PART THREE What Fuels Your Cells? You press the snooze button for the fifth time. You can still make the bus if you skip...showering, grooming, and eating. On the sixth set of chimes, you realize it’s time to get up, and you slither, without showering, into today’s ensemble. You hop down the stairs, still trying to tie your shoes, and wave away the morning breakfast. As you rush to the bus stop and land your ride to school, you hear your stomach rumble. No problem, right? Lunch is right around the corner, and you remembered to pack that lunch—or did you? You realize that it’s going to be a
long and hungry day. At least there’s that vending machine. Maybe one bag of chips will get you through the day. We are what we eat, literally. Human cells require proper nutrition on a daily basis. Like any other machine, the human body needs fuel to keep it running at its maximum performance level. The food a person eats keeps the skin and eyes healthy, the heart and nerves functioning, and bones and teeth strong. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water, vitamins, and minerals all provide an individual’s body with the materials it needs to continue life processes. Without this proper diet, the body can break down, and the person can develop lethargy (or a perpetual condition of inattention), an inability to focus, or even a condition that reduces the ability to function in society. Malnutrition, or the lack of adequate nutrition, can occur when an individual does not eat a balanced diet. Some nutritionists believe that humans need to eat grains, vegetables, fruits, meat and beans as well as drink milk daily. By eating only a few of the necessary elements of a healthy diet, a person can put himself at risk. Malnutrition can slow the body’s ability to heal or to fight disease. It can make one feel sleepy or make it difficult for someone to think clearly. People need to eat a variety of foods so that everyone can take in all that the body requires. Malnutrition can result from a number of causes. People who have unhealthy eating habits can become malnourished. In addition, individuals with digestive disorders may suffer if their bodies cannot process the nutrients in the food they eat. Social or economic factors may also make someone prone to malnutrition. An inability to acquire a rich variety of foods can impact a person’s health.
This was the case in the South during the early 1900s when many began to exhibit symptoms of pellagra, or a condition caused by a lack of the vital B vitamin niacin. At the time, many people ate diets based mostly on corn. They began to become sick. They exhibited symptoms of skin rash, weakness, swollen lips, depression, memory loss, and eventually death. Many doctors of the period believed that the condition was caused by an infectious disease, but Dr. Joseph Goldberger, after extensive research, determined that the condition was a result of diet. After a thorough examination and studies of individuals in orphanages, prisons, and mill towns, it was determined that without niacin, the body cannot convert essential nutrients into usable sources of fuel. Once the victims of pellagra began to eat a balanced diet, their symptoms disappeared, proving that it was a condition and not a disease. In the last decade, people have become more aware of the value of a balanced diet. Nutrition Facts Labels, the labels that show what amount of daily nutrients can be found in each serving of the food, are placed on the products that are purchased in stores to allow consumers to make certain that they are planning meals that support optimal health. With a little work, people can keep their body running at its best. The next time you plan on skipping a meal or eating another bag of food high in calories and low in nutrients, think about the consequences of the choice. Make your machine lean and mean!
12. Define “fuel” based on the passage “What Fuels Your Cells?” 13. “Make your machine lean and mean!” What is the word “machine” a metaphor for? 14. One claim in the passage is that “we are what we eat.” FInd a piece of evidence that supports this claim. 15. What is the main argument of the text “What Fuels Your Cells?” 16. How did the author of “Sarah’s Decision” use information from “What Fuels Your Cells?” to create a story?