We could be
talking about any one of many different kinds. There are diets for avoiding
certain chemicals, like salt, and there are diets to increase amounts of
certain things, like potassium. There are even diets to help people put on
weight.
However, despite
all these, we usually say “diet” about losing weight. This is certainly the
area where the money gets spent. And it has a long history.
But when did it
all start? There’s a story that in 1087, William the Conqueror, King of
England, had become so fat that he could no longer ride his horse. He stayed in
bed and drank alcohol instead of eating food to try and lose weight.
Now, it may or
may not have worked for him, but we can’t really recommend it as an approach
for most people. What’s important is the kinds of food you eat, because
different foods contain different things our bodies need.
But it has taken
a long time to find out exactly what these are. Sea travel led to some increase
in understanding. When it became possible to build ships that could go on long
voyages, sailors started to spend many months at sea. They also started getting
a strange disease called “scurvy”. Eventually, it became clear that they needed
fruit or vegetables to survive. Today, we know that vitamin C is the reason.
Although the
discovery helped their lives, there was much more that wasn’t known. Nobody
knew, for example, why some people got fat and others didn’t, or what to do
about it.
Then, in 1890s,
a chemist called Wilbur Atwater began investigation how foods consisted of
proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. He found that he could measure the heat
value of these by burning them and called a unit of this heating a “calorie”.
This measurement
he created can be seen as the start of modern food science and dieting. Since
then, knowledge has come quickly – some people say too quickly!
Task 1. Put «true» if the statement is true and « false»
if the statement is false.
1.The word
“diet” originally meant “things that people usually eat”.
2.William the
Conqueror stayed in bed and drank alcohol instead eating food to try and lose
weight.
3.Sailors
started to spend many years at the sea.
4.Wilbur Atwater
introduced a new measurement for the “heat value” of food.
5.There are
three main diets in the world.
6.Diets help
people put on weight.
Task 2. Choose a correct answer
1. The word “diet” originally meant__.
a) “things that people usually eat b) “things that
people don’t like to eat” c) “things that make people
strong”
2. William the Conqueror used a diet__. a) to
be fit b) to be
healthy c) to lose weight
3. What did he do?
a) He
drank a lot of pure water. b) He drank wine instead water c) He drank alcohol instead of eating food.
4.
People became to understand better what our bodies need thanks to__.
a)
William the Conqueror b) long sea voyages c)
alcohol
5. Wilbur Atwater lived __.
a) in the 19th century b)
at the beginning of the 18th century c) in
the 20th century
6. Food consists of__.
a) fats, minerals, vitamins b) fats, proteins, carbohydrates c) fats, proteins, vitamins
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