Unit 05.
Food and Diet
Exercise 1
Find words in the box below which have the same meaning as the dictionary definitions 1-
11. A sample sentence with the word removed has been given to you.
1. Units of measurement of energy in food.
(Example: She’s counting ____________________ to try and lose weight)
2. A compound which is an essential part of living cells, one of the elements in food which you
need to keep the human body working properly.
(Example: Eggs are a rich source of ____________________ )
3. A chemical substance containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
(Example: Bread, potatoes and rice are good sources of ____________________ )
4. A white substance from plants or animals which can be used for cooking.
(Example: Fry the meat and drain off the ____________________ )
5. Matter in food which cannot be digested and passes out of the body.
(Example: A diet that doesn’t contain enough ___________________ can cause intestinal
problems)
6. A fatty substance found in fats and oils, also produced by the liver and forming an essential
part of all cells.
(Example: If you eat too much ____________________ , it can be deposited on the walls of
arteries, causing them to become blocked)
7. Essential substance which is not synthesised by the body but is found in food and is needed
for health and growth.
(Example: He doesn’t eat enough fruit and suffers from ____________________ C
deficiency)
8. Substance which is found in food, but which can also be dug out of the earth.
(Example: What is the ____________________ content of spinach?)
9. Too heavy, often as a result of eating too much.
(Example: The doctor says I’m ____________________ and must go on a diet)
10. The result of not having enough to eat, or the result of eating too much of the wrong sort
of food.
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(Example: Many of the children in the refugee camp were ____________________ )
11. Receiving food.
(Example: We are developing a scheme to improve ____________________ in the poorer
areas)
Exercise 2
Match sentences 1-10 with a second sentence A-J. Use the key words in bold to help you.
1. A lot of people are allergic to nuts.
2. Many people do not trust genetically modified foods.
3. Organic vegetables are more expensive but are better for you.
4. We refuse to eat battery chickens.
5. We prefer to eat free range meats.
6. The harvest has been very bad this year.
7. Following the floods in Mozambique, there was a terrible scarcity of food.
8. There has been an outbreak of salmonella, listeria and other food poisoning in Perth.
9. Too many people don’t eat a balanced diet.
10. Fast food is very popular.
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A. This is because they are cultivated naturally, without using any chemical fertilisers or
pesticides.
B. There wasn’t enough to feed everyone affected by the disaster.
C. They are not sure that altering the composition of cells to change certain characteristics is
safe.
D. It’s good to know that the animals were given enough space to express their natural
behaviour.
E. Terrible weather conditions have prevented the crops from ripening and reduced the yield.
F. A lot of people are in hospital as a result.
G. Unfortunately, a diet of burgers, pizzas and fried chicken is not very healthy.
H. They physically react very badly.
I. This is because they spend their life confined in a small cage.
J. They don’t consume sufficient quantities of the different food groups.
1. ……………… 2. ……………… 3. ……………… 4. ……………… 5. ………………
6. ……………… 7. ……………… 8. ……………… 9. ……………… 10. ………………
Exercise 3
Now complete this article with one of the words or expressions from Exercise 1 and 2. In
some cases, more than one answer may be possible. You may need to change some of the
word forms.
Most children enjoy eating 1____________________ , but scientific tests have shown us that
burgers and pizzas can lack essential 2____________________ and 3____________________ which
are essential for health and growth, while simultaneously containing large amounts of
4____________________ and 5____________________ which can result in obesity and heart
problems. Many children end up suffering from 6____________________ , since they eat too
much of the wrong sort of food. In fact, in many areas of the developed world, a lot of children
show similar symptoms to those in poorer developing countries, where 7____________________
of food causes thousands of deaths from starvation, especially in the wake of natural
disasters which ruin crops and in some cases totally destroy the annual 8___________________.
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Dieticians tell us that we must eat a 9____________________ , as it is essential we consume
sufficient quantities of the different food groups. They tell us that we should all eat more
10___________________, which cannot be digested by the body, and fewer foods which are high
in 11____________________ , as this can block the walls of arteries and lead to heart problems.
This is good advice, of course, but our lifestyles often make this difficult. Many of the ready-
prepared foods we buy from supermarkets are high in 12____________________ , giving us more
energy than we actually need. 13____________________ foods are appearing on our supermarket
shelves, even though nobody is really sure if altering the composition of food cells is safe. We
have the option, of course, of buying 14____________________ foods, but naturally- cultivated
fruits and vegetables are expensive. And to make matters worse, we are continually hearing
about outbreaks of 15____________________ and 16____________________ which put us off
eating certain foods, as nobody wants to spend time in hospital suffering from
17____________________ .
A few things to watch out for next time you go shopping. If you have the time and the money,
that is!
Exercise 4
Complete the gaps in the text below using words from the box.
factors ingredients maintain nutrients
overeating overweight servings variety
How to improve your diet
• Make sure that you eat a (1)............................of foods. It is important to eat from all five
food groups.
• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. These contain vital (2).............................and leading
dietitians recommend eating at least two (3)............................of fruit and three of
vegetables every day.
• Try to (a)............................a healthy weight. Being too thin can cause as many health
problems as being (5).............................Remember, the correct weight for you depends on
many different (6)............................. including your age, height and sex.
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• Eat moderate portions and don’t be tempted to order a larger size when eating out.
Skipping meals can lead to (7).............................as you will be much hungrier later, so be
sure to eat regularly if you want to curb your appetite.
• You don’t need to eliminate all of your favourite foods but do check the
(8)............................on food labels and make sure that you reduce your intake of foods
that are high in fats, sugar and salt.
• If you have a food allergy, make sure you avoid any of the ingredients that can trigger an
attack.
Exercise 5
Match these words and phrases with words from the advice in Exercise 4.
1 very important ....................... 6 limit .......................
2 food scientists ....................... 7 desire to eat .......................
3 neither small nor large ....................... 8 totally remove .......................
4 servings ....................... 9 a condition that causes illness if
you eat certain foods .......................
5 missing out on ....................... 10 activate .......................
Exercise 6
Complete the table below. You do not need to write anything in the shaded areas. Write the
opposites where indicated (opp.)
Noun Verb Adjective
allergy
benefit
harm
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Opp- =
health
Opp. =
infection
opp- =
nutrition
obese
prevent
recommended
variety
Exercise 7
Improve this essay by replacing the words in italics with ONE OR TWO words from this unit.
In the future we won't have to worry about what we eat. We'll just take a tablet to give US all that
our body needs and cooking will become a thing of the past.
In our modern world we often look for quick solutions to our problems. We expect to be able
to achieve a great deal with little effort But I don't believe we can apply this notion to our diet
and still remain healthy. Preparing a healthy meal can take a lot of time. First you need to have
fresh ingredients. Pre-packaged foods can contain a lot of unhealthy additives and so they are
not as 1good for your body as fresh food. You also need to make sure to include a 2lot of
different foods to make sure that you receive all of the vitamins and minerals that are 3very,
very important to a healthy diet. It is not surprising then that some people want to find a simple
solution to this in the form of a pill.
Fast foods are very high in fat, sugar and salt and so we should eat them in small amounts.
For some people, however, these foods have become their staple diet and as a result they are
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fat. If we want to 5stop this from becoming an even bigger problem in the future then we need
to address this situation now. While vitamin tablets may be of some benefit, they are unlikely
to be effective in the fight against 6people getting too fat.
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Health authorities need to increase public awareness of these issues, but we also need to be
realistic. Fast food is popular not only because it is convenient but also because it is tasty.
Perhaps we should 7strongly advise that people who eat fast food every day should at least
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swap fast food with fresh food on every second day. Finally, we eat for pleasure as well as
nutrition and for this reason I believe that pills will never replace well-cooked food.
1 nutritious
................................ 5 ................................
2 ................................ 6 ................................
3 ................................ 7 ................................
4 ................................ 8 ................................
Exercise 8
Answer the questions. Write one or two sentences.
1. Do you think young people are more or less fit than 50 years ago? (Why? I Why not?)
............................................................................................................................................................
2. In what way is your diet different from when you were a young child?
............................................................................................................................................................
3. What changes do you think will occur in our diet in the future?
............................................................................................................................................................
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