Tournament Day Nutritionist Day2
NUTRITIONIST - DAY 2
Anubhav Group (Grade 6-8)
DAY 2 LEARNING SHEET: The Present
What's Happening to Food Today?
Part 1: The Lost Art of Cooking
Question 1: Yesterday you talked to your family about old recipes. Did they still cook those recipes? Why or why not?
Write their answer: _________________________________________________________________
Question 2: How many students in your class know how to cook a complete meal (dal, sabzi, roti)?
Count and write: _______ out of _______ students
What does this tell you?
Part 2: Cities and Cooking
The change:
50 years ago:
Most people lived in villages
Families cooked 3 meals a day at home
Children learned cooking by watching elders
Recipes passed naturally from generation to generation
Today in cities:
Both parents work long hours
No time to cook
Order food online or buy packets
Children don't learn cooking
Recipes are forgotten
Question 3: Why do you think people in cities stopped cooking?
Think about:
Time (work schedules)
Tiredness after work
Easier to order food
Don't know how to cook
Your answer: _________________________________________________________________
Question 4: What is lost when recipes are forgotten?
Not just the recipe. What else?
Family tradition?
Health knowledge?
Connection between generations?
Something else?
Part 3: The Food Industry Takes Over
When people stopped cooking, big companies saw an opportunity.
They said:
"You're too busy to cook? We'll cook for you!"
"Just heat and eat!"
"Tasty and quick!"
They created:
Instant noodles (2 minute meal)
Ready-to-eat curries (just microwave)
Packaged snacks (chips, biscuits, namkeen)
Cold drinks (refreshing!)
Breakfast cereals (healthy start!)
This sounds helpful, right? But there's a problem.
Question 5: If a company wants to make profit, what will they do?
a) Use expensive, fresh ingredients
b) Use cheap ingredients and make it taste good with salt, sugar, and chemicals
c) Care more about your health than their profit
Think honestly. What would a business do?
Part 4: The Truth About Packaged Food
Let's compare traditional food vs packaged food:
Traditional Dal (made at home):
Ingredients: Dal, water, salt, turmeric, tomato, onion
Time to make: 30 minutes
Shelf life: Eat same day
Cost: ₹10-15 per serving
Nutrition: Protein, fiber, vitamins
Instant Cup Noodles:
Ingredients: Maida, palm oil, MSG, preservatives, artificial flavors, color
Time to make: 2 minutes
Shelf life: 6 months to 1 year
Cost: ₹15-20 per serving
Nutrition: Empty calories, high sodium, no real nutrition
Question 6: How can noodles last for 1 year without spoiling?
What do you think they add to it?
Question 7: If fresh dal spoils in 1 day and packaged curry lasts 1 year, which is more natural?
Part 5: Reading Labels - The Truth Behind the Package
ACTIVITY: Bring any packaged food from home. Read the ingredients list.
Rule 1: Ingredients are listed by quantity. The first ingredient is the most, last is the least.
Example - Popular "Healthy" Breakfast Cereal:
Ingredients: Sugar, wheat flour, corn flour, rice flour, malt extract, salt, vitamins, minerals, color (caramel)
Question 8: What is the first ingredient? _____________
Is this surprising? Why do they call it "healthy" when sugar is the main ingredient?
Rule 2: Watch for hidden names
Sugar has many names:
High fructose corn syrup
Glucose
Dextrose
Maltose
Sucrose
Corn syrup
Malt extract
Question 9: Count how many different types of sugar are in that cereal: _______
Rule 3: Long chemical names = not food
If you can't pronounce it, your body probably doesn't recognize it as food.
Examples:
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) - makes cheap food taste good
Sodium benzoate - preservative
Tartrazine - yellow color
Sunset yellow - orange color
Question 10: Look at your packaged food. How many ingredients can you NOT pronounce?
Count: _______
Part 6: The Big Lie - "Healthy" Marketing- (YT: Food Pharmer)
Companies use tricks to make unhealthy food seem healthy:
Trick 1: "No Added Sugar"
But has glucose syrup (which is sugar)
Or has artificial sweeteners (which may be worse)
Trick 2: "Made with Real Fruit"
Only 2% real fruit
Rest is sugar, color, and flavor
Trick 3: "Fortified with Vitamins"
Adds cheap synthetic vitamins
To junk food base
To make it seem healthy
Trick 4: "Natural Flavors"
Sounds healthy
But means chemicals made in a lab
Question 11: Have you seen any of these tricks on food you eat? Give one example:
Product name: _________________________
Trick used: _________________________________________________________________
Part 7: The Health Crisis - What's Happening to India
50 years ago:
Diabetes was rare
Heart attacks happened to old people
Obesity was uncommon
Cancer was less common
Today:
Diabetes in young people (even teenagers)
Heart attacks in 30-year-olds
Childhood obesity increasing
Cancer rates rising
The question is: WHY?
Question 12: What changed in 50 years?
Think about:
Food (from fresh to packaged)
Activity (from active to sitting)
Stress (from simple life to busy life)
What do YOU think is the main cause?
Some facts:
Diabetes in India: 77 million people (2019). Expected to reach 134 million by 2045.
Childhood obesity: Increased 3 times in the last 10 years in cities.
Heart disease: Now the number 1 killer in India. Used to be rare.
Question 13: Do you see these diseases in your family or neighborhood?
Who? (Don't write names, just relations - uncle, aunt, neighbor, etc.)
Question 14: What were they eating? Traditional food or packaged/outside food?
Part 8: Why Companies Do This
Question 15: If packaged food is causing disease, why do companies still make it?
Think like a business:
Does the company care about your health or their profit?
Will they tell you the truth if it hurts their sales?
Who is responsible - the company or the customer?
Your honest answer: _________________________________________________________________
The hard truth:
Companies are not evil. They are businesses. Their job is to make money.
YOUR job is to be smart. Read labels. Ask questions. Don't believe marketing.
Question 16: Who is responsible for your health - the company or you?
Part 9: The Dussehra Connection - Ravana in a Packet
Remember the Ramayana?
Ravana was:
Very knowledgeable (knew all the Vedas)
Very powerful (10 heads = great intelligence)
But had no wisdom (used knowledge for selfishness)
No self-control (kidnapped Sita)
Destroyed himself with his own greed
Modern food industry is similar:
High knowledge (food science, chemistry, marketing)
High technology (can make anything taste good)
But low wisdom (don't care about health effects)
No ethics (mislead customers, especially children)
Destroying health for profit
Like Ravana destroyed Sita (Mother Earth), the food industry is destroying:
Our health
Traditional food wisdom
Our connection to natural food
The earth (pollution, plastic, factory farming)
Question 17: Can you see the parallel? How is a junk food company like Ravana?
Ram's response:
Dharma (doing what's right, not what's easy)
Self-control (saying no to temptation)
Respect for Sita (respect for Mother Earth and natural food)
Long-term thinking (health over convenience)
You can be like Ram:
Make wise food choices
Read labels and don't fall for tricks
Choose traditional, simple food
Think about long-term health, not quick pleasure
Question 18: One packaged food you will stop eating after today's learning:
Why? _________________________________________________________________
DAY 2 GK FACTS
Quick Facts About the Food Industry
Average Indian city-dweller: Eats 70% packaged/outside food, only 30% home-cooked. This has reversed in just 20 years.
Instant noodles in India: Over 7 billion packets sold every year. If stacked, would reach the moon.
Sugar consumption: The average Indian eats 20 teaspoons of sugar per day. Recommended: 6 teaspoons. Where's it hidden? Cold drinks, biscuits, cereals, packaged snacks.
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate): Makes cheap food taste delicious. Found in chips, instant noodles, Chinese food, and packaged snacks. Can cause headaches, obesity, and health problems.
Palm oil: Cheap oil used in almost all packaged food. Bad for the heart. Also, cutting forests to grow palm trees = environmental destruction.
Preservatives: Sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate - help food last months/years. But may cause cancer, allergies, hyperactivity in children.
Colors: Many artificial colors (tartrazine, sunset yellow) are banned in some countries but still used in India. Can cause allergies and behavioral problems in children.
"Natural flavors": Sounds good, right? Wrong. It's a legal term that means chemicals made in a lab to taste like natural food. Nothing natural about it.
Marketing to children: Food companies spend crores on ads targeting children. Cartoons on packets, toys inside, celebrity endorsements. Why? Children influence parents' buying.
Profit margins: A packet of chips costs ₹5 to make, sells for ₹20. 4x profit. Home-cooked food has no profit margin, which is why companies push packaged food.
LABEL READING ACTIVITY
Bring 3 packaged foods from home. Fill this table:
Share with your module team. Discuss.
DAY 2 HOMEWORK
Task 1: Kitchen Investigation
Go home and check:
How many packaged foods are in your kitchen?
How many fresh ingredients?
Ratio: Packaged ___ : Fresh ___
Task 2: Family Discussion
Ask your parents:
"आपण घरी जास्त packaged food का fresh food वापरतो?"
"Why?"
"Can we change this?"
Write their response: _________________________________________________________________
Task 3: One Change
Choose ONE thing to change this week:
Stop drinking cold drinks?
Stop eating chips?
Start eating fruit instead of biscuits?
My commitment: _________________________________________________________________
End of Day 2
Remember: Knowledge is power. But only if you use it. You now know the truth about packaged food. The question is - will you make better choices?
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