June Week 2 Activity

Good nutrition is a prerequisite for a healthy life and helps stave off numerous diet- related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes etc . In today’s day and age, where fast-moving consumer goods (eg: soft drinks, confections, baked goods) are reigning the food chain due to their low price point, it is imperative that we pay attention to the products that we consume to ensure proper and optimum functioning of the human body. In India, Ayurveda attributes utmost importance to a person’s diet (Ahara) and food (Anna) as means to a good life, health, and wellness, and this ideology cannot be overstated.  

In today’s class, the students will consciously study the food habits and the nutritional contents found in food. They will then chart out a healthier diet for themselves and start making informed food-based decisions. 

• Students will study the foods they eat by examining their nutrients. 
• Students will be able to make healthier food choices based on their awareness of nutrients found in various food products.  

1. Briefly explain to the students the importance of nutrition in staying healthy and disease-free.  

2. Engage them in a discussion on what they consider as healthy food and unhealthy food, and ask them to state their reasons for the same.  

3. Go through the six essential nutrients and share the following link with them: https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/six-essential-nutrients#fats

4. Inform the students to make a list of everything that they ate the previous day and classify each of the food items into carbohydrate rich food, protein rich, fat rich , vitamin rich and minerals rich, using the following table: 

5. A balanced diet is one which contains all the essential nutrients. Ask the students to assess what is consumed in excess and what is missing in their diets and write a few sentences describing the same.   

6. Next, ask the students to make a pick of any 5 packaged food items in their house (eg: wafers, biscuits, chocolates, etc.) and note down the nutritional contents written on the packet.  

7. Probe the students to think of fresh and healthier alternatives to these packaged snack/food items (example: fruits, makhanas, nuts). 

The students are now able to examine nutritional contents of the food they ingest, and hence can make better choices on items that need to be added and subtracted from their diets.