Food, nutrition and health: the complete AQA GCSE module guide

The Food, nutrition and health module is the nutritional science core of AQA GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (8585). It explains what nutrients do, where they come from, how much different people need, and how an unbalanced diet causes disease. Master this module and you can plan and justify a healthy diet for any person, which is exactly what the exam asks.

What this module covers

The module has five connected areas:

• Macronutrients - the functions, food sources and effects of deficiency or excess for protein, fat and carbohydrate, including high and low biological value protein, saturated and unsaturated fat, and starch and free sugars.
• Micronutrients - the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), the water-soluble vitamins (B group and C), the main minerals and trace elements (calcium, iron, sodium, fluoride, iodine, phosphorus), and the importance of water and fibre.
• Nutritional needs across life - how needs change for babies, children, teenagers, adults, pregnant women and the elderly, and for conditions such as coeliac disease and diabetes.
• Energy balance and diet-related health - energy balance, basal metabolic rate, physical activity level, and the diseases caused by an unbalanced diet.
• Planning balanced diets - using the Eatwell Guide, the eight tips for healthy eating, reference intakes, and making healthier choices.

How it fits together

Nutrition runs in a logical chain: you first learn what each nutrient does (macro and micro), then how needs change for different people, then what goes wrong when the balance is off (energy balance and disease), and finally how to put it right by planning a balanced diet. Exam questions usually combine these, for example asking you to plan a meal for a teenager or to explain why a particular diet causes a particular disease.

Study tips

1. Learn the nutrient table cold. For every nutrient know its function, two good sources and the effect of too little or too much.
2. Remember the helper pairs. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium; vitamin C helps absorb iron.
3. Apply, do not just list. Higher marks come from linking nutrients to a named person or condition and from suggesting specific healthier swaps.

Work through the five dot point pages in this module, then test yourself with the module quiz.