Outbreak Lesson #5

In this lesson you will use the internet to find some information about nutritional diseases. At the start of the lesson, Dr Darben will give you a vitamin or mineral essential for proper body function. Use the internet to find answer the following questions about the nutrient you have been given and send an email to him with the answers. He will then put the answers together in a page which you can use to study nutritional deficiencies.

What is the name of your nutrient ?

Is it a vitamin or a mineral ?

What sorts of foods are rich in this nutrient ?

What role does this nutrient play in the body ?

Does a deficiency of it cause a disease ? What is the name of the disease state ?

What are the symptoms of the deficiency disease ?

Are some people more susceptible to the deficiency disease than others ? Explain why this is.

Is it possible to become sick from having too much of this nutrient ? What is the name given to this disease (if it exists) ?

HINT : There will be a lot of information about these out there. Don't just put "iron" into a search engine, as it won't know whether you're talking about the nutrient iron, iron ore mining, iron man competitions, Iron Man the comic book, irony, environmental degradation etc. Try limiting your search (eg. "iron" + "nutritional disorders"). You might even try putting in your nutrient and the question asked in quotes (this might find a FAQ or something similar).

HINT : Watch out for websites which are selling nutritional supplements. While most of these sites are responsible, some of them make outlandish and just plain wrong claims about the role of certain nutrients. Stick to the respectable scientific sites (the ones which are trying to sell you something) and ask if you're not sure.