Pick the odd one out and give reasons:
- Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Chana
- Kidney beans, Green gram, Soya bean, Rice
Answer
(i) Chana
Reason — Jowar, bajra and ragi are all millets, which are nutrition-rich cereals, whereas chana is a pulse and is a good source of protein.
(ii) Rice
Reason — Kidney beans, green gram and soya bean are all pulses and are good sources of protein, whereas rice is a cereal and is mainly a source of carbohydrates.
Discuss traditional versus modern culinary practices in India.
Answer
Culinary practices, that is, the practices of cooking food, have changed significantly over time. There is a clear difference between traditional and modern methods of cooking and grinding food.
| Traditional culinary practices | Modern culinary practices |
|---|---|
| Earlier, most cooking was done using a chulha (traditional stove). | Nowadays, most of us cook using a modern gas stove. |
| Earlier, grinding was done manually using a sil-batta (stone grinder). | These days, we use an electrical grinder for ease of grinding. |
A teacher says that good food may act as medicine. Ravi is curious about this statement and has some questions for his teacher. List at least two questions that he can ask.
Answer
Ravi can ask the following questions to his teacher:
- How can good food help in preventing or overcoming deficiency diseases such as scurvy or goitre?
- Which food components protect our body from diseases, and what are their sources?
Not all delicious foods are necessarily healthy, while not all nutritious foods are always enjoyable. Share your thoughts along with a few examples.
Answer
It is true that delicious foods are not always healthy and nutritious foods are not always enjoyable. Some foods taste very good but are not good for our health. For example, potato wafers, candy bars and carbonated drinks are delicious, but they are junk foods which have high amounts of sugar and fat and very little protein, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibres. Eating them frequently is not healthy for our body.
On the other hand, some nutritious foods may not be enjoyable for everyone. For example, many people do not enjoy eating green leafy vegetables or millets, even though they are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibres. Therefore, we should choose food based on its nutritional value and not only on its taste.
Medu does not eat vegetables but enjoys biscuits, noodles and white bread. He often has stomach ache and constipation. What changes should he make in his diet to get rid of these problems? Explain your answer.
Answer
Medu suffers from stomach ache and constipation because his diet of biscuits, noodles and white bread lacks dietary fibres (roughage). Dietary fibres help our body get rid of undigested food and ensure the smooth passage of stools.
To get rid of these problems, Medu should include foods that are rich in dietary fibres in his diet. He should eat green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, wholegrains, pulses, and nuts, as these are good sources of roughage. He should also drink sufficient water regularly, as water helps in the smooth passage of stools. These changes will help relieve his constipation and stomach ache.
Reshma had trouble seeing things in dim light. The doctor tested her eyesight and prescribed a particular vitamin supplement. He also advised her to include a few food items in her diet.
- Which deficiency disease is she suffering from?
- Which food component may be lacking in her diet?
- Suggest some food items that she should include in her diet to overcome this problem (any four).
Answer
(i) Reshma is suffering from loss of vision in darkness, that is, night blindness, which is caused by the deficiency of Vitamin A.
(ii) The food component lacking in her diet is Vitamin A.
(iii) To overcome this problem, she should include the following Vitamin A rich food items in her diet: papaya, carrot, mango, and milk.
You are provided the following:
- Canned fruit juice
- Fresh fruit juice
- Fresh fruit
Which one would you prefer and why?
Answer
I would prefer fresh fruit. A whole fresh fruit is the healthiest choice because it retains all its nutrients along with dietary fibres (roughage), which help in the smooth passage of stools.
When fruit is made into juice, some of its dietary fibres are removed. Canned fruit juice is the least healthy option because it is processed and may have added sugar, and it loses some vitamins as well. Therefore, eating fresh fruit gives us the most nutrients and roughage, and is the best choice for our health.
Gourav got a fracture in his leg. His doctor aligned the bones and put on a plaster. The doctor also gave him calcium tablets. On the second visit, the doctor gave him Vitamin D syrup along with calcium tablets. Refer to Fig. 3.5 and answer the following questions:
| Food component (Vitamin/Mineral) | Functions | Some sources | Deficiency disease/disorder | Symptoms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | Keeps eyes and skin healthy | Papaya, carrot, mango, milk | Loss of vision | Poor vision, loss of vision in darkness (night blindness), sometimes complete loss of vision |
| Vitamin B₁ | Keeps heart healthy and supports body to perform various functions | Legumes, nuts, whole grains, seeds, milk products | Beriberi | Swelling, tingling or burning sensation in feet and hands, trouble in breathing |
| Vitamin C | Helps body to fight diseases | Amla, guava, green chilli, orange, lemon | Scurvy | Bleeding gums, slow healing of wounds |
| Vitamin D | Helps body absorb calcium for bone and teeth health | Exposure to sunlight, milk, butter, fish, eggs | Rickets | Soft and bent bones |
| Calcium | Keeps bones and teeth healthy | Milk/soya milk, curd, cheese, paneer | Bone and tooth decay | Weak bones, tooth decay |
| Iodine | Helps to perform physical and mental activities | Seaweed, water chestnut (singhada), iodised salt | Goitre | Swelling at the front of the neck |
| Iron | Important component of blood | Green leafy vegetables, beetroot, pomegranate | Anaemia | Weakness, shortness of breath |
- Why did the doctor give calcium tablets to Gourav?
- On the second visit, why did the doctor give Vitamin D syrup along with calcium tablets?
- What question arises in your mind about the choices made by the doctor in giving the medicines?
Answer
(i) The doctor gave calcium tablets to Gourav because calcium helps to keep bones and teeth healthy. Since Gourav had a fractured bone, calcium would support bone health during his recovery.
(ii) On the second visit, the doctor gave Vitamin D syrup along with calcium tablets because Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium for bone and teeth health. Without Vitamin D, the body cannot use the calcium properly, so giving both together helps Gourav's bones heal faster.
(iii) The question that arises in my mind is: Why did the doctor not give Vitamin D syrup along with the calcium tablets on the very first visit itself, since Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium?
Sugar is an example of carbohydrates. Sugar is tested with iodine solution but it does not change to blue-black colour. What can be a possible reason?
Answer
The iodine test gives a blue-black colour only in the presence of starch, which is a particular type of carbohydrate. Sugar is a carbohydrate, but it is not starch. Since sugar does not contain starch, it does not turn blue-black when tested with iodine solution. This shows that not all carbohydrates are starches.
What do you think of Raman's statement, "All starches are carbohydrates but not all carbohydrates are starches." Describe the design of an activity to test your answer.
Answer
Raman's statement is correct. Starch is a type of carbohydrate, so all starches are carbohydrates. However, there are other carbohydrates, such as sugar, which are not starches. Therefore, not all carbohydrates are starches.
Design of an activity to test this:
- Take a starchy food item such as boiled rice or potato and a non-starch carbohydrate such as sugar.
- Place each item on a separate dish.
- With the help of a dropper, put 2–3 drops of diluted iodine solution on each item.
- Observe the change in colour.
The boiled rice or potato will turn blue-black, showing the presence of starch. Sugar will not turn blue-black even though it is a carbohydrate. This demonstrates that starch is a carbohydrate, but all carbohydrates are not starches.
While using iodine in the laboratory, a few drops of iodine fell on Mishti's socks and a few fell on her teacher's saree. The drops of iodine on the saree turned blue-black while the colour on the socks did not change. What can be a possible reason?
Answer
A blue-black colour with iodine solution indicates the presence of starch. The drops of iodine on the teacher's saree turned blue-black, which means the saree contained starch. This is because the saree had been starched (treated with starch) to make it stiff.
The colour on Mishti's socks did not change, which indicates that starch was absent from the socks. Therefore, the difference in colour was due to the presence of starch on the saree and its absence from the socks.
Why are millets considered a healthy choice of food? Can eating just millets suffice for the nutritional requirements of the body? Discuss.
Answer
Millets such as jowar, bajra, ragi, and sanwa are considered a healthy choice of food because they are highly nutritious grains. They are good sources of vitamins, minerals like iron and calcium, and dietary fibres. For this reason, they are also called nutri-cereals. They can also be easily cultivated in different climatic conditions.
However, eating just millets is not enough to fulfil all the nutritional requirements of the body. A healthy body needs a balanced diet that contains all the nutrients — carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals — along with roughage and water in the right amounts. So, along with millets, we should also include other foods such as pulses, milk products, fruits and vegetables to get all the nutrients our body needs.
You are given a sample of a solution. How would you check the possibility of it being an iodine solution?
Answer
To check whether the given solution is an iodine solution, I would test it with a food item known to contain starch, such as a slice of potato or some boiled rice.
I would put 2–3 drops of the given solution on the starch-containing food item and observe the change in colour. If the food item turns blue-black, it indicates that the given solution is likely to be iodine solution, because iodine produces a blue-black colour in the presence of starch. If no blue-black colour appears, the given solution is unlikely to be iodine solution.