UNIT 1: Youth and Teenage Problems

Lesson 1: How Nutrition Affects Teens’ Mental Health

Warm Ups the power of particular nutrients to increase our well-being.
• Explain the following quote: “When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy” (Chinese proverb)
• State some mental health problems.
• List three ways to boost mental health.

Preview
State whether the below statements are true or false.
1. ____ Food choices have a positive impact on our mental health, as well as our physical health.
2. ____ Whether or not you grow your own food, this does not increase your well- being.
3. ____ Making and serving food to others are two reasons behind your happiness among other reasons.

How Nutrition Affects Teens’ Mental Health

1. We can reap mental health benefits from the experience of growing and harvesting our own food. What we
eat and how we eat it are closely associated with our emotions and mental health. A growing body of research is
revealing not only the power of particular nutrients to increase well-being, but also the multifaceted ways in
which our attitude and choices regarding food impact our state of mind.
Problems
2. That’s why it’s so important for teen mental health providers and treatment programs to incorporate specific
nutrition plans into their approach to sustainable healing – not only for adolescents with eating disorders, but
also for those who are addressing depression, anxiety, trauma and other conditions. Science is increasingly
validating the amazing impact of food on our mood.

3. A 2013 study found that the risk of depression is 25 to 35 percent lower in those who eat a diet high in
vegetables, fruits, grains and fish, while avoiding processed foods and sugar.

4. In another study, the percentage was even higher. In fact, teens in the study who ate a low-quality diet had an
80 percent higher risk of depression in comparison to those who ate a higher-quality, whole-foods diet.

5. Nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids (found in salmon, walnuts and chia seeds), vitamins D (eggs) and B
(spinach, mushrooms and pineapple), folic acid (whole-wheat bread, green vegetables and nuts), magnesium
(seaweed, beans and leafy greens) and tryptophan (turkey, eggs and beets), among others, have a measurable
impact on depression and other mental health conditions.
New Themes for Today
6.1However, it’s important to note that the effect of our eating habits on our mental health isn’t just about what
we eat. How we source our food, the care we put into preparing it and the way we eat it can be as – or even
more – important than our food choices when it comes to our state of mind.

7. Vegetables and fruit almost always contain more vitamins and minerals than highly processed foods or snack
foods – and that’s a plus for mental health, as research makes clear. But the good stuff isn’t just in the produce
itself; we can also reap mental health benefits from the experience of growing and harvesting our own food.

8. According to new studies, growing our own food lowers the risk of anxiety and depression, reduces stress
and increases life satisfaction. Part of that is neurobiological: Researchers have found a link between soil
bacteria and stress resilience. Bacteria promote the health of the microbiome, which subsequently promotes
healthy brain function. (About 95 percent of our
serotonin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, so it makes sense that the digestive system plays a major role
in regulating our emotions.)

9. Two more good reasons to garden: It promotes exercise and time in nature, which are both proven to have a
positive impact on mental health. These elements are especially important for teens, who spend so much of their
days indoors and plugged in.

10. Once we’ve sourced our food, the next step is preparing it. This part of the process can also be an avenue for
enhancing teen mental health – particularly when young people approach cooking as a creative activity that
they enjoy doing with and for others.

11. A recent study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology followed more than 650 young adults. Each
day, they reported how much time they spent on creative activities and how they felt that day. The researchers
found that the adolescents experienced greater flourishing and positive emotions on the days following
increased creative activity.

12. Thus, when we approach cooking as a creative act, there are mental health benefits inherent in the process.
And, if we’re working alongside family or friends, the enjoyment and connection we feel are also mood
boosters. Cooking and serving a meal with care, for people who enjoy and appreciate it, builds positivity.

13. Along with growing, cooking, serving and carefully choosing our food, enjoying it is also key to mental
health. Taking time to savor our food enhances well-being, through the mechanisms of presence, gratitude and
mindfulness. The positive emotions of gratitude and appreciation have also been shown to increase happiness
levels.

14. It works the other way around, too: What we eat influences our emotions, and our emotions, in turn,
influence our choices around food. For example, in a 2010 study, people who were in a positive mood were
more likely to choose grapes as a snack instead of M&Ms. Bottom line: Eating well builds on itself, and the
result is thriving on health, in both mind and body.

Heather Monroe

QUESTIONS

A. Reading Comprehension
Answer each of the following questions in complete sentences of your own.
1. Based on Paragraph 2, what mental health problems can be healed by appropriate nutrition plans?
2. Refer to Paragraph 8 to explain how gardening makes us happier from a scientific point of view?
3. In the light of the above article, why do you think people in old times were happier than people now?
4. Propose a plan to implement at school to reduce mental disorders like stress, anxiety, and depression among
students. Problems
5. Based on the indicated paragraphs, what does each of the following pronouns refer to?
a. it (Paragraph 6): _______________________________________________
b. that (Paragraph 10): ____________________________________________

B. The reading selection has fourteen paragraphs (1→14). Each of the following extracts (A and B) is the
correct part that completes ONE paragraph in the selection. Read extracts A and B carefully and then
choose from paragraphs (1→14) the one that correctly fits with each extract.
Extract (A):
On top of that, when we cook for and serve others, we get an additional benefit: the “helper’s high,” that sense
of well-being we feel when we do things for others.
Extract (B):
In fact, research confirms that meditation (essentially a structured form of mindfulness) can be as powerful as
antidepressants for relieving symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Organization of Ideas
C. Organization of Ideas
1. The following is a poor version of a one-sentence summary of Paragraph 5. Rewrite it correctly.
Poor version: Some nutrients have a positive effect on depression and other
mental disorders.
2. How is Paragraph 14 related to the introduction?
3. How are Paragraphs 3 and 4 thematically related?
4. What pattern of organization does the writer use in Paragraph 5? Explain.
5. What two types of audience might be interested in reading this selection? Explain the interest of each.

D. Responding to the writer’s ideas.

1. Do you agree with the writer, in Paragraph 2, that nutrition plans are not only important to treat teens with
eating disorders, but also those who suffer from mental disorders? Explain your point of view?
2. What, in your opinion, is the importance of the example of “eating grapes instead of M& Ms” given by the
writer in the last paragraph? Does it relate to you? How does it affect your life?

E. Use contextual clues to figure out the meaning of each word in the boxes below.
Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words to complete the sentences that follow. Make necessary
changes where needed.
reap (Paragraph 1) harvesting (Paragraph 7) promotes (Paragraph
8)
boosters (Paragraph 12) thriving (Paragraph 14)
1. The organization is working with young people to _______________ awareness of the dangers of alcohol.
2. The once _______________ downtown has fallen into sleep decline since the new mall was built.
3. Everyone is interested in selling high quality products and _______________ higher profits.
4. In the US, winter wheat is _______________ in the early summer.

F. Productive skills.
Situation One: Speaking
You are a principal at a high school. Many teenagers there have mental problems like depression and trauma.
What contribution would your school make to help these teens? Present your proposal regarding this issue in a
5-7 minute oral presentation.

Situation Two: Writing

Prompt: Read the following quote about nutrition and mental health.
Girls developed eating disorders when our culture developed a standard of beauty that they couldn’t obtain by
being healthy. When unnatural thinness became attractive, girls did unnatural things to be thin. Mary Pipher

Write an essay in which you explain the above quotation. As you develop your essay, show how teenage-girls
are doing harm to their bodies to maintain a typical body based on present beauty standards.
In your essay, provide a thesis statement in the introduction, a topic sentence in each body paragraph and
support the main idea with relevant, specific and adequate details. Give examples drawn from your reading,
experience or observation. Your essay should be between 250-300 words with an appropriate title. Revise and
proofread your essay.
 Answer Key
Unit 1: Youth and Teenage Problems
Lesson 2: How Nutrition Affects Teens’ Mental Health

Preview
1. T 2. F 3. T

A. 1. Depression, anxiety, and trauma can be healed by appropriate nutrition plans.

2. Soil bacteria, in one way or another, promote the production of serotonin, a hormone responsible for positive
emotions.

3. Old people used to grow their own food and spend most of their time outdoors unlike people now who spend
so much of their days indoors.

4. Suggested Answer
There are many ways to reduce mental disorders like stress, anxiety, and depression among students. First,
schools can sell natural drinks like fresh orange juice instead of soda. Second, they can give students at least
two P.E classes per week. Finally, they can establish school clubs where students can do gardening.

5. a- it (Paragraph 6): food b- that (Paragraph 10): creative activity

B. 1. Extract A is the correct part that completes paragraph 12.

Extract B is the correct part that completes paragraph 13.

C. 1. Nutrients such as omega-3, Vitamins D and B, folic acid, magnesium and tryptophan contribute to good
mental health.
2. In the conclusion, the writer restates the main idea mentioned in the thesis sentence. What we eat and how we
eat have an impact on our mental health.

3. The thematic relationship is reinforcement. Paragraph 3 presents a study showing the positive effect of food
on mood; paragraph 4 supports the same idea.

4. It is an exemplification pattern of organization. The writer gives examples of nutrients that are good for our
mental health. The term “such as” is a clue that confirms this pattern of organization.

5. The two types of audience might be teen mental health providers to incorporate specific nutrition plans into
the daily diet of adolescents who suffer from depression, anxiety, trauma and other conditions, and teens to eat
high-quality, whole-foods diet.

D. 1. Accept answers as long as they are logical.

2. Suggested Answer:
I think the writer wants to say how important our metal state is and how it affects our physical health. Our bad
food choices will result in health problems like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc... It relates to me in
one way or another. When I’m not in a good mood, I take refuge in eating junk food; whereas, I’m more likely
to eat healthy food when I’m feeling well.

E.
1. promote 2. Thriving 3. reaping 4. harvested