Unit 11 Three other nutrients (water, minerals and vitamins)

Carbohydrate (sugar and starch), fat, and protein are not the only nutrients the body needs. The body needs three other nutrients: water, minerals, and vitamins. The first letter of each word in the following sentence can help you remember all six nutrients: Frank Chews Peaches With Much Vigor. F stands for fat, C stands for carbohydrate, and P stands for protein.

W stands water, which all around us in rivers, in waterfalls – and in healthy bodies. Water helps the body to get energy from the fat, carbohydrate, and protein you eat. Like a river carrying boats, water transports nutrients to every cell of your body.

M is for minerals. There are more than a dozen minerals, including calcium, iodine, iron, and zinc. V is for vitamins, 13 in all. Your body doesn’t need large quantities of minerals and vitamins – less than a teaspoon a day – but these nutrients are essential to human growth and well-being.

Water. When you feel thirsty, what is your body telling you? You should drink eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy.

Minerals. The range of minerals is vital for the development and support of the body. For example, the body requires calcium for strong bones and teeth. Good sources of calcium are milk, cheese, spinach, and dried figs. Zinc helps the body grow; it comes mostly from seafood, meats, and yeast.

Vitamins. Each vitamin – A, the B vitamins (eight in all), C, D, E, and K – plays a part in helping the body to work and in preventing certain diseases. For example, vitamin A helps keep eyes bright and clear. Good sources of vitamin A include carrots, egg yolks, sweet potatoes, and milk.

Active Vocabulary

vigor	сила, енергія
fig	інжир
yeast	дріжджі
yolk	жовток
to prevent	попереджати, запобігати
calcium	кальцій
to chew	жувати
peach	персик
to stand for	означати
to transport	переносити, переміщати

Tasks

Task 1. Study the table of vitamins carefully and analyse what vitamins your

organism lacks for.

Vitamin	Functions in organism	Vitamin deficiency	Products that contain it
A	helps to keep your eyes bright and clear	poor vision, skin peeling	butter, curd, liver, cod-liver oil, apricots, tomatoes, carrots, eglantine, spinach, lettuce, sweet pepper
B1	necessary for normal activity of nerve system	so-called disease “beriberi” (avitaminosis) which ends in muscular atrophy and paralysis, sometimes even death	liver, meat, groats, bread of coarse grinding
B2	takes part in cells exchange and helps to produce energy	skin peeling, development and growth delay, epiphora	milk, curd, beans, eggs, meat, yeast, pea
B3 (PP)	improves carbohydrate exchange, reduces cholesterol level and has a vasodilating effect	quick tiredness, weakness, irritation, insomnia, inflammatory skin changes (its deficiency leads to so-called disease “rough skin”)	meat, milk, tomato, buckwheat, oatmeal, beans
B6	regulates protein exchange, takes part in gastric juice formation, activites fat processes	hair growth abnormality, haemoglobin reduction	yeast, beans, milk, bananas, liver, nuts (circassian walnut), fish, buckwheat, millet cereal
B12	very important for erythrocytes (red blood cells), keeps nerve system in a good condition	anaemia, nervous breakdown	liver, curd, yolk, oyster, mackerel, herring, chicken liver, beef liver, liver sausage

Task 2. Make up sentences using the following words.

1. The, needs, water, three, and, other, body, nutrients, minerals, vitamins.

2. With, peaches, Frank, much, vigor, chews.

3. Stay, day, should, you, healthy, eight, a, drink, glasses, water, day, of, to.

4. Of, good, are, milk, calcium, figs, cheese, sources, spinach, and, dried

5. Vitamin, preventing, each, plays, a, part, certain, the, body, work, helping, and, in, the, diseases, to.

Task 3. Translate into English the following sentences:

1. Вітаміни – природні органічні речовини, абсолютно необхідні для людини.

2. Нестача вітамінів призводить до порушення обміну речовин, а повна відсутність – до серйозних захворювань.

3. Вітамін А необхідний для нормального росту і розвитку кісток, підвищення імунітету та зору.

4. Вітамін В1 необхідний кофермент у засвоєнні білків, жирів та вуглеводів

при виробленні енергії.

5. Нестача вітаміну В6 призводить до анемії, випадіння волосся, втрати

апетиту, депресії, сонливості, повільного заживлення ран та артриту.

Task 4. React to the statements using the following opening phrases: As far as I know; I suppose; as a rule, in fact; actually; as for me; etc.

1. Minerals are not so necessary for our health as vitamins are.

2. Vitamin B12 helps to keep your eyes bright and clear.

3. Vitamin A regulates protein exchange, takes part in gastric juice formation, activites fat processes.

4. Each vitamin – A, the B vitamins (eight in all), C, D, E, and K – plays a part in helping the body work and in preventing certain diseases.

5. Good sources of vitamin B include carrots, egg yolks, sweet potatoes, and milk.

Task 5. Points for discussion:

1. “Quality of vitamin tablets in our drugstores”

2. “Good sources of vitamins and minerals in our local fruit and vegetables”

3. “Vitamin deficiency”