Chapter 5: Food for Health
Chapter at a Glance
The school holds a food festival where students and parents bring dishes from all over India, such as dhokla, litti-chokha, dal-baati-churma, chhena poda, siddu, dosa, vada, jowar upma and ragi laddu. At the ‘Mystery Masala’ stall, Mukesh and his friends taste Ugadi Pachadi, a dish from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. It mixes six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. In Ayurveda these six tastes are called ‘shad rasa’, and eating all of them in the right amount is good for health. At a millet stall, Surbhi remembers that her grandmother ate jowar and bajra roti in winter and jau roti in summer, since millets are full of nutrients.
A banner saying ‘Colours on Plate, Wellness in Life’ explains why we need different foods. Energy-giving foods (rice, wheat, potato, millets, ghee) give us strength to work. Body-building foods (pulses, milk, paneer, eggs, nuts) help us grow. Protective foods (fruits and green vegetables) keep us safe from diseases. A balanced plate has mostly protective foods, then body-building foods, and some energy-giving foods. Junk food like chips, soft drinks, burgers and pizza has too much oil, salt and sugar and should be avoided. Fresh home-cooked food is always better.
The chapter also talks about the importance of drinking enough water, which helps digestion and removes waste from the body. Food can be cooked by steaming, boiling, frying, roasting, grilling and baking, and some foods like salads are eaten raw. A solar cooker cooks food with sunlight and causes no smoke. Finally, we learn to read food labels to check the expiry date and ingredients.
Word Meanings
| Word | Simple Meaning |
|---|---|
| Food festival | A fun event where many kinds of food are shown and tasted |
| Ingredient | One of the things used to make a dish |
| Pungent | Having a sharp, hot, spicy taste, like chilli |
| Astringent | A dry, rough taste that makes the mouth pucker, like raw mango or amla |
| Shad rasa | The six tastes described in Ayurveda |
| Ayurveda | India’s traditional system of medicine |
| Millets | Small, healthy grains like jowar, bajra and ragi |
| Nutrients | Parts of food that our body needs to grow and stay healthy |
| Balanced food | Food that has all food groups in the right amount |
| Protective food | Food that protects us from diseases, like fruits and vegetables |
| Junk food | Food with too much oil, salt or sugar and little goodness |
| Processed food | Food changed in factories and packed, often with added salt or sugar |
| Digest | To break down food in the body so it can be used |
| Thali | A plate with many small dishes served together |
| Chef | A skilled, professional cook |
| Solar cooker | A cooker that uses sunlight to cook food |
| Expiry date | The date after which food should not be eaten |
Important Topics
1. Food Diversity in India
| Dish | Main region |
|---|---|
| Dhokla | Gujarat |
| Litti-chokha | Bihar |
| Dal-baati-churma, Ker-sangri | Rajasthan |
| Chhena poda | Odisha |
| Siddu | Himachal Pradesh |
| Dosa, Vada | South India |
| Ugadi Pachadi | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana |
2. The Six Tastes (Shad Rasa)
| Taste | Examples |
|---|---|
| Sweet | Jaggery, honey, banana, sugarcane |
| Sour | Tamarind, lemon, curd, raw mango |
| Salty | Salt, pickle, papad |
| Pungent | Green chilli, ginger, black pepper, garlic |
| Bitter | Neem, bitter gourd (karela), fenugreek (methi) |
| Astringent | Raw mango, amla, raw banana, pomegranate peel |
3. Millets: Super Food
- Jowar, bajra, ragi and jau are rich in nutrients.
- Jowar and bajra rotis suit winter; jau roti suits summer.
4. Food Groups
| Food group | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Energy-giving | Gives energy to work and play | Rice, wheat, maize, potato, banana, honey, millets, ghee, butter, oil |
| Body-building | Helps us grow and builds muscles | Pulses, soybean, chickpeas, peanuts, milk, paneer, eggs, fish, meat, almonds |
| Protective | Protects us from diseases | Carrot, orange, lemon, papaya, spinach, cabbage, guava, amla, tomato |
5. Balanced Plate
- Protective foods (fruits and vegetables): the largest part.
- Body-building foods: the next largest part.
- Energy-giving foods: some part.
- Every region has its own thali with many tastes and health benefits.
6. Say No to Junk Food
- Junk food has too much oil, salt and sugar.
- Examples: soft drinks, chips, bread pakoda, burgers, pizza, packaged snacks.
- Fresh home-cooked food is healthier.
7. Water for Health
- Helps digest food and keeps skin and body healthy.
- Removes waste through urine, sweat and faeces.
- Watermelon and cucumber are water-rich fruits.
8. Methods of Cooking
| Method | Examples |
|---|---|
| Steaming | Idli, idiyappam, dhokla |
| Boiling | Rice, dal, kheer, sambhar |
| Frying | Samosa, pakoda, gulab jamun |
| Roasting | Papad, corn, dosa on a tawa |
| Grilling | Paneer tikka, corn |
| Baking | Cake, bread, biscuits |
| No cooking | Fruit chaat, salad |
- A solar cooker uses sunlight and gives no smoke or ash.
- A chef is a professional cook; in French the word means ‘head of the kitchen’.
Question-Answers
Very Short Answer Questions
- What is Ugadi Pachadi? A traditional dish made with six different tastes.
- What are the six tastes called in Ayurveda? Shad rasa.
- Name the six tastes. Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.
- Give one example of a bitter food. Neem (or karela).
- Name two millets. Jowar and bajra.
- Which food group protects us from diseases? Protective foods (fruits and vegetables).
- Name two body-building foods. Pulses and milk.
- Name two energy-giving foods. Rice and potato.
- Why is junk food unhealthy? It has too much oil, salt and sugar.
- Name two water-rich fruits. Watermelon and cucumber.
- How is idli cooked? By steaming.
- What does a solar cooker use to cook food? Sunlight.
- What does ‘chef’ mean in French? Head of the kitchen.
Short Answer Questions
Q1. Why do we need to eat different kinds of food?
No single food has all the nutrients our body needs. Eating a variety of foods gives us energy, helps us grow and protects us from illness.
Q2. What is a balanced plate?
A balanced plate has foods from all three groups in the right amounts: mostly fruits and vegetables, then body-building foods, and some energy-giving foods.
Q3. Why should we avoid junk food?
Junk food has too much oil, salt and sugar and very few nutrients. Eating it often can cause weight gain, weak teeth and illness.
Q4. Why is water important for our body?
Water helps us digest food and keeps our skin and body healthy. It also removes waste from the body through urine, sweat and faeces.
Q5. What are the benefits of a solar cooker?
It cooks food using free sunlight instead of gas or electricity. It does not make smoke or ash, so it does not pollute the air.
Q6. Why should we check the label on packaged food?
The label tells us the expiry date, so we do not eat spoilt food. It also lists the ingredients, so we know what we are eating.
Long Answer Questions
Q1. Explain the three food groups with examples.
Energy-giving foods give us power to work and play, such as rice, wheat, potato, banana, honey, millets, ghee and oil. Body-building foods help us grow and make our muscles strong, such as pulses, soybean, chickpeas, peanuts, milk, paneer, eggs, fish and nuts. Protective foods keep us safe from diseases, such as carrot, orange, lemon, papaya, spinach, guava, amla and tomato. We need all three groups every day.
Q2. What happens if we eat food from only one group every day?
If we eat only energy foods, we may feel full but will not grow properly and will fall ill often. If we eat only protective foods, we may feel weak and tired. If we eat only body-building foods, we may lack energy. Our body will miss important nutrients, so we must eat a mix of all groups.
Q3. Describe the different methods of cooking with examples.
Steaming cooks food with hot steam, like idli and idiyappam. Boiling cooks food in hot water, like rice and kheer. Frying cooks food in hot oil, like samosa and gulab jamun. Roasting cooks food on dry heat or a tawa, like papad and dosa. Grilling cooks food over direct fire, like corn. Baking cooks food in an oven, like cake and bread. Some foods, like fruit chaat and salad, are eaten without cooking.
Textbook Exercise Answers
Q1. Food collage.
Cut pictures from old magazines and paste them in three parts: energy-giving (rice, bread, potato), body-building (dal, milk, egg) and protective (fruits, green vegetables).
Q2. Check the label (honey jar example).
(a) Expiry: best before 07.03.2026 (packed on 08.03.2025). Main ingredient: pure honey, with no sugar added.
(b) Checking labels helps us avoid expired or spoilt food, know the ingredients, and avoid anything we are allergic to.
Q3. Organise a food festival.
Students bring home-made dishes from their region, set up stalls with name cards, and explain the tastes and food groups in each dish.
Q4. Find and circle.
Circle food words hidden in the grid, such as Mango and Amla.
Other in-text questions
- Junk food items to avoid: chips, soft drinks, burgers, pizza, noodles, candy.
- Food thali example (Punjab): makki di roti, sarson da saag, dal, curd, salad, lassi.
- Should all family members know how to cook? Yes. Everyone can then help at home, eat healthy food and manage when alone.