources
1. Carbohydrates
2. Fats
3. Proteins
4. Vitamins
5. Minerals

BALANCED DIET
The food we eat is called diet. A diet that has right
amounts of all nutrients is called a balanced diet. A
balanced diet must also contain roughage and water.

FOOD PRESERVATION
All food items go bad when they are left out in the open
for a long time. This is because warmth and moisture in
the air help the germs to grow faster. Balanced diet
11 Science-4
 We can store food for a long time using methods of food preservation. It involves
prevention of the growth of germs in the food. Sometimes, we add substances like oil, salt or
sugar to prevent food from getting spoiled. These are called preservatives.
We Can Preserve Food in Several Ways as Listed Below:
1. Refrigeration: Fruits, vegetables, milk and cooked food can last for a few days if we
store them in a refrigerator.
2. Deep freezing: Some vegetables and meat products are frozen to make them last for
a long time.
3. Pickling: Some foods are salted and dipped in oil for preservation. Most pickles are
made like this.
4. Drying: Some foods are dried for preservation. Peas, grapes, chillies, peaches and
most of the spices are preserved in this manner.
5. Canning and bottling: We add preservatives to some foods and then store them in
airtight containers.

Drying

Refrigeration Canning Pickling

Some ways of preserving food

HEALTHY EATING HABITS

Healthy eating habits help us to digest our food easily. Good digestion results in proper
growth and a healthy body. We must follow these habits to stay healthy:
Ÿ Drink plenty of water.
Ÿ Eat a balanced diet.
Ÿ Chew food well and avoid swallowing it in haste.
Ÿ Wash your hands before and after every meal.
Ÿ Maintain regular meal and toilet timings.

Science-4 12
CHECK YOURSELF
A. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option:
1. A ________________ (balanced diet/vegetable) has the right amount of all the nutrients.
2. A balanced diet must also contain ________________(chlorophyll/roughage) and water.
3. Food, if kept for a long time, gets ________________ (spoilt/balanced).
4. ________________ (Spoilt/Balanced) food is unhealthy for us.

B. Name the method of preservation for each food item given below:
1. Grapes ______________________________________________________________
2. Mango ______________________________________________________________
3. Milk ______________________________________________________________
4. Fish ______________________________________________________________

NEW WORDS
Nutrients : substances that are present in our food and help in the growth of our body.
Balanced diet : a diet that provides us with all the nutrients needed in the correct proportion to
keep our body healthy.
Protective food : they are minerals and vitamins that protect us from diseases.
Preservation : saving food from getting spoiled.

SUMMARY
v The main nutrients present in food are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals,
roughage and water.
v Carbohydrates give us energy.
v Proteins are needed for building and repairing the body.
v Fruits, vegetables, milk and eggs are rich in vitamins.
v The undigested part of the food is called roughage.
v Water is needed for proper health of our body.
v A diet that has the right amounts of all nutrients is called a balanced diet.
v The processes by which we can make food last longer are called food preservation methods.
v Healthy eating habits help us to digest our food easily.

13 Science-4
 Exercise
A. Name any two sources of the following:
1. Carbohydrates __________________ __________________
2. Proteins __________________ __________________
3. Fats __________________ __________________
4. Vitamins __________________ __________________
5. Minerals __________________ __________________
6. Roughage __________________ __________________
B. Write T for the correct statements or F for the wrong ones. Correct the wrong
statements:
1. Food items rich in proteins are called energy-giving food.
2. Fats help in repairing the body.
3. Vitamins and minerals are called body-building food.
4. The food we eat is called diet.
5. A balanced diet has the right amount of all nutrients.
6. A balanced diet must also contain roughage and water.
7. Food, if kept for a long time, gets spoilt.
C. Answer the following questions:
1. Name the main nutrients that make us strong and healthy.
2. What is roughage?
3. Name some ways in which you can preserve food.
D. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option:
1. Substances that make us strong and healthy are called ______________
(nutrients/chocolates).
2. Food items rich in ______________ (carbohydrates/proteins) are called energy-
giving food.
3. ______________(Fats/Proteins) help to keep the body warm.
4. Food items rich in ______________(proteins/fats) are called body-building food.
5. The ______________ (digested/undigested) part of the food is called roughage.
6. We should drink plenty of ______________ (water/soft drinks) every day.

Science-4 14
E. Define the following terms:
1. Roughage 2. Balanced diet
F. Answer the following questions in your own words:
1. Write any two functions of nutrients in our body.
2. What are the main nutrients found in food items?
3. Why are food items rich in carbohydrates called energy-giving food?
4. Write two functions of fats.
5. Why do we need proteins? What are food items rich in proteins called?
6. Write any three sources of proteins.
7. Write the main functions of protective foods.
8. In what way is roughage useful to our body?
9. List any three ways to preserve food.

Activity Time
NCF C-2.2 Collaboration Social & Cross-Cultural Interaction

A. In a group of two, with the help of your elders, create a simple chart with two columns.
In one column, list cultural foods from different states of India based on their local
environment and tradition, and in the second column, write the nutrients each food
provides.

Cultural Food List of nutrients

Punjab: Sarso da Saag Vitamins A and C, Calcium and Iron

Then, discuss in group how the regional environments and cultural practices influence
the nutritional choices and habits in these states.
15 Science-4
 Be a Young
NCF C-2.3, C-6.2
Researcher
At home, we keep leftover foods, vegetables, milk, fish, ice cream, etc., in a refrigerator. A
refrigerator runs on electricity. Just imagine that, there is no electricity for several days.
What will your parents do in such a situation?
Probably, when your grandparents were young, there was no electricity connection at
home. Even today, many households, in villages or even in towns, do not have a refrigerator.
In earlier days, people applied various other techniques to keep perishable items fresh for
several days.
Talk to your parents, grandparents or any other old person you know and find out from
them the food preservation techniques they used to apply. Also find out if these techniques
also depend on the climate of the particular place.
Prepare a report by listing all the different techniques you discover. Try to find at least three
traditional ways through which food was preserved.

Let Us Visit
Along with your friends, visit a departmental store and go to the Frozen
Food section. What do you observe there? You can see big deep freezers
where frozen food items are kept. If we keep these items in open, they get
spoilt. But, if kept in deep freezers, they can remain fresh for many days
without getting spoilt. When you buy such items, you should also keep
them in the freezer of your refrigerator.

Subject Link : English

In this chapter, observe some of the words given under the topic FOOD PRESERVATION:
Freezing, Pickling, Drying, Canning and Bottling. What do you find common among these words?
They all have '–ing' at the end. They are called verbal nouns. A verbal noun is always in the
'–ing' form, i.e., the present participle of a verb, used as a noun. It can be used in all the places
where a noun can be used, but it keeps some characteristics of the verb.
Look at the following examples.
1. Smoking is prohibited.
2. Driving was impossible.
3. Swimming is very good for your health.
4. Learning English is not easy.
Now, try to guess five more verbal nouns and write five sentences using those verbal nouns.
FOOTNOTE
The teacher should tell the children that food is our basic requirement and it gives us energy for all the work we do during
the day.

Science-4 16