FACT
Did you know?
Malnutrition, which
is the lack of a
balanced diet, is a
major problem in
South Africa. Key
vitamins have been
added to wheat and
maize-meal in order
to provide the
recommended
amounts. Iodine has
been added to salt.
The nutritional
needs of new-born
babies are unique.
A major challenge
in South Africa is to
encourage women
to breastfeed
children for their
first six months after
birth. Only 25% of
babies are breastfed
in this way. This
leads to high levels
of malnutrition,
diarrhoea and poor
growth.Figure 2.24:
Breastfeeding
infants for first 6
months of life is
vital to the infants’
survival.Substance Amount (males) Amount (females) Sources of
nutrient
Water 3.7 L/day 2.7 L/day water
Carbohydrates 130 g/day 130 g/day rice, potatoes,
pasta, bread,
mealie meal,
fruits
Protein 56 g/day 46 g/day duck, chicken,
turkey, beef, fish,
eggs, legumes
(pulses and
lentils), nuts,
seeds, milk
Fat 15 20% – 35% of
total calories
consumed*sunflower oil,
olive oil, butter,
margarine, lard,
avocados,
coconut, nuts,
seeds, oily fish
Cholesterol As low as possible egg yolk, chicken
giblets, turkey
giblets, beef liver*calories: a measure of energy consumption
Working out your daily nutrient intake
From our understanding of recommended dietary allowance we can understand what it is
we consume and how important it is to our diet. The activity below requires you to use the
information provided in these tables (and any other information you can find) in order to
evaluate your diet with regards to the recommended daily allowances.
Activity: Measuring your daily nutrient intake (Essential investigation- CAPS)- Keep a food diary for 3 days by writing down the food you eat. Make sure to note the
time you eat, the type of food you eat, and how much of it you consume. - Pick one of the days you recorded (that is the most typical of your normal diet), and
draw a pie chart with the energy component of each food item you consumed. Make
sure your pie chart includes a key. (See the Introduction to Life Skills Chapter if you
are unsure of how to do this.) - Draw another table with each food class (vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, etc) listed.
In one column, list the recommended dietary allowance and in the next column list
the estimated amount of the food type you consume on a daily basis. - Which food types do you consume in excess? Which ones do you consume too little
of? What are the consequences of each?
The table below lists the energy components of some common food items. Study it and
answer the following questions:- Which food has the highest energy value? Why?
Chapter 2. The chemistry of life 51