CTECHJHS 1 • Term 3Topic 13Free Trial Lesson
Food Commodities and Nutrients
Classification of foods into major nutrient groups, Ghanaian indigenous food commodities, balanced diets, and deficiency diseases.
Curated Video Lesson
Visual explanation and practical step-by-step walk-through
Comprehensive Study Notes
Aligned with Ghana NaCCA & WAEC BECE syllabus standards
Topic Introduction & Real-World Context:
Nutrition and food studies form an integral branch of Career Technology. Understanding the chemical classes of nutrients, indigenous Ghanaian food commodities, balanced meal formulation, and nutritional deficiency diseases equips learners to make healthy dietary choices and prevent malnutrition.
What You Will Master in This Lesson (NaCCA Objectives):
Categorize nutrients into carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water.
Classify indigenous Ghanaian food commodities into their primary nutritional groups.
Plan balanced meals suitable for adolescents and manual workers using affordable local foods.
Identify nutritional deficiency diseases (kwashiorkor, marasmus, scurvy, rickets, goitre, anemia) and their dietary remedies.
1. The Six Classes of Nutrients
Nutrients perform distinct, complementary metabolic functions:
1. Carbohydrates: Body's primary fuel source (yielding 4 kcal/g). Starch found in cassava, yam, plantain, maize; sugars in honey and ripe fruits.
2. Proteins: Building blocks of muscle tissue, enzymes, and hormones (yielding 4 kcal/g). Animal protein (complete): eggs, fish, meat, milk; Plant protein (incomplete): beans, groundnuts, cowpeas, soya.
3. Fats and Oils (Lipids): Concentrated energy store (yielding 9 kcal/g), organ cushioning, and carrier for fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K). Red palm oil, shea butter, groundnut oil.
4. Vitamins: Protective micronutrients regulating bodily biochemistry:
- Vitamin A: Vision and epithelial health (red palm oil, mango, carrots). Deficiency: Night blindness.
- Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): Energy release (whole cereals). Deficiency: Beriberi.
- Vitamin C: Collagen synthesis, gum health, wound healing (citrus, guava, tomatoes). Deficiency: Scurvy.
- Vitamin D: Calcium absorption (sunlight, egg yolk). Deficiency: Rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults.
5. Minerals: Inorganic metabolic regulators:
- Iron: Forms hemoglobin in red blood cells (kontomire/cocoyam leaves, liver). Deficiency: Anemia.
- Calcium & Phosphorus: Bone and tooth density (milk, small whole fish with bones).
- Iodine: Thyroid hormone production (iodated salt, sea crabs). Deficiency: Goitre.
6. Water & Fiber (Roughage): Water maintains cell hydration and waste removal; dietary fiber promotes intestinal peristalsis, preventing constipation.
Key Takeaway: A balanced diet provides all six classes of nutrients in the correct proportions required for healthy growth and energy.
2. Ghanaian Indigenous Food Commodities
NaCCA classifies Ghanaian local foods into six functional commodity groups:
Roots and Tubers: Cassava, yam, cocoyam, sweet potato (energy-rich starches).
Cereals and Grains: Maize, rice, millet, sorghum (staple energy and B-vitamins).
Legumes and Oilseeds: Cowpeas, bambara beans, groundnuts, melon seeds / agushie (rich plant proteins and healthy oils).
Animal Foods: Tilapia, mudfish, herrings, beef, goat meat, eggs, snails, bushmeat (high-biological-value protein, iron, calcium).
Vegetables and Fruits: Kontomire, garden eggs, okro, gboma, tomatoes, oranges, pawpaw, pineapple (vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber).
Fats and Oils: Red palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, shea butter (concentrated lipids and beta-carotene).
Key Takeaway: Combining cereals with legumes (e.g. rice and beans in Waakye) provides complementary amino acids equivalent to animal protein.
3. Malnutrition and Deficiency Diseases
Imbalances in nutrient intake cause specific pathological deficiency states:
Protein-Energy Malnutrition (PEM):
- Kwashiorkor: Severe protein deficiency despite adequate carbohydrate calories. Symptoms: protruding belly (edema), swollen moon face, reddish thinning hair, peeling skin dermatitis.
- Marasmus: Total starvation of both calories and proteins. Symptoms: severe wasting, ribs clearly visible, 'old person' facial appearance, extreme emaciation.
Micronutrient Deficiencies:
- Anemia: Pale palms, fatigue, dizziness due to lack of iron; cured by eating kontomire and liver.
- Goitre: Swollen thyroid gland in neck due to lack of iodine; prevented by using iodated cooking salt.
- Scurvy: Bleeding gums and loose teeth from Vitamin C deficiency; cured by eating citrus fruits.
Key Takeaway: Kwashiorkor is caused by severe protein deficiency (edema); Marasmus is caused by total starvation of both energy and protein (wasting).
Common Mistakes Students Make in BECE Examinations:
⚠️Confusing Kwashiorkor (protein deficiency with swollen belly) with Marasmus (general starvation with emaciation).
⚠️Believing that red palm oil is purely fattening (unrefined palm oil is Ghana's richest natural source of pro-Vitamin A / carotene).
⚠️Assuming dietary fiber is a nutrient that gets absorbed into the bloodstream (fiber is indigestible cellulose that cleans the bowels).
Teacher's BECE Exam Pro-Tips:
⭐Know the deficiency diseases for Vitamins A, C, D, Iron, and Iodine.
⭐Be prepared to construct a 3-course balanced Ghanaian menu using local commodities.
Quick Revision Summary Checklist:
I know the 6 classes of nutrients and their functions.
I can classify Ghanaian local foods into commodity groups.
I can distinguish between Kwashiorkor and Marasmus.
Step-by-Step Worked Examples (2)
Real BECE exam-standard problems with complete solution steps
Example 1: Planning a Balanced Ghanaian Meal
Problem StatementCompose a nutritionally balanced lunch using affordable, locally available Ghanaian ingredients.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Energy base (Carbohydrate): Boiled plantain and yam (Ampesi).
Step 2: Protective vegetables & minerals: Kontomire (cocoyam leaves) stew with tomatoes and onions.
Step 3: Growth protein: Sautéed boiled egg and smoked herrings/salmon in the stew.
Step 4: Lipids: Red palm oil (Zomi) used in frying the stew, supplying Vitamin A.
Step 5: Hydration & dessert: Clean drinking water and fresh pawpaw/orange slice.
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Key Takeaway / Exam Rule: A balanced meal incorporates all major nutrient classes proportionally from local commodities.
Example 2: Preventing Iron-Deficiency Anemia
Problem StatementA student feels constantly fatigued, pale, and dizzy. What local food can the school kitchen provide to combat this?
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Fatigue and pallor are classic symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia.
Step 2: Cocoyam leaves (kontomire) and moringa are exceptionally rich in non-heme iron.
Step 3: Pair kontomire with Vitamin C (e.g. tomatoes or orange juice) to dramatically enhance bodily iron absorption.
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Key Takeaway / Exam Rule: Consuming iron-rich greens like kontomire combined with Vitamin C cures and prevents nutritional anemia.
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