Lesson 1.1 The Importance of Food Learning Outcomes After reading this chapter, you will be able to • explain why your food choices are important. • summarize how diet and health are related. • identify the needs satisfied by eating. W elcome to the world of food and nutrition! This may be your first food and nutrition class, but you already know a lot about this topic. For instance, you know that every living thing needs food to survive. You have years of experience enjoying food. You know which foods you like best. You may be able to name foods that are low in fat. By now, you may have baked some cookies or cooked dinner for your family. Perhaps you have even bought groceries. You are something of an expert already! There is still much more to learn, though. You may wonder if you are eating the right foods. Will your food choices keep you healthy? What should athletes eat? Can fast foods be part of a healthy diet? Do foods affect the way you look? How can you keep foods safe to eat? This book will help you answer all of these questions and more. It will help you expand your knowledge and put that knowledge to work to keep yourself strong and healthy. New Terms wellness being at the highest level of health nutrients the materials found in foods that are needed to build and repair body tissues and provide energy diet all the foods and beverages a person consumes diet also is referred to as an eating pattern nutritious diet a diet that includes energy and all the nutrients in the amounts needed nutrition the study of nutrients and how the body uses them food science the study of how foods change chemically through natural processes or when they are prepared or stored hunger the physical need for food Adventures in Food and Nutrition Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 4