You will be learning about vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) over a 2 week span. Remember phytochemicals from the Controversy section of chapter 2? They are not vitamins, because we can live without them, but they help vitamins and minerals function in critical ways.
Foods contain thousands of phytochemicals. This is one reason food is much more nutritious than relying on supplements.
For this assignment pick 2 foods—a fruit, a vegetable, or a nut--not selected by any other class member and report on them. You must pick 1 food from each category—you can have a fruit and a nut, or a vegetable and a fruit, but not 2 fruits for instance.
For each food, list its phytochemicals, and write one short paragraph on 3 of them. (It''s fine if you discuss more than 3, but you don''t have to.) State the health benefits of each phytochemical, and explain why it improves health. For example, if a phytochemical reduces inflammation, explain why inflammation can be harmful.
Explain uncommon terms, to show you understand the information. You will run across unfamiliar terms. Post words you don''t understand in this discussion area, and I will explain them (Monday thru Friday). That way everyone can benefit. Also use the Help file - phytochemicals in Week 7 in the Content area.
The usual submission process applies--Post your "reports" here in this discussion area. You may "reserve" 2 foods in this discussion area--just put them in the subject line. Later, when you are ready to post your info, open your post, click "Edit Message" and add your written paragraphs.
Time saver: Use your text. The controversy following chapter 2 is a good starting point for many foods. Use reliable internet sources. Commercial web sources based in the United States or Europe are permissible. (An example is Dole 5-a-Day) Do NOT use the USDA database. Information there is not useful for this assignment. Wikipedia is permissible as a source, but please list the author if available. If you cite Wikipedia, list the sources given by the Wikipedia author as that author''s sources, and not yours.
Cite websites in this format (see Example right below). This is the correct format for a site maintained by a corporation, when the author is not provided. For simplicity sake, please use this format for all websites.
Name of article
Date article was written if provided
Date you retrieved article
Name of website
Exact urls of pages used, so I can go directly to them when grading your paper. If I don''t see your food on the web page you provide, your paper will not be graded.
Example: The Roddenberry legacy of human potential: If only, if only. (2007, October 24). Retrieved January 7, 2009, from Star Trek Official Site
website: https://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/editorials/article/2310913.html
A Caution sign Caution: Sometimes students get so enthused about their healthy foods, they forget the assignment is about phytochemicals only. Do not discuss vitamins, minerals, fat, protein, or carbohydrates--only phytochemicals. Do not list beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A.
Hints for stress reduction: Some sources list a few phytochemicals in a food, others are more thorough. Check a few sources to get a reasonable picture, but don''t worry that you have every single known phytochemical. I do expect you to include all phytochemicals listed in the text for a food. (For a very few foods, after excluding beta-carotene only 1 or 2 phytochemicals are known. If you choose one of those, you will have to start over.) Explanations won''t be available for every phytochemical''s function. Information is more available for some foods than others. I will be mindful of all this when I grade your post.
Grading criteria for this assignment: (Reminder: Writing standards specified in the syllabus apply. Material should be expressed in your own words--cutting and pasting is plagiarism, and will result in a score of 0.)
3 pts - Thorough listing of phytochemicals + source citation
5 pts - Clear explanation of health benefits of each phytochemical
2 pts - Thorough and clear explanation of terms used
10 points total for each food
Enjoy your research, and eat well.
Objective of this assignment: To learn the value of eating foods, and one limitation of supplements.