FOOD AND NUTRITION

What is feeding?
Feeding is the taking in of food.
What is food?
Food is something good to eat. Or food is a liquid or solid which
carries out one or more of the life functions.
What is nutrition?
Nutrition is the process by which food is taken in and used by the
body.
What is a food nutrient?
A food nutrient is an element found in food which when absorbed
into the body can perform different functions.
 Why do people eat food?
 Thereare many reasons why people eat and drink. Some of the reasons
may be represented by the 5Hs as;
Hunger - because our stomachs feel empty.
Habit - because it is the time of the day when we normally eat food.
Health - because we know that we need food and drink in order to live.
Happiness – because we enjoy eating certain foods.
Hospitals - because we have guests and it is a custom to offer them food
and drink.
 FOOD, TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS, BELIEFS AND TABOOS.
What is a food traditional custom?
Many tribes, communities and societies have different ways of handling food e.g ;
 when planting, weeding, or harvesting seasons come, these people do it together.
 they can sow millet together in turns from home to home each day.
 when harvesting comes they do the same thing.
 in some tribes people slaughter chicken when eating newly harvested food for that season.
 some people organise Malwa or a local beer to celebrate new food for the new harvest.
 women have to kneel while peeling, cook or serving food.
 a person is supposed to eat food while sitting down.
 When a visitor comes into a home, he is supposed to be given a drink or some food. It is bad for a person to
come to your home and go hungry without eating food.
 Advantages of food traditional customs.
 They teach people good manners.
 They encourage co-operation among people.
 They promote sharing, love and unity in society.
 They encourage oneness.
 They teach people to respect food, proper handling of food and to be hardworking.

Disadvantages of food traditional customs.

 It waste other people’s time.
 Women are more hardworking than men or it makes women slaves to their husbands.
 What is a food belief?
A food belief is a strong feeling that something exists and it is true and right.
 Many tribes have different strong beliefs about food .
 A belief is stronger than a custom. Some people break customs but they cannot break belief.
Examples of food beliefs.
 Women were not supposed to eat chicken and eggs because they believe that these things make them
barren and unable to produce children.
 Men are not allowed to eat oil nuts (ebinyebwa ebizungu) because they believe that it makes men
impotent or they may be unable to have erection.
 Children suffering from measles are not allowed to eat meat because it makes them worse.
 Babies should not be given eggs and liver because they believe these things make them take long
without talking and that they make them urinate and defecate on beds.
 What is a food taboo?
A food taboo is cultural or religious custom that forbids people to eat certain type of food.
 A taboo is stronger than a traditional custom or food belief.

 You are not supposed to break a food taboo otherwise you are cursed or thrown out of that tribe, group or
religion.
Examples of food taboos:
• Moslems are not allowed to eat pork.
• Moslems are not allowed to eat meat from an animal which is slaughtered by a non Moslem.
• Moslems are not allowed to eat meat from a dead animal.
• Christians are not allowed to eat meat on Friday and ash Wednesday.
• Certain clans in the tribes of Uganda are not allowed to eat certain plants and animals because they are their
totems.
A totem is a natural object, plant or an animal that is taken as a symbol for that clan. So it can not be eaten.
A taboo is something that is forbidden. A food taboo is a type of food that is not supposed to be eaten by any
means.
Advantages of food taboos and beliefs.
 It creates love for certain plants and animals.
 It helps to preserve and conserve the environment.
 It reduces competition for food.
 Some plants and animals are protected in their environment.
 They are to shape our eating habits.

Dis advantages
 Children and women are denied the right to get certain food values.
 They make some people and some tribes selfish.
 Some children and women may suffer from malnutrition and deficiency diseases.
 BREAST FEEDING
Breast feeding
This is the act of feeding a baby on breast
milk produced by the mother’ mammary
glands.
 It is recommended that a mother breast
feeds her baby up to two or three years but
at six months, the mother should begin
introducing semi solid foods other than
breast milk alone.
 ADVANTAGES OF BREAST FEEDING TO THE BABY
 Breast milk is complete balanced diet for the new born baby.
 It contains antibodies especially in the colostrum which helps to protect the baby against
some diseases. Colostrum is the first milk produced by the breast soon after delivering.
 It is always clean and ready.
 It is always at the right body temperature.
 It is easily digested and does not cause constipation.
 It protects against diarrhoea and ear infection.
 During illness, it helps to keep the baby well hydrated.
 It increases mental development like reasoning.
 It promotes proper jaw, teeth and speech.
 It promotes love between the mother and the baby.
 It is the baby’s first immunisation.
Advantages of breast feeding to the mother
 It makes night feeding easier.
 It is a natural family planning method because it can delay the next
pregnancy.
 It is cheap to the family and mother in terms of expenditure.
 It is time saving, convenient and available whenever the baby needs it.
 It improves the health of the mother as she has to eat in order to maintain
breastfeeding.
 It reduces blood loss after birth.
 It reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Advantages of breast feeding to the family
and community.
It is available 24 hours a day.
It reduces the cost of medicines for the sick baby.
It delays the new pregnancy.
It reduces time lost from work
 Reasons why a mother may be unable to breast feed.
 If the baby is born pre- maturely.
 If the baby has congenital problems like cleft palate, heart problems or infections.
 When the mother has engorged breasts or swollen breasts.
 Breast cancer.
 Breast infection like mastitis.
 Wrong belief like one will lose shape and grow old when she is breast feeding.
 Lack of milk in the breastS.
 Depression or emotional stress.
 Illness of the mother or death of the mother.
 A mother neglecting her baby.
 Mothers fearing that their breasts will be flat like slippers.
 BOTTLE FEEDING
Mothers are supposed to breast feed their babies for the first 6 months of
the baby’s life.
However, the following factors may lead or contribute to bottle feeding.
o Sometimes mothers feel that breast feeding will make their breasts be flat like slippers or
stockings.
o Mothers who are sick and unable to breast feed properly.
o Mothers who are sick of HIV/AIDS. The virus can pass through the breast milk and reach
the baby.
o In case of an accident and the mother has died.
o Mothers who work in office and cannot breast fed their babies during the day.
o Mothers who are unable to produce enough milk in their breasts.
 Advantages of bottle feeding
 Itis an alternative for feeding babies whose mothers cannot
produce enough breast milk.
 Itis an alternative for feeding babies whose mothers are sick,
have HIV/AIDS or are dead.
 It gives the mother chanced to relax and go out to work.
 Disadvantages of bottle feeding
 It is expensive to maintain.
 It denies the child mother’s love and care.
 Bottles are easily contaminated by house flies, dirt and dust.
 Bottles are difficult to clean properly causing germs to grow and spread.
 Bottle milk can easily become contaminated causing sickness to a child.
 Powdered milk is time consuming and difficult to prepare properly.
 It does not contain antibodies to the child.
 Cows or powdered milk may be diluted so much causing the milk lack a
complete diet.
 VULNERABLE GROUP OF PEOPLE
These are groups of people who are easily hurt or harmed by not having
enough different type of food to eat. Vulnerable group include the
following:
 Pregnant women and their unborn babies.
 Breast feeding women and their breast fed babies.
 Weaning children.
 Elderly people.
 Sick people.
PREGNANT WOMEN AND THEIR UNBORN
BABIES.
Pregnant women are also called expectant mothers because they
are expecting a baby who is the womb.
 They need to eat food that will be enough for herself and the
baby growing in her womb.
 A pregnant woman needs feed containing a balanced diet
containing the following:-
Food containing proteins.
These build the body tissue of the baby growing in her womb and
also repair her worn out cells.
Food containing carbohydrates;
 These give her enough energy to carry the baby in her womb and
also to do her jobs.
Foods containing calcium:
 These build strong bones and teeth of the baby inside her womb.
Food containing vitamins:
 Theseprotect her and her unborn baby from catching infection.
They can be got from fruits and vegetables which she should eat.
 Food containing iron
 These build haemoglobin or blood in her own body and in the
body of the unborn child.
 Iron tablets are always given to pregnant mothers when they go
for antenatal care check up in hospital when they find that they
don’t have enough blood.
BREAST FEEDING WOMEN AND THEIR BREAST FED
BABIES
 A breast feeding woman is also called a lactating woman or mother.

Breast milk is produced in the breast or mammary glands.

 Breast milk is the only food required for a baby up to six months.
 A breast feeding mother needs to eat foods and drinks fruids that will help
her body to produce enough milk for her baby.
 She needs extra foods from all food values but two important ones needed
most are:-
(i) Fluids
Fluids are needed to stimulate the production of more milk in her breasts.
fluids needed include: boiled drinking water, milk, fruit juices, bushera, porridge etc.
(ii) Foods containing calcium:
These are needed to replace the calcium in her body that the child is taking in the breast
milk.
A breast feeding woman and a pregnant woman should avoid taking the following:
 Taking tea or coffee soon after meals because they prevent, proper use of iron leading
to lack of blood or anaemia.
 Avoid taking alcohol or smoking because these are dangerous to their body and that of
the baby.
 WEANING BABIES OR CHILDREN.
Weaning is the gradual introduction of solid foods to a baby other than breast
milk alone.
 Weaning is to accustom a child to solid foods other than breast milk alone.
 It is better to start weaning the child at six months because of the following
reasons:-
- the baby’s body needs more nutrients because it is growing.
- the baby needs to get iron from other foods because the iron it was born
with is used up and the mother’s breast milk doesn’t contain iron.
to prevent deficiency diseases like kwashiorkor and marasmum.
 How to start weaning a baby
 Start with semi- solid foods like porridge in which milk is added.
 Introduced one type of food at a time until the baby gets used to its
to avoid diarrhoea as the baby’s stomach is still weak to digest
solid foods.
 Continue feeding the child frequently using other weaning food
like porridge, mashed matooke, mashed posho, mashed rice,
mashed fruit or all the food can be mashed together and given at
the same time.
 Remember children have small stomachs and need many meals a
day.
 SICK PEOPLE
Sick people are divided into two categories namely:-
(i) An invalid
This is a person who is totally down with sickness and cannot look after himself.
(ii) A convalescent
This is a person getting treatment and is recovering, sick people need food and extra
fluids in order to help the body fight sickness and repair body cells. Most of the food
includes the following:-
 Food containing proteins
They are needed to repair worn out cells during sickness.
 Frequent feeding
Sick people may not be able to eat a lot of food at a time, so they should be fed with easy
foods.
 Vitamins and mineral salts
The most important are vitamin C, calcium and iron to build the body defence and also help in the
manufacture of blood.
 Fluids
These are needed to prevent dehydration, such foods include clean boiled water, fruit juices Ribena,
Lucozade, tea, soup from meat, chicken and fish.

ELDERLY PEOPLE
These are associated with many problems such as, loss of teeth, chronic diseases like diabetes, high
blood pressure and peptic ulcers.
Problems like loss of teeth may make them unable to chew food, meat or chicken and this can result into
indigestion and constipation.
Chronic diseases like ulcers, diabetes or high blood pressure may restrict them from eating certain
foods. So elderly people need the following foods;
Foods which are easy to chew such as minced meat, fish without bones, mashed fruits etc..
Frequent feeding because they may not be able to eat a lot of food at time.
 Food consumption patterns
 People in different communities eat different food stuffs. These food stuffs, determine their
staple food in that community.
 Staple food is one’s main food, it is the basic food that is cheap and usually eaten mostly by
everyone in that community e g ..
 People in Buganda eat mostly banana or matooke, sweet potatoes, cassava, coco yams,
yellow yams and white yams.
 People in Busoga eat sweet potatoes, cassava, millet and some bananas or matooke.
 People in Bugisu eat mostly bananas, white yams, yellow yams and coco yams.
 People in Teso, Karamoja, Acholi, Lango and west Nile regions eat mostly millet mixed with
cassava, cassava alone, sweet potatoes and sorghum mixed with cassava.
Therefore, the following patterns of people depend on the region in which those people are and
the food mostly eaten is their staple food.