Day 1 Notes: Food and Nutrition
(Components and Tests)
1. Significance of Food and Nutrition
Food is an essential component of daily life.
If we miss a meal, we often feel tired and less energetic. Achieving Health is the Ultimate Wealth requires attention to our diet.
A nutritious diet is of utmost importance, especially during periods of growth and development, such as adolescence. For proper growth and to perform well, the body needs proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals.
2. Components of Food
A diet must contain all essential nutrients, roughage, and water in the right amounts for the proper growth and development of the body; this is known as a balanced diet.
| Key Food Component | Importance / Function | Deficiency Example |
|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrates | Provide energy to the body | — |
| Proteins | Essential for growth and development | — |
| Fats | Also provide energy; needed in adequate amount | — |
| Vitamins | Protect the body from various diseases; needed in adequate amount | Scurvy is caused due to deficiency of Vitamin C |
| Minerals | Essential for health; needed in adequate amount | — |
3. Testing for Major Nutrients
While some nutrients require a laboratory setup, others (like starch, fat, and protein) can be detected using fairly simple tests.
Simulated Infographic: Tests for Food Components
| Nutrient | Required Chemical/Material | Procedure Summary | Positive Result (Observation) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starch (Carbohydrate) | Iodine Solution | Add 3–4 drops of iodine solution to a food sample (e.g., rice, potato). | Blue-black colour | — |
| Fats | Paper | Place food on paper, wrap, and press. If wet, allow paper to dry. | Oily patch (Light seen faintly shining through) | — |
| Proteins | Copper Sulphate Solution (2 drops) and Caustic Soda Solution (10 drops) | Make a paste/powder, add water, then add the solutions. | Violet colour | — |
4. Application: Identifying Deficiency
Understanding components helps address nutritional deficiencies. For instance, if a person has scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency), consuming citrus fruits like lemons and oranges helps in curing the disease because they contain Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).
💡 Analogy for Nutrient Testing:
Identifying nutrients in food through these tests is like checking baggage at an airport using specialized scanners. We use different reagents (scanners) to detect specific materials (nutrients). The iodine solution acts like a scanner that immediately turns blue-black (an alarm) only when starch is present. Similarly, paper reveals fats by showing a transparent oily patch (a unique sign), while the mixture of copper sulfate and caustic soda reveals proteins by turning violet (another specific chemical fingerprint). Each test allows us to discover the invisible components within the food structure.