Benefits of a Well-Balanced Diet

A well-balanced diet provides nutrients from six broad classes: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, dietary minerals, and water. Carbohydrates are metabolized to provide energy. Proteins provide amino acids, which are required for cell construction, especially for the construction of muscle cells. Essential fatty acids are required for brain and cells construction. Vitamins and trace minerals help to keep good electrolyte balance and are used for metabolic processes. The two keys to a healthy balanced diet are: eating the right amount of food, eating a range of foods.

The choice of foods in your diet should include plenty of fruit and vegetables. The vegetable food group holds a great amount of iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, fiber, protein and vitamins A, B, C, E and especially vitamin K, which clots blood, builds protein, and regulates blood calcium levels. Vitamin A helps you have healthy skin and hair. It also helps with sight, growth, and development.

Fruit contains vitamin C and dietary fiber.Vitamin C keeps your gums and teeth healthy, and helps your body absorb iron, which is really important. It offers you several nutrients, such as the high levels of potassium and vitamin B in papayas and bananas and the high level of fiber found in berries. Melons, grapes, pears, kiwis and apples all help you to improve your metabolism. To gain the maximum benefit from fruit and vegetables, eat them fresh and if the skins are edible, eat them too.

Milk and dairy foods should be a part of your diet in order to get the most benefit from calcium and other nutrients. If you don’t drink milk, take up the habit or eat low-fat yogurt and cheese such as mozzarella or cottage cheese. Get essential calcium from these foods rather than from supplemental pills for their potassium and vitamins A, B and D content which builds strong bones.

Meat, poultry and fish play an important part in a healthy, balanced diet. They are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, and are an excellent source of protein. Our bodies need protein for growth and repair. It is also a valuable source of energy. Iron, zinc, selenium the B-vitamins and vitamin D are just some of the vital nutrients found in meat, poultry and fish.These are needed for a whole range of bodily functions, from vital nutrients found in meat keeping the blood healthy to maintaining our nervous and immune systems. Red meat, in particular, is also a good source of easily absorbed iron. Lean meats, especially pork and poultry, provide the B-vitamins, and liver (chicken, calf and lamb) supplies many nutrients from vitamin A to zinc. Vitamin C, found in vegetables, aids absorption of iron from meat, when eaten at the same meal.

Fish such as cod, halibut, plaice, salmon, mackerel and sardines, is a valuable source of vitamin D and polyunsaturated fats called omega-3 fatty acids. These help reduce your risk of heart diseases, they may also help to ease inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis.

 

1. What does a well-balanced diet provide?

2. Why are carbohydrates important?

3. Do proteins provide amino acids?

4. Does vitamin D or K help to clot blood?

5. Are fruits a valuable source of vitamins?

6. Where do we get most of our calcium from?

7. What food builds strong bones?

8. Why does meat play an important part of a healthy diet?

9. What bodily functions are meat nutrients necessary for?

10. Is red meat a good source of easily absorbed iron?

11. What is the nutrient value of fish?

 

Vocabulary and Speech Exercises

 

I. Match words and word-сombinations and their translations. Use them in the sentences of your own.

1. benefit a. різноманітна їжа

2. well-balanced diet b. молочні продукти

3. brain с. зір

4. a range of foods d. мозок

5. sight e. їстівний

6. gums f. збалансований раціон

7. dairy products g. ясна

8. edible h. користь

I.

J.

 

II. Match the opposites of the following words.

· Always, balanced, enough, raw, quick, low, to increase, rich, lean, useful, less, benefit, maximum, to reduce, to ease, important.

· To worsen, slow, minimum, unimportant, fat, unbalanced, poor, high, cooked, harm, never, to decrease, harmful, more, to expand, insufficient.

 

III. Say if the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statements to make them true.

1. Food nourishes and keeps the body working.

2. You must eat only protein food to keep your diet balanced.

3. Vitamin A clots blood, builds protein, and regulates blood calcium levels.

4. Vitamin Khelps you have healthy skin and hair, good eyesight, growth, and development.

5. Fruitcontains vitamin C, dietary fiber and many nutrients.

6. Fresh fruit eaten with skin are especially unhealthy.

7. Meat is a poor source of energy necessary for growth and development.

8. Iron can be found in the red meat.

9. Fish doesn’t reduce your risk of heart disease.

 

IV. Match the words and their explanations.

1. … knows a lot about food and healthy eating, is an expert in food.

2. … happens when there’s not enough water in your body.

3. … food turned into the kind of sugar which provides fuel for your cells.

4. … food that has few of the nutrients your body needs.

5. … is the study of food and how it works in your body.

6. … having too much body fat.

7. … unit of measurement energy.

8. … broken down by the body into simple sugars, the major source of energy for the body.

(Calorie, overweight, nutritionist, glucose, carbohydrate, junk food, nutrition, dehydration)

V. Complete the sentences by choosing appropriate prepositions from those in the brackets.

1. Our body needs energy and nutrition (to/for) optimal growth and development.

2. Combine fruit (to/with) low fat yoghurt (for/on) a snack.

3. Fish and seafoodare high (in/of) protein and packed (with/for) nutrients.

4. (For/on) a healthy dessert, bake apples or pears (with/from) cinnamon.

5. When eaten (at/for) the same meal, vitamin C, found (in/of) vegetables, aids absorption of iron (from /out of) meat.

6. Vitamin D is important (for/to) the development (of/in) the brain (of/at) the unborn child.

7. Finish up your meal (with/from) a piece of fresh fruit or a portion of grapes.

8. Add chopped fresh fruit (to/in) your breakfast cereal.

 

VI. Read the English proverbs, try to give their Ukrainian equivalents.

· Vegetables from your neighbour’s garden are always the best.

· Honey is sweet, but bees sting.

· The sweetest nuts have the hardest shells.

· Hunger makes hard beans sweet.

· Forbidden fruit is the sweetest.

· A man must not swallow more than he can digest.

 

VII. Read the additional text, entitle it, discuss with your group-mates advantages and disadvantages of fast food restaurants.

We know that eating fast food more than once a week is not good for the body and yet many people still eat fast food out of convenience. This is sad and it truly doesn’t have to be this way. Eventually those greasy fries, fatty burgers, and sugary soft drinks will turn into major health conditions such as digestive issues, and even colon cancer.

If you really feel the need to eat out, seek out fast food restaurants that cater to the healthy lifestyle. Remember, unhealthy foods are addicting. That means the more you eat junk foods, the more you will want that type of food. Once your body becomes acclimated to eating more nutritious, wholesome foods, it will not be easy to get rid of that habit. Tips for eating healthier at fast food restaurants are as follows:

o Try to avoid sugary soft drinks. They’re full of sugar and empty calories.

o Skip the fries. They’re deep fried in unhealthy oils.

o Choose your salads wisely. Some salads at fast food restaurants are rich in calories.

o Stay away from burgers and “crispy” chicken. Choose grilled chicken instead.

o Order your sandwich without the sauces. They contain a lot of saturated fat.

o Choose whole grain or whole wheat bread or order a “bunless” burger or sandwich.

 

Grammar Exercises

The Passive Voice Пасивний стан виражає дію, яка виконується над чимось (кимось). Часові форми дієслова в пасивному стані вживаються за тими ж правилами, що й в активному стані.   · Present Indefinite Passive Fish is eaten regularly. Are vegetables often cooked by mother for lunch? I am not allowed to eat sweets. · Past Indefinite Passive The cake was made by chef yesterday. Were the nuts chopped with the knife? · Future Indefinite Passive Cheese will be bought tomorrow. Will milk be boiled in some minutes? У пасивному стані вживається два прийменники: by (вказує на виконавця дії) та with (вказує на інструмент, яким дія виконується).

I. Make up sentences in Present, Past, Future Indefinite Passive.

Model: The book on a well-balanced diet (to write) many years ago. –

The book on a well-balanced diet was written many years ago.

1. This vegetable soup (to cook) two hours ago.

2. What exercises (to show) by instructors tomorrow?

3. These nutrition facts (to mention) in his last report.

4. The advertisement of this fitness club (to place) in the newspaper next week.

5. This nutritionist’s lectures (to listen) to by thousands of people every year.

6. I am afraid our salad (to spoil) by plenty of salt.

7. When the vegetables (to buy) last?

8. The article about vegetarians (to translate) by my friend next lesson.

9. We (to show) a new film about the benefits of the sea food yesterday.

10. The instruction on the diet (to give) to everybody every time at the end of the class.