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Bioscience MONTANA

METABOLOMICS:You Are What You Eat

5348new August 2017

Dr. Edward Dratz, Professor, Biochemistry, Montana State University

Unit 2

Writer Dr. Edward Dratz, Professor, Biochemistry, Montana State University

Editors Stephanie Davison Dani Bergey

Art Dani Bergey

Layout and DesignMSU Extension Communications and Publications

Reviewers Emily Lindner, MSU student and former 4-H memberMeghan Phillippi, 4-H Volunteer SpecialistBrent Harlan, Belgrade Public Schools, MTInverness ResearchJamie Cornish, PhD Outreach and Education Specialist, MSU

The project and this curriculum were developed as the result of a 5-year grant to Montana State University from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) and Extended University. Grant number R25RR025997-01A1.

© 2017 MSU ExtensionThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Montana State University and Montana State University Extension prohibit discrimination in all of their programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital and family status.

There are three units in this project. They are categorized as basic, applied and translational research. Basic research helps us develop general knowledge. In this project, the unit on neuroscience represents basic research. Applied research helps us to apply research results. In this project, the unit on metabolomics provides information we can apply in our everyday lives. Translational research examines how research results can be “translated” to clinical and community settings. The unit on infectious diseases is an example of translational research.

UNIT 1 (Basic) Neuroscience: Getting to Know Your Inner Self • Anatomy/Physiology • Visual System • Memory

UNIT 2 (Applied) Metabolomics: You Are What You Eat • Carbohydrates • Proteins • Fats • Micronutrients (Vitamins/Minerals)

UNIT 3 (Translational) Infectious Diseases: Bacteria • The Good • The Bad • The Ugly

ExperientialLearning

Model

1Experience

2Share

3Process

4Generalize

5Apply

Youth do before being told or shown how.

Youth describe the experience and their reaction.

Youth discuss what was most important about

what they did.

Youth relate the project and life skill practiced to their own everyday

experiences.

Youth share how they will use the

project and life skill practiced in other parts of their lives.

Pfeiffer, J.W., & Jones, J.E., “Reference Guide to Handbooks and Annuals”©1983 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The 4-H Experiential Learning Model provides the framework for this curriculum and reflects the design of the original Bioscience Montana project (http://eu.montana.edu/bioscience/).

i METABOLOMICS: You Are What You Eat |

Overview: Bioscience is the study of living organisms. The goal of this project is to study the world of biosciences, specifically neuroscience, metabolomics or the study of metabolism, and infectious diseases. When you finish this project, you will be able to design your own experiments.

Age Group: The Bioscience units are written for middle and high-school students (approximately grades 6-12).

What you Need: There is a list of recommended supplies in the appendix and at the beginning of some activities. In general, you will also need a sharpened pencil (or two), and scratch paper.

Note to Facilitators: Facilitators can help youth with ideas that are hard to understand, suggest ways to research specific topics and help youth design experiments. Check the Bioscience Montana website (http://eu.montana.edu/bioscience/) for additional resources to help your 4-H members. Some of the activities require the purchase of supplies - please see the appendix.

Project Requirements: This project can be completed in 1-3 years. Complete at least three activities each year. At least two required activities should be completed each year, with all required activities completed by the end of the project.

Fair Entry Suggestions: Submit educational posters or displays from your activities, videos related to your activities, and any other exhibits that share what you have learned through this project. Be creative!

Activities: Each activity shows a content skill, the life skills that you are working on as well as the Montana Standard for Science associated with the topic. Some activities from each unit are required. These must be completed for your project to be finished. Some activities should be completed in a special order and they will be marked.

Life Skills: The 4-H life skills this curriculum addresses are: Critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, planning/organizing, learning to learn, healthy lifestyle choices.

Montana Office of Public Instruction - Montana Standards for Science (addressed in this curriculum): • Science Content Standard 1 - Students, through the inquiry process, demonstrate the ability to design, conduct, evaluate, and communicate results and reasonable conclusions of scientific investigations • Science Content Standard 3 - Students, through the inquiry process, demonstrate knowledge of characteristics, structures and function of living things, the process and diversity of life, and how living organisms interact with each other and their environment. • Science Content Standard 5 - Students, through the inquiry process, understand how scientific knowledge and technological developments impact communities, cultures and societies.

ii | Bioscience Montana - Unit 2

In science, a series of steps is used to reach a conclusion about a problem. This is called the scientific method. The main parts of the scientific method are:

1. research the topic of interest and what is already known about it;

2. decide what the question is to answer (your research question);

3. make a hypothesis based on what you know about the topic and what you think will happen;

4. carry out an experiment(s);5. analyze results; 6. make conclusions.

A hypothesis is a guess, based on information you already know about a topic or that you find out by

researching a topic; it is a statement about your

research question. The experiment

is what you do to test a hypothesis. Trying to see if one thing causes

another by “controlling” an

experiment in such a way that you can tell if

the thing you are changing (the independent variable) affects something else (the dependent variable). When designing an experiment, try to “control” all the factors that could affect the outcome.

For example, if you are trying to grow plants in a cave, and they keep dying, you might wonder why – this is your research question. Then come up with a hypothesis based

on what you know about how plants grow, maybe that they are dying because they are not getting enough light. To test this hypothesis, start with two or more of the same plants, potted in the same soil, placed in two different corners of the cave having the same temperature, and give the plants the same amount of water – these steps are how to “control” the experiment, by keeping the variables of soil, temperature, and water the same.

For the experiment, one group of the plants would be lit with a lamp and the other group would not. Then, test for other factors that affect the way plants grow, such as humidity, wind, etc. It is important to test one variable at a time, though, to clearly tell which variable is causing the plants to die or helping them to live.

The results are the data collected from the experiment. For the plant example, you may choose to measure the size of the plant as it gets light (or doesn’t), its number of leaves or flowers, or the size of its fruit, etc. No matter what is measured, it is important that the data is measurable, recorded carefully and correctly. Measurable data means that it is not an opinion. In the plant example, you can record the number of inches that the plants grow over time. The inches are measurable since inches are a standard measure of distance. The number of leaves or flowers can be counted and the size of the fruit’s diameter can be measured.

Scientists record their data in pen (not pencil) inside a laboratory journal. They keep a detailed record of the method they use for their experiment so that others can do the same experiment to see if they get the same results.

You will analyze your results to find out if there is a “causal” relationship between the independent variable (the thing you change – light or no light) and the dependent variable (the thing that is affected – the life of the plants). Then, come up with conclusions based on what you have found.

A Bit about the Scientific Method

The most powerful method in science is called the method of multiple working hypotheses. In this method, think of all the possible hypotheses you can from what you know and then design experiments to disprove some of the hypotheses. From the findings, you may be able to think of additional hypotheses and then design more experiments to disprove some until arriving at the hypothesis that survives.

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6

METABOLOMICS: You Are What You Eat | iii

Diet affects your health and happiness. Food gives the nutrients necessary to build, maintain and repair the cells and connective tissues in the body. Your body regularly replaces most of its cells with new ones and it needs a lot of spare parts to make fresh cells. Food provides energy to do all the things that you do. The diet choices you make affect the quality of your cells’ building blocks and the type of energy they use. In this unit, you will learn about macronutrients and some micronutrients.

There are three major nutritional components of the diet or things that provide fuel for your body: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats or lipids (macronutrients) (Figure 1). These molecules or compounds are nutrients that your body needs in large quantities, like fatty

acids or proteins. Macronutrients are vital for energy production.

There are also molecules or compounds that your body needs in very small amounts (micronutrients) for other bodily functions and chemical reactions. These are things like vitamins and minerals. A balance of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates is important to your health. Learning more about this balance will help you to help yourself, your family, and your friends.

You are what you eat.

metabolomics (meh-TAB-uh-lo-mics) What does this mean? Metabolomics is the study of how living cells process fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and other chemicals to sustain life.

Vital life molecules: carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids (fats)

FIGURE 1.

Six chemical elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur – CHNOPS) make up most molecules of life, with a few added minerals.

| Bioscience Montana - Unit 21

PAGE PARENT INITIALS DATESECTION 1: Carbohydrates 2SECTION 2: Proteins 3SECTION 3: Fats and Lipids 4 1. What’s In Your Food?* 6 2. Brain Game* 8 SECTION 4: Micronutrients 113. What Are Friends For? 12 4. Zinc Status Taste Test 13 5. Diets Around the World 17 6. What Does Your Food Eat?* 19 *Required Activities

APPENDIX 21

Before I began Metabolomics After

0 1 2 3 I know how to conduct an experiment 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know the difference between O-3 and O-6 fatty acids 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know how the animals I eat affect my health 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know what macronutrients are 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know what micronutrients are 0 1 2 3

0 1 2 3 I understand the differences between proteins, carbohydrates, and fats 0 1 2 3

0 1 2 3 I know why zinc is important for my body 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know which foods have O-3 in them 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know the six chemical elements of molecules 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know how diets in other countries compare to the U.S. 0 1 2 3

0 1 2 3 I know the difference between saturated, unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats 0 1 2 3

0 1 2 3 I know how to read food labels 0 1 2 30 1 2 3 I know what a variable is in an experiment 0 1 2 3

EVALUATION: What do you know?At the end of this unit, evaluate your knowledge of the topic using the following scale: 0 = none, 1 = low, 2 = moderate, 3 = high

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Unit 2

2 METABOLOMICS: You Are What You Eat |

Carbohydrates are a nutrient most people are familiar with because they are also known as starches and sugars. We can think of sugars as the sweet-tasting carbohydrates that may come naturally from fruit or artificially from soda, for example. Starches are the unsweet carbohydrates that get broken down into smaller sugars. This type is found typically in foods like bread and potatoes. Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (Figure 2).

One of the most important carbohydrates in the body is glucose, which is the chemical name for blood sugar. Along with being the primary source of energy for the brain, glucose also provides backup energy to the cells in the rest of the body.

In normal situations, cells prefer to burn fat to make energy – a process that relies heavily on the oxygen that we breathe into our bodies. But let’s imagine a situation where you are exerting yourself or holding your breath for a long time. If tissues don’t have enough oxygen to break down the fat, your cells can shift gears and start to burn carbohydrates. This is inefficient compared to burning fats but can be done if necessary to keep you going. That’s why

if someone wants to lose fat they should do exercises that are not quite as intense, such as walking fast, hiking, or swimming. High-intensity exercises like sprinting lessen the flow of oxygen to your tissues and burn sugar instead of fat.

High carbohydrate diets tend to add fat to your body because when you eat a lot of carbohydrates your blood sugar goes up. Insulin is a hormone that helps control the blood sugar. Cells store sugar when your body doesn’t need it, keeping blood sugar levels even so that you don’t have too much or too little sugar in your bloodstream. When you eat a lot of carbohydrates, insulin levels increase and fat is stored in your cells, rather than burned for energy. When you eat fewer carbohydrates, insulin levels decrease and help your body to burn fat. Your muscles and liver store sugar in the form of long chains called glycogen. Glycogen must be stored with a large amount of water bound to it. When you burn glycogen, you lose weight due to water loss. When you restore glycogen by eating, the water weight returns.

SECTION 1: Carbohydrates

FIGURE 2. Starch is a type of carbohydrate that is found in foods like bread and potatoes. It is made up of carbon (black), hydrogen (yellow), and oxygen (blue).

3 | Bioscience Montana - Unit 2

Proteins are complex molecules that are important for nearly every part of cellular life. Proteins are used for chemical reactions in the body, to build cells and tissues, to fight disease, and for muscle movement.

Like carbohydrates, proteins are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but they also contain nitrogen, some sulfur and a bit of phosphorous. Proteins are made up of small molecules, called amino acids, which are linked together in long chains. An amino acid is a building block for proteins.

When we eat proteins, we have to digest them to individual amino acids so that our bodies can use these smaller components to build new proteins. There are 20 types of amino acids that are used to make the proteins found in your body, and each is essential to your diet.

The order of the amino acid chain is very important in deciding the type and shape of the protein that forms. This order is so important that it is determined by your

DNA, which is a blueprint for all the proteins found in your body. The shape of each protein controls its structure and its function (Figure 3). There are tens of thousands of different types of proteins that all have different jobs to do. For example,

Structural proteins (such as collagen) give shape and strength to cells and tissues.

Signal receptor proteins receive and send messages from one cell to another or from a cell to a group of tissues. Insulin, which regulates our blood sugar, is a small signaling protein that controls many activities in our bodies including how to process carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

Enzymes speed up chemical reactions so that a reaction that might take a hundred years without an enzyme can be completed in much less than a second by using the right enzyme.

FUN FACT We need a lot of vitamin C to make mature collagen and making vitamin C is crucial for wound healing (and for general health). If you ever have bleeding gums, you may be low in vitamin C.

SECTION 2: Proteins

FIGURE 3.


Lipids make up the third group of macromolecules that are essential for our functioning bodies. In this unit, you will learn about one type of lipid which we call fat. Like many other lipids, fats are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms that are attached in certain ways. Fat protects your organs and helps with nerve functions (Carter et al., 2007).

Lipids in the body are used to insulate and protect organs. Tissues called brown fat provide body heat. The outer layer of a cell, its membrane (Figure 4), separates it from its external environment and is made up of a double layer of lipids.

Cholesterol is an important lipid because it helps cell membranes function properly. Cholesterol is a building block for many hormones, and it also helps to digest fat and absorb vitamins, like A, D, E, and K, that dissolve fat.

Lipids and fats are vital molecules that provide energy, offer structural support for cells, and are the building blocks of hormones.

Saturated, unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatsYou have probably heard of saturated, unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The structure of these fats has special features. Before learning the different characteristics, you need to learn a new term: fatty acids. Fatty acid molecules are the tails of the fat (lipid) molecule (seen in simplified form in Figure 1, page iii). These fatty acid molecules are long chains of carbon. The terms saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat refer to the structure of the fatty acid tails and the types of attachments (bonds) between repeated carbon atoms (Figure 5).

Saturated fatty acid has only single bonds between carbons in the oily fatty acid chains. Unsaturated fatty acids have double bonds between two of the carbons in the oily fatty acid chains (and can be saturated by adding more hydrogen). Polyunsaturated fatty acids have two or more double bonds between carbons in the oily fatty acid chains (Figure 5).

SECTION 3: Fats and Lipids

FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 5.


For example, Linoleic acid is the most common polyunsaturated fatty acid in most of our diets. It is found in most types of grain, nuts, and oils (corn, soy, sunflower, safflower, peanut).

Alpha-Linoleic acid is found in green plants or algae and in animals that eat green plants or algae (such as grass-fed animals and fish) and in seeds like flax, camelina, and salba.

Animal fats are largely saturated, for example, butter and fats in meats, and coconut oil and palm oil in plants. These, along with dairy fat, are healthy fats.

Unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, and so we call them oils. These fats usually come from plant sources. Some examples are olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, corn oil, and fish oil. Olive oil contains mostly monounsaturated fatty acids and gets solid in the refrigerator. Fish oil is rich in polyunsaturated omega-3 essential fatty acids.

Fatty acids and essential fatty acids (EFAs)Fatty acids are the key components of fats and lipids, important parts of cell membranes, and building blocks for many important hormones.

Your body does an excellent job of making fatty acids, but it can’t make them all: You need an important group of fatty acids called essential fatty acids (EFAs). EFAs are necessary for normal growth and health, but you can only get them from food and that is why it’s important to have a well-balanced, healthy diet.

There are two groups of EFAs called omega-3 (O-3) fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids (O-6) (Figure 6). O-3s are important for your health and so are O-6s, but typical diets have too much O-6 and not enough O-3.

The ratio of O-6 to O-3 in your diet can affect the way your brain works. Diets higher in O-3 and lower in O-6 are shown to prevent diseases and health problems. A healthy balance of O-6 to O-3 is from 2:1 up to 4:1. However, a typical, modern American diet has around a 20:1 ratio or higher! A good way to remember which EFA is good for you and which one is not as good is to remember the phrase, “Nix the Six!”

As a rule, food that comes from plants and algae, and the animals that eat them contain O-3s. Food that comes from non-green plants, most grain seeds, and the animals who eat them, as well as more processed foods, tend to have more O-6s.

What do you think the ratio of O-6 to O-3 is in your diet? Explain.

FIGURE 6.


GOOD FOR YOU

Leafy green vegetablesOmega eggs

Milk from grass-fed cowsFlax w Camelina

Salmon OilCanned fish (in water)

Wild-caught fish w Wild gameFish Roe

Mackerel, Salmon (high) and oysters, crab, trout

NEUTRAL TO POSITIVE

Grass-fed meatsMany vegetables

Grass-fed dairy productsFree range eggs

Legumes (beans and lentils)

NOT SO GOOD FOR YOU (in excess)

Excessive common food oilsSalad dressingsCorn-fed meats

Dairy and eggs from corn-fed animalsMayonnaise or oils including cod liver,

olive, canola, soy, corn oils* Soy milk w Tofu

Peanuts w Peanut ButterVeggie Burgers w Meatless HotdogsFried, Breaded or Canned fish (in oil)

*olive and canola are less negative than the others

OMEGA-3s support

FIGURE 7.

ACTIVITY 1 - What’s in Your Food? (required)LIFE SKILLS: Critical thinking, planning/organizingCONTENT SKILLS: Learn to read food labels critically, plan a meal and cook it MONTANA STANDARD FOR SCIENCE: 1, 3, 5NOTE: Complete this activity before completing Activities 2 and 4

STEP 1: Go through your cabinets and refrigerator at home and select 5-10 different foods with labels on them. For example, cereal, soup, orange juice, milk, cheese, etc.

STEP 2: Enter your food choices and their nutrition information into Table 1 on page 7.STEP 3: See next page.


STEP 3: Examine your list and answer the questions below.Which foods have the most protein? What about fat? Are there foods you might want to limit in your diet? Explain your reasons.

STEP 4: Go to the internet-based SELF Nutrition tracker http://nutritiondata.self.com/ and create an account. Search for the foods you listed in your table to get a more detailed analysis of the nutritional content in each item. If you can’t find the food you are looking for, you can enter a new food into the database (see appendix for a brief tutorial). (Note to a parent or 4-H leader: this site is heavily supported by advertising. There are other applications, but this site is one of the only sites that tracks omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids).

STEP 5: Plan a meal that has a healthy balance of O-3 to O-6 (1:1 up to 1:4). Use the SELF “Nutrient Search tool” to search for foods that are high in O-3s. What do you have already in your cabinets/refrigerator that you can use? What do you need to buy? What do you want to eliminate from your normal diet? List the foods below.

O-3 foods I have:

O-3 foods I need:

STEP 6: Cook the meal or challenge one of your parents to cook it for you and your family.

EX: Walnuts 9079mg per serving

EX: Salmon (farmed, cooked) 4023mg

TABLE 1.

Food (ex.) Food 1 Food 2 Food 3 Food 4 Food 5 Food 6

Name of food Tomato Soup

Serving Size 1 cup

Calories/serving 110

Total Fat 2.5 g

Sat. Fat 1.5 g

Trans Fat 0 g

Cholesterol 10 mg

Sodium 690 mg

Total Carbs 19g

Dietary Fiber 3 g

Sugars 13 g

Protein 3g


WANT MORE?

Think about how budgets affect the way that people eat. When you cooked your meal, did you need to buy extra items that you don’t usually keep at home? If so, how expensive were they compared to what you usually buy? What recommendations do you have to eat a healthy diet while staying within your (or your family’s budget)?

ACTIVITY 2 - Brain Game (required)LIFE SKILLS: Planning/Organizing, critical thinkingCONTENT SKILL: Learn to track your brain healthMONTANA SCIENCE STANDARD: 1, 3NOTE: Complete Activity 1 before completing this activityMATERIALS NEEDED: Computer with Internet access, a smart phone, or a tablet to download an appYou will conduct an experiment* to see how well your brain functions before and after increasing your O-3 intake over four to eight weeks. You can increase your O-3s by adding foods high in O-3s to your diet, by taking supplements, or both.

STEP 1: What is your hypothesis? Do you think your test results will change after increasing your O-3 content? Write your hypothesis here:

What is your alternate hypothesis? (the alternate hypothesis usually is that there will be no effect from the intervening variable – for example, there will no change to your test results after you add the intervening variable - O-3s - to your diet). Write your alternate hypothesis here:

STEP 2: Consider the other variables that may affect your test results, for example, sleep, or stress. List them here:

(Note: to minimize the effect of other variables like sleep, hydration, or stress, try to keep your daily routine consistent by eating at the same time every day, sleeping the same number of hours each night, staying hydrated, and keeping your stress levels low. Take the post-test at the same time of day and in the same location as you did the pre-test. Before taking the post-test, eat and drink the same things you did before the pre-test.)

STEP 3: See next page.

*Do you remember how to conduct an experiment? See page ii for more information about the scientific method.


STEP 3: Conduct your experiment. Go to www.lumosity.com (or download the app to your cell phone or tablet). There are several free tests for your memory, attention, and flexibility, and there are more tests for purchase. A. Take the free memory, attention, and flexibility tests and note your scores in Table 2. B. Over the next four to eight weeks, increase your O-3 intake through your diet or by using supplements. C. Re-take the same memory, attention, and flexibility tests and note your score in Table 2.

STEP 4: Look at your results. Did they change over time? Describe your results below.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TABLE 2.

Test Date Memory test Attention test Flexibility test EX. #1 2/17/17 247 329 537

EX. #2 4/8/17 447 350 680

Testing a hypothesisOnce you come up with a theory or hypothesis, you need to test it and you need a plan. For example, decide how much you will increase your O-3 levels over time. Will you take a daily supplement that gives you the same amount of O-3s every day? How will you record data? What are the variables? In other words, you need to plan the experiment.

Variables are things that can be changed by you or that happen naturally. For example, wind could be a variable when you are hunting because it could alert an animal that you are nearby if they smell you.

In experiments, there are independent, dependent and control variables. The independent variable (IV) is something that can be changed on purpose, for example,

increasing your O-3 levels. When you increase your O-3 levels, it may or may not affect your memory which is a dependent variable (DV). In the experiment in Activity 2, memory, attention, and flexibility are DVs. There are also things you can control in the experiment, like how much sleep you get and how much water you drink. These are called control variables (CV) because you can control them throughout your experiment.

Write down your independent, dependent, and control variables for Activity 2 below. IV:

DV: CV:

CV:


TABLE 3

Test Name Date Time of Day Other Variable

Hours of Sleep

Ounces of Water per day Result

EX. Memory (pre) 2/17/17 7:30 AM ? 6 32 247

EX. Memory (post) 4/8/17 7:30 AM ? 6 32 447

WANT MORE?

Try the experiment again changing one thing at a time, for example, the time of day that you test your memory. If you change the time of day that you take the memory test, does that change your results? It is important to test one variable at a time so you know which variable affects your results.

Note: because you have increased your O-3 levels over time before you conduct the experiment again, go back to your regular diet for a few weeks.

Enter your data into Table 3, adding variables as necessary. What are your conclusions? Can you determine if additional O-3s in your diet have changed your memory, attention, or flexibility? Explain below.

1

2

3

4 5

6

10

98

7

ACROSS3. The result of partial hydrogenation.6. Alpha-linolenic acid.10. A benefit to your body of omega-3 intake.

DOWN1. Provides energy.2. Something sweet.4. Linolenic acid.5. Fish that is high in omega-3 oil.7. These are made up of chains.8. Saturated animal fat.9. A speedy processor.

Complete the crossword.

Created with the TeachersCorner.net Crossword Puzzle Generator

See appendix for answer key.


SECTION 4: Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals)Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals that are found in foods. They are necessary to help with things like bone strength, vision, healthy skin, and to help fight infections (Carter et al., 2007). These, plus macronutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates) give you the energy you need to live.

There are 13 essential vitamins in two categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body’s fat tissues. Water-soluble vitamins dissolve right away or are excreted through urine, so they need to be restocked.

There are 10 minerals that are essential for your body.

FAT-SOLUBLE VITAMINS1. Vitamin A helps with vision, skin,

bones, digestive and nervous systems

2. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium and with bone and teeth development

3. Vitamin E helps to protect cells 4. Vitamin K helps with blood

clotting

WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS5. Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) helps

change carbohydrates into energy and helps the nervous system.

6. Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) helps skin and metabolism

7. Vitamin B6 helps metabolize fat, protein, and carbohydrates

8. Vitamin B12 helps your nervous system and red blood cells

9. Vitamin C helps you to heal, absorb iron, and to repair bones, teeth, joints, and connective tissues

10. Vitamin H (Biotin) helps your skin and is necessary to form fatty acids

11. Folate (Folic Acid) helps build new cells

12. Niacin converts carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into energy

13. Pantothenic Acid also converts carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into energy

MINERALS1. Selenium helps regulate the

thyroid, a gland below the neck that controls metabolism

2. Sodium balances the acid and water in your body

3. Zinc helps your immune system to heal wounds and affects your ability to taste

4. Calcium helps strengthen bones and teeth and affects your muscles and nerves

5. Fluoride helps with teeth and bones

6. Iodine helps regulate metabolism and the thyroid

7. Iron is part of your blood 8. Magnesium helps your nervous

system and to transfer energy9. Phosphorus helps with bone

growth and to transfer energy10. Potassium helps your nervous

system and the body’s water balance


ACTIVITY 3 - What Are Friends For?LIFE SKILLS: Planning/organizing, Communication, Problem-SolvingCONTENT SKILL: Learn to track food intake using an App.MONTANA STANDARD FOR SCIENCE: 1, 5NOTE: Complete Activity 1 before completing this activityMATERIALS NEEDED: Computer with internet access, a phone or a tablet to download an app

In this activity, you will track the vitamins and minerals in your diet and in those of a friend or family member. Plan with one or more people who do not live with you (and who do not eat with you) to keep track of the foods that you and they eat for one week. Ask them to enter their foods into the SELF Nutrition tracker or the NuMo app (developed by Montana State University) to see what you can figure out about the health effects of their diet. Compare your data to theirs.

STEP 1: Go to http://nutritiondata.self.com/ and create an account or use the NuMo app (see tutorial below).STEP 2: Enter the foods you eat every day for one week.STEP 3: Ask a friend or family member to go to the same website and create an accountSTEP 4: Ask them to enter the foods they eat every day for one week.STEP 5: At the end of a week, compare the following minerals in both of your diets:

• Iron• Sodium• Potassium• Calcium• Selenium

Compare the following vitamins in both of your diets:• Vitamin C• Vitamin A• Vitamin D• Vitamin B (all)• Vitamin E

STEP 6: Enter your data into Table 4. For example, look at the Vitamin C content in every food you ate over the course of a week and add the number of milligrams together. Enter the total number in the table below. Do this for yourself and your friend. Compare results.STEP 7: see next page

TABLE 4Me My Friend

Vitamin C EX. 850 EX. 420

Vitamin A

Vitamin D

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B2

Vitamin E

Iron

Sodium

Potassium

Calcium

Selenium

To use the NuMo app: From your phone or tablet, go to the App store and search for the iOS or Android version of NuMo (free). Download the app and use as directed. For questions or problems using the app, email [email protected]. This email goes to the person at Montana State University who is managing NuMo.{ }


ACTIVITY 3, continuedSTEP 7: From which food did you get most of your Vitamin C or the other vitamins and minerals that you tracked?

What about your friend?

What did you learn about vitamins and minerals from this activity?

What if you increased your vitamin levels over time? Do you think you would feel different? Better? Worse? What about your friend?

ACTIVITY 4 - Zinc Status Taste TestLIFE SKILLS: Critical Thinking, communicationCONTENT SKILLS: Learn about mineral deficiencyMONTANA STANDARD FOR SCIENCE: 1, 5MATERIALS NEEDED: Zinc sulfate (this can be purchased from the Internet or from a health foods store) and a small cup

As many as two billion people worldwide may be at risk of low zinc levels which can negatively affect brain function. Symptoms of a lack of zinc include poor appetite, slow growth, frequent infections, poor skin, and problems with the sense of taste and smell (Prasad 2013). With these potential problems, maintaining proper zinc levels is an important thing to do (Figure 8).Here are some important ways in which zinc helps you:• helps with neurotransmitters, substances that

communicate information from one nerve cell to another, for example, serotonin and GABA

• may eliminate pyro Luria (a social anxiety condition)• helps heal wounds, and make proteins • helps with muscle contractions, and some skin

conditions• important for taste buds and appetite

• important for blood sugar control, weight control, and diabetes

• important for thyroid health and fertility• helps protect your immune system• helps you stay mentally alert and helps your brain

function • helps you sleep• helps enzymes work properly and speed up your body’s

chemical reactions

With this in mind, you will conduct the following experiment to examine your zinc levels.


STEP 1: Taste a diluted solution of zinc sulfate (5-10 ml). Hold it in your mouth for ten seconds. STEP 2: Spit the solution into a cup or swallow it as it can serve as a zinc supplement. If have had anything to drink or eat just before you taste the zinc solution, it may affect the test results so don’t drink or eat for approximately one hour before you do the test. You will have one of the following responses to the solution: Category 1 response: No specific taste or sensation – “It tastes like water.” This indicates the greatest need for extra zinc in your diet or for using supplements.

Category 2 response: No immediate taste noticed, but after a few seconds, a slight taste is noticed – ‘stale’, ‘dry mineral’, ‘furry’ or ‘sweet’. This indicates some need for extra zinc in your diet or for using supplements.Category 3 response: A definite mildly unpleasant taste is noticed almost immediately and tends to get worse with time. This indicates less need for extra zinc in your diet.Category 4 response: A very strong and unpleasant taste is noticed immedi-ately – bad enough to need to spit it out. This indicates no need for extra zinc in your diet except for that found in a multivitamin.

FOOD SOURCES OF ZINCOysters and other shellfish such as shrimp and crab

Red meat, fish, poultry and cheeseWhole grains, beans, miso, tofu, nuts, and seeds

Mushrooms and broccoli*

*many of the plant sources also contain phytic acid which sticks to zinc and keeps it from being absorbed

FIGURE 8.


W

ANT MORE?You can also do the zinc test with friends, neighbors, and family to help them understand how a zinc deficiency can affect their health.

STEP 1: Plan an experiment at your school*. STEP 2: Generate a hypothesis. For example, “since I live in a ranching community and most people here eat beef, I hypothesize that most people in my community will not have a zinc deficiency and will have a category 3 or category 4 response to the zinc taste test.” Write your hypothesis here:

What is your alternate hypothesis?

STEP 3: How will you do the experiment? For example, you could ask everyone not to eat or drink for at least one hour before they taste the zinc. Write down the steps below.

You could test the entire school or randomly choose people who represent the make-up of the school (if the whole population of your school is made up of about 60% boys and 40% girls, try to make sure that the smaller group of people you test is made up of about 60% boys and 40% girls).

STEP 4: Conduct your experiment and record results in a spreadsheet like the one on page 16. STEP 5: Compare the results with your hypothesis. Was your hypothesis confirmed?

*NOTE: You will need permission from the principal to conduct the experiment. Then, you will need signed permission from every person who participates in the study. You should also have permission from every person’s parents. This is called “informed consent” (parents) and “informed assent” (participants under 18) and means that the people who agree to be in the study understand: a) what you are doing (the study)b) what they will be doing as part of the study (the test)c) any negative things that could happen by participating (risks)d) knowing how the study will help them (benefits).


What are some of the other factors that may have affected your experiment? For example, did everyone that you tested follow the rules and not eat or drink for an hour before they took the test? Are some people on medications that may affect the results?

STEP 6: Share what you find out with your school principal or by writing an article for your school newspaper. What do your findings mean? For example, should the school consider serving more foods that can help to increase people’s zinc levels? Or, if zinc levels are good, note that finding as well.

Subject 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Zinc response category

(from p.14)EX. 4

Zn-zinc-


ACTIVITY 5 – Diets Around the WorldLIFE SKILLS: Critical ThinkingCONTENT SKILLS: Learn to use interactive maps and how diets differ around the worldMONTANA STANDARD FOR SCIENCE: 1, 5MATERIALS NEEDED: Computer with internet accessDiets differ around the world. People who come from countries that are surrounded by the sea tend to eat more fish because it is easily available; therefore, their O-3 intake is probably higher than those who don’t live close to the sea and who only get fish occasionally. People can increase their O-3 intake through dietary supplements or by intentionally eating foods high in O-3s.

See how the diets of people from other countries compare to the diets of your friends and family in the U.S. Where do people eat more fish?

STEP 1: In which countries do you think most people eat more O-3s? How do you think this affects their health? Answer these questions below.



STEP 2: Go to http://www.globaldietarydatabase.org/dietary-data-by-country.html and look at the “dietary intake of foods and nutrients by country.” There is a drop-down menu in the upper left-hand corner of the interactive world map. You can look at nutrient percentages by country. For example, on average, Americans consume 205 grams of milk per day (a bit less than one cup per day) while the Chinese consume a total of 15 grams per day. What does this mean about the calcium levels for Americans versus the Chinese? What does it suggest about omega ratios?

STEP 3: Select the countries you are interested in knowing more about and then add columns for different nutrients that interest you. You can use Table 5 and change the column headings for different nutrients.

STEP 4: What does the information in the table tell you? For example, people in the U.S. eat the lowest amount of sodium compared to other countries, but they eat the highest amount of trans-fatty acids. Are there any hypotheses you have based on this data? Write them down and then do some research to see if your theories have any information to back them up. Write your hypothesis (or hypotheses):

TABLE 5EX. Sodium Trans-fatty acids

EX. U.S.A. 52,920 mg/day 2.68% energy/per day


W

ANT MORE?Ask a friend or family member in another country to track the foods they eat for a period of two weeks and enter them in the SELFNutritionData web tool or the NuMo app. Track the foods you eat for the same period and then compare the results. What do you notice?

ACTIVITY 6: What Does Your Food Eat? (required)LIFE SKILLS: Critical thinking, healthy lifestyle choicesCONTENT SKILLS: Learn the differences in omega valuesMONTANA STANDARD FOR SCIENCE: 1, 3MATERIALS NEEDED: Computer with internet access What your food eats affects what you eat because the type of nutrients that are stored in a chicken, cow, buffalo, or pig, from their food, are transferred to you when you eat them. Because of this, it is important to know what your food eats so you can make informed decisions about what you eat. For example, while all cattle raised in the United States are fed grass to start (Haspel 2013), some are “finished” with grass (in other words a grass-only diet for the rest of their lives) and some are “finished” with grain. Each type of diet provides the cattle (and you) with different kinds of nutrients. In this activity, you will compare several food sources to see what nutrients they provide. STEP 1: Make a list of the meat you eat regularlySTEP 2: Use the SelfNutritionData tracker to find out what the O-3 and O-6 values are for the meats you have listed. What are the differences? What do you think are some of the reasons for those differences?


TABLE 6

Food O-3 O-6

Grass-fed beef

Grain-fed beef

Grass-fed bison

Grain-fed bison

Grain-finished meat

Pork

Free-range chicken

Farmed chicken

Duck

Deer

Elk

Antelope


STEP 3: Use Table 6 to enter the numbers you find. For example, if you eat elk, what is the O-3 content for a single serving of elk? Is there a difference in the ratio of O-3 to O-6 for grass-fed versus grain-fed meats?

STEP 4: Which meat do you think is the healthiest for you? Is there a single answer or is it a combination?

Note: This activity is adapted from an experiment designed by a Big Horn County Bioscience team.

photo by Rachel Endecott


APPENDIXMetabolomics Crossword Answers (page 10)1d. Fats2d. Carbohydrate4d. Omegasix5d. Salmon7d. Proteins8d. Butter9d. Enzyme3a. Transfat6a. Omegathree10a. Healthyskin

SUPPLY LISTALL ACTIVITIES: Sharpened pencils with erasers and scratch paper

SELFNutritionData Tutorial1. Log in to your account and go to the home page2. In the upper left-hand corner, there is a gray box with your username and several links. Click on the link for

“Add Custom Food.”3. There are two tabs – Basic and Advanced Entry. The Basic Entry tab allows you to enter the name of a food

and gives you space to enter macro- and micronutrients as specified from the food label of the food you are entering.

4. The Advanced Entry tab allows you to do the same thing but also allows you to be very specific. If you are taking a dietary supplement, you can enter the supplement here. For example, if you are taking DHA, enter the number of milligrams into the row labeled “22:6 n-3.” If you are taking EPA, enter the milligrams into the row labeled “20:5 n-3.” If the supplement you are taking does not specify the type of omega-3 you are taking, enter the number of milligrams you are taking in the row labeled “total omega 3 fatty acids.”

5. To save the custom food or dietary supplement, click the “Add To My Foods” button.6. When you return to the SELFNutritionData, you will find the food or supplement you added under your “My

Foods” tab. You can change the quantity to reflect how many days you’ve taken the supplement. For example, if you took the supplement every day for a week, enter “7” for the quantity

ACTIVITY 1: What’s In Your Food• Food from your kitchen cabinets• Computer with internet access

ACTIVITY 2: Brain Game• Computer with internet access OR• A phone or tablet to download an app

ACTIVITY 3: What Are Friends For?• Computer with internet access OR• A phone or tablet to download an app

ACTIVITY 4: Zinc Status Taste Test• Zinc sulfate• Cup

ACTIVITY 5: Diets Around the World• Computer with internet access• Conversion program for metric to U.S. customary

units (if necessary)

ACTIVITY 6: What Does Your Food Eat?• Computer with internet access


photos courtesy of clipart.com

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