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Dietary Needs Overview

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Dietary Needs Overview

Help plan a nutritious day for a school sports team. Use your knowledge of nutrients and dietary needs. There is more than one sensible answer to some planning questions.

Food for the day

A balanced eating pattern includes a variety of foods: vegetables and fruit; grain foods, mostly wholegrain; lean meats and alternatives; and milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives. Water is a good everyday drink. Foods high in added sugar, salt or saturated fat are best eaten less often. Needs vary between people, and no single meal has to include every food group.

Nutrition detectives

1.Match each nutrient to its main role. Choose the best role for each: carbohydrates; protein; fats; vitamins and minerals. Roles: provide a major energy source; growth and repair of body tissues; energy storage and helping absorb some vitamins; support body processes and normal growth.

Carbohydrates
Protein
Fats
Vitamins and minerals

Support body processes and normal growth
Provide a major energy source
Growth and repair of body tissues
Energy storage and helping absorb some vitamins

2.The team is sorting foods for a lunch plan. Classify each food into one main group: grain foods; vegetables and fruit; lean meats and alternatives; milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives. Foods: brown rice, chickpeas, spinach, yoghurt, wholegrain bread, apple, salmon, calcium-fortified soy drink.

3.Which option is the most useful everyday foundation for a lunch before afternoon training?

Water, wholegrain bread and a piece of fruit
Energy drink, lollies and crisps
Soft drink, chocolate bar and white bread

4.One player avoids meat but eats eggs and dairy. Choose two protein-containing options from this list that could suit them: lentils, tofu, chicken, eggs, yoghurt.

5.Another player has coeliac disease and must avoid gluten. Which lunch swap is the most suitable starting point?

Swap a wheat bread roll for a clearly labelled gluten-free roll, and check other ingredients and cross-contact
Swap the roll for ordinary rye bread
Keep the roll and remove only the visible crumbs

6.A player who is lactose intolerant wants a dairy-free drink that can contribute calcium. What should they look for on the label, and why?

Make a game-day plan

The team has a busy day: lunch at school, training after class, then a game. Players have different preferences and needs. Plans should be practical, varied and safe for each person.

7.Build a balanced lunch using at least three different food groups, plus a drink. Name the foods and identify the groups they represent.

8.A lunch is a meat pie, a chocolate bar and a soft drink. Suggest two realistic changes that add variety or make it a more nourishing everyday lunch. Explain one benefit of each change.

9.True or false? A food is automatically healthy for everyone if it is labelled “natural”. Explain your choice.

10.Why is eating a variety of foods important? Give two reasons linked to nutrients or health.