1

FOOD AND
HEALTH

WARM UP

Discuss these questions

with a partner.

1. What are some healthy

A group of friends enjoy foods you like? What
a traditional meal in unhealthy foods do you
Cappadocia, Turkey. enjoy?

2. Do you think the foods

people eat today are
healthier than those in
the past?

7
 1A

It’s not surprising that

a cupcake contains a
lot of sugar. But what
about other foods?

BEFORE YOU READ

QUIZ A. How much sugar do you think is in these foods? Match the items
below. Check your answers at the bottom of page 10.
1. 100 g of low-fat fruit yogurt • • a. 3 grams
2. 2 small chocolate cookies • • b. 7 grams
3. 100 g of tomato ketchup • • c. 11 grams
4. 1 cupcake with frosting • • d. 15 grams
5. 2 slices of wheat bread • • e. 25 grams

SCANNING B. Why do you think people love sugar so much? Discuss with a partner.
Then scan the first paragraph of the reading to check your ideas.

8  Unit 1A
 SW E E T
LOVE
A Many scientists believe our love of sugar
may actually be an addiction. When
we eat or drink sugary foods, the sugar
enters our blood and affects the parts of
our brain that make us feel good. Then the
good feeling goes away, leaving us wanting
more. All tasty foods do this, but sugar has a
particularly strong effect. In this way, it is in fact
an addictive drug, one that doctors recommend
we all cut down on.
B “It seems like every time I study an illness and trace a
path to the first cause, I find my way back to sugar,” says
scientist Richard Johnson. One-third of adults worldwide have
high blood pressure,1 and up to 347 million have diabetes.2 Why? “Sugar,
we believe, is one of the culprits, if not the major culprit,” says Johnson.
C Our bodies are designed to survive on very little sugar. Early humans often had
very little food, so our bodies learned to be very efficient in storing sugar as
fat. In this way, we had energy stored for when there was no food. But today,
most people have more than enough. So the very thing that once saved us
may now be killing us.
D So what is the solution? It’s obvious that we need to eat less sugar. The
trouble is, in today’s world, it’s extremely difficult to avoid. From breakfast
cereals to after-dinner desserts, our foods are increasingly filled with it. Some
manufacturers even use sugar to replace taste in foods that are advertised as
low in fat. So while the foods appear to be healthier, large amounts of sugar
are often added.
E But some people are fighting back against sugar and trying to create a
healthier environment. Many schools are replacing sugary desserts with
healthier options, like fruit. Other schools are trying to encourage exercise
by building facilities like walking tracks so students and others in the
community can exercise. The battle has not yet been lost.

1  If you have high blood pressure, your heart needs to work harder to pump blood around your body.
2  Diabetes is a medical condition in which someone has too much sugar in his or her blood.

Unit 1A 9
READING COMPREHENSION

A. Choose the best answer for each question.

GIST 1. What is the reading mainly about?

a. our addiction to sugar
b. illnesses caused by sugar
c. ways to avoid sugar
VOCABULARY 2. In paragraph B, the word culprit is closest in meaning to .
a. disease
b. sweet food
c. cause of the problem
REFERENCE 3. In paragraph C, what does the phrase
the very thing refer to?
a. the amount of sugar in our food
b. having enough food to survive
c. our ability to store sugar as fat
DETAIL 4. According to the passage, why is it so hard
to avoid sugar?
a. It gives us needed energy.
b. It’s in so many foods and drinks.
c. We get used to eating it at school.
DETAIL 5. Which of the following statements about
sugar is NOT true?
Macarons are
a. Our bodies are able to store sugar as fat. colorful sugary
b. We need very little sugar to survive. cookies.
c. Early humans ate more sugar than we do today.

SCANNING B. Write short answers to the questions below. Use one to three words from the
passage for each answer.
1. What disease do a third of adults in the world suffer from?

2. Why do some manufacturers add sugar to low-fat foods?

3. What are many schools replacing sugary desserts with?

1. 11 g, 2. 7 g, 3. 15 g, 4. 25 g, 5. 3 g
Answers to Before You Read A:

10  Unit 1A
READING SKILL
Even fresh fruits like
strawberries contain
small amounts of sugar.
Skimming for the Main Idea of Paragraphs

Skimming a text can help you quickly understand its

main ideas. When you skim, you don’t read every word.
Instead, read the first sentence of each paragraph, and
then run your eyes quickly over the rest, focusing on the
main nouns and verbs. If you understand the main idea
of each paragraph, you will have a good understanding
of the passage as a whole.

DETERMINING A. Look back at Reading A. Circle the main idea of each paragraph A–C.
MAIN IDEAS
1. Paragraph A
a. Sugar is addictive.
b. All tasty foods contain sugar.
2. Paragraph B
a. Sugar can cause illnesses.
b. The number of people with diabetes and high blood pressure is rising.
3. Paragraph C
a. Sugar gives us energy when we don’t eat for a long time.
b. Our bodies need very little sugar to survive, and we now eat too much of it.
DETERMINING B. Complete the sentences to summarize the main ideas of paragraphs D and E.
MAIN IDEAS
1. Paragraph D: These days, it is very difficult to .

2. Paragraph E: There are some people who .

CRITICAL THINKING  Applying Ideas  

In the space below, list some foods and drinks that you regularly consume.

Look back at your list. If you want to reduce your intake of sugar, which of these items should
you cut down on? If necessary, research online to find out how much sugar is in each item.

Unit 1A 11
VOCABULARY PRACTICE

COMPLETION A. Complete the information using the correct form of the words in the box. Two
words are extra.

addiction battle drug recommend store

The story of sugar began in New Guinea about 10,000 years ago. People there picked
sugarcane and ate it raw. Because it made people feel good, they saw it as a(n)
1
that could cure illnesses. Doctors in India 2
that people eat it to stop headaches. But soon people began to eat it for pleasure.
Demand for sugar rose as people started to develop a(n) 3 to the
taste. By 1900, it was recorded that the average British person ate 45 kilograms of
sugar each year.

DEFINITIONS B. Complete the sentences. Circle the correct

options.
1. When a company advertises something, they
want you to buy / return it.
2. Someone who is efficient at a task does
it without planning carefully / wasting time
or energy.
3. Two groups that have a battle are likely to be
angry at / friendly with each other.
4. The facilities of a school include the classrooms /
teachers.
5. If something is obvious, it is difficult / easy to see
or understand.
6. When you store something, you keep it / throw
A market seller in
it away. Myanmar makes fresh
7. When you cut down on sugar, you eat less / sugarcane juice.
more of it.

WORD PARTS C. Cut down on is one of many phrasal verbs formed using the verb cut. Complete the
definitions below using the correct preposition in the box. One preposition is extra.

across  in  off  up

1. If you cut a supply of something, you stop providing it.

2. If you cut something , you cut it into many pieces.
3. If you cut while someone is talking, you interrupt them.

12  Unit 1A