ISTITUTO TECNICO INDUSTRIALE STATALE “Antonio Pacinotti”- 84018 SCAFATI (Salerno) Via don Angelo Pagano, 1 tel. 0818507590 fax 0818563843 Codice Istituto: SATF04000D – URL: www.itipacinotti.it - e-mail: info@itipacinotti.it Indirizzi: Meccanica - Elettrotecnica e Automazione - Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni COMENIUS PARTNERSHIPS Title of the Partnership: “FOOD AND HEALTH”

A healthy and balanced diet is one that helps maintain or improve health. It is important for the prevention of many chronic diseases such as: obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. It involves consuming appropriate amounts of the all food groups, including an adequate amount of water. Nutrients can be obtained from many different foods, so there are a wide variety of healthy diets. Eating a balanced diet means choosing a wide variety of foods and drinks in relation to own daily energy needs that depend on weight, sex and activities of a person. It also means eating certain things in moderation like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and others elements for supporting normal growth and development.

The quantities of these elements, to be taken every day, differ substantially between adults and adolescents; indeed, for their daily energy needs, adults must take 65% of carbohydrates, 10% of proteins, 25% of lipids, while adolescents must take 55% of carbohydrates, 15% of proteins, 30% of lipids. So, everyone needs a certain amount of daily essential elements that must be treated during the day and a distribution of food rations in a balanced number of meals involves the construction of a food list and the associated heat distribution. Besides, the caloric needs of a daily diet can be determined like this: 20-25% at breakfast, 5% at snack, 35-40% at lunch, 5% at snack and 30-35% at dinner.

The first threat of a balanced diet is represented by junk food. Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods which are perceived to have little or no nutritional value, or to products with nutritional value but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten, or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all. The term was coined by Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in 1972 for describing substantially the food distributed by fast food restaurants spread after the second world war in US.

A new study compares fast food and table service meals at restaurants A new study compares fast food and table service meals at restaurants. Results show that both are larger and have more calories than meals prepared at home, with the typical fast food meal being smaller and having fewer calories than the average meal from a table service restaurant. Examples are: hamburger, hot dog, chips, and often, eating “fast foods” people use to drink soft drinks that are often carbonated and commonly consumed while cold.

Just about all the food in a fast food industry is processed, so much of the flavor is destroyed. So flavor has to be added. For simple hamburgers contain different additives including beef extract or unknow animal products, and the buns and condiments also have artificial additives added to them.

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or improve its taste and appearance. Considerable controversy has been associated with the potential threats and possible benefits of food additives. Most food additives are cosidered safe. However, some are known to be carcinogenic or toxic: hyperactivity in children, allergies, asthma, and migraines are often associated with adverse reations to food additives. Since 1987 Australia has had an approved system of labelling for additives in packaged foods. Each food additive has to be named or numbered. The numbers are the same as in Europe, but without the prefix 'E'.

A type of food additives widely used are the sweeteners A type of food additives widely used are the sweeteners. They can be substances both natural and synthetic used in food for their sweetness, replacing the traditional sucrose. They can be useful, as they reduce the caloric content in products called “light”, for those people suffering from diabetes or being on low-calorie diets. An example are Sorbitol and Xylitol. But as in fables there are also bad, harmful sweeteners which are toxic and carcinogen like Saccharin and Aspartame which have a strong carcinogenic power

Other harmful products, if used in high doses, are thickeners, stabilizers, preservatives, antioxidants. Antioxidants prevent the browning of foods but can cause kidney stones, skin irritation, liver damage. Stabilizers retain water in the products and their intake may cause an increase in cholesterol. Preservatives are used for coloring products such as red meat and are used to prevent swelling in cheese. Thickeners such as arabic gum can cause toxic bowel disorders.

It’s necessary that producers don’t attempt to people’s health, but it is also important that people learn to read with attention labels to avoid products full of additives. So, following a healthy diet and eat only natural and specific products is important to avoid some food desease that can cause death.

One of the most important healthy diet is Mediterranean one. When we speak of Mediterranean diet, we usually identify with this term Italy or Greece known for their life style and food habits but we must not forget that there are more than 15 other countries that include the United States, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Spain, France.

These countries although of different cultures, ethnic groups, religions, they have in common some characteristics  that are: - High consumption of  fruit, vegetables, potatoes, beans, walnuts, seeds, bread and cereals - Use of olive oil for cooking and as condiment - Moderate quantities of fish but little meat - Moderate quantities of fat cheese and whole yogurt - Moderate consumption of wine, usually at meals - Diet based on fresh  in season local products - Active life style

“Mediterranean Diet” is a word coined in the 60’s by Ancel Keys, an American researcher who, in the 50’s, after a long stay in the South of Italy, Campania, observed that the ratio between mortality and cause/death of the people living there, was very low for cardiovascular diseases. From this study emerged that mortality for ischaemic cardiopaty was sharply inferior between the countries bordering the Mediterranean. The mediterranean diet find his origins in the history of our country, get to us by traditions, in the form and in habits from the Greek alimentary customs. This habits remind unchanged and kept through the ages, first from the misery that had characterized all the medieval time, when people had to integrate to the poor diet, land products and vegetables, and following from the Southern peasant traditions.

In Italy, during the 19 th century the mediterranean diet has assumed many changes.At the beginning of the century, infact, the population used to eat food like: pasta, bread, eggs, oil, vegetables and all others foods, included in the old food pyramid. Today instead, the population is taking again the alimentary habits of the mediterranean diet adding to it new foods.

COMENIUS PARTNERSHIPS “Food & Health” Concluding, is emotionally that we are going to put an end to the project "Comenius", that led us around the Europe: twice in Romania, first in Iasi and then in Bucharest, in Amora, Portugal, and in Nazilli, Turkey, and finally here, in Cava dei Tirreni. We visited beautiful places, we shared with friends from other countries feelings and emotions that have enriched us culturally and humanly. COMENIUS PARTNERSHIPS

We thank all families who hosted us, teachers of all visited schools, all guys who have become our friends, the school project leader “Vanvitelli”, the headmaster Matilde Piselli and the coordinator of all activities teacher Barrella. We thank the headmaster of the school “Pacinotti”, Salvatore Ferramosca, and our teacher who have taken part in this project ,and choosing us, they allowed us to live this experience that will remain in our mind and in our heart, forever.

We hope to see you again in Italy. We believe that this experience didn’t enrich not only us who lived it, but all the school “Pacinotti”, that with all components, supported this cultural Exchange. Thank you!!! We hope to see you again in Italy. For last, we should show you something….