Unit 2: Brain Maintenance
Student Guide Lesson 3
1. What are the objectives of today’s lesson?
● understand the difference between conscious and unconscious behaviors as they relate to
hunger and food choices
● outline the challenge some of the population face with food especially as it pertains to
eating disorders
● delineate the various effects that different food choices have on health
2. How does the brain regulate both unconscious and conscious functions in relation to survival?
● Unconscious Brain Function
- Shift blood to/from the skin
- Shivering to increase temperature
- Change in heart rate
● Conscious Brain Function
- Recognize that you feel cold (sensory)
- Remember where your jacket is (memory)
- Decide to get your jacket
- Put your jacket on (coordination/vision)
- You may also seek a warmer environment/shelter
3. What are the main life sustaining behaviors?
● Eating
- Remember that neurons drive our thinking, learning, feeling and state of being
- neurons need nutrients
- Energy is generated from food and regulates growth and change of cells
● Drinking
- Our brain depends on proper hydration to function optimally
- Blood, muscles, lungs, and brain all contain water
- You need water to regulate body temperature and provide the means of travel for
nutrients
U2L3 Student Guide 1
● Reproduction
- When we reproduce, it is done for the survival of the species
- Sexual behavior in both men and women is as fundamental as eating
4. Why do we eat?
● Your personal motivation depends on several factors including how long it has been since
your last meal and how much you ate at your last meal
● How much we eat at a meal is influenced by how hungry we are, the taste of the food and
what type we have eaten
● When we eat and begin to digest food, your body sends a signal that tells the brain to stop
eating and don’t eat for a period of time
5. What is the relationship between your brain and food?
● The brain helps us make choices about food based on experiences and how each food
nourishes our body
● The kind of nutrients in your food is more important than the calories.
6. Why is eating important to your overall well-being?
● Without glucose (brain food) you will eventually lose consciousness and have no energy
● Your brain has set up some long-term feeding behaviors to ensure that you are motivated to
eat for survival
● It is important to remember that your body’s energy stores are replenished during and
immediately after eating
7. Why is it difficult to learn if you are hungry?
● When food is scarce, the body uses up fat
● Hunger makes you less attentive because your brain does not have its own supply of energy
● Your body produces several hormones that stimulate eating if you are hungry
U2L3 Student Guide 2
8. Why is breakfast important?
● You fast when you are asleep
● When you’re awake, you need breakfast to provide a fresh dose of fuel = glucose
● Without eating breakfast, you may find difficulty understanding new information and/or
remembering it
● Breakfast provides energy for your day
● Morning: blood sugar is low
● Breakfast brings it up; provides sugar for the day
● Skipping breakfast: no sugar supplies for energy
9. Draw the Triad below (in relevance to eating)
-action/decision “healthy food choices”
-rewards “it tastes so good”
-threat “will I gain or lose weight”
10. List some health risks of obesity.
- diabetes
- high blood pressure
- stroke
- heart attack
- gout
11. What is the reality of obesity?
● Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States
● Over two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, and one in three Americans is obese
● The prevalence of obesity in children has increased markedly, with approximately 20%-25%
of children either overweight or obese
12. What causes Obesity?
● Genetics – person is more likely to develop obesity if one or both parents are obese
● Overeating – overeating leads to weight gain, especially if the diet is high in fat or sugar
13. What is diabetes?
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● Diabetes – inability to move elevated glucose from the blood into tissues
● Insulin – protein (hormone) that maintains energy balance
● Insulin Injections – regulates insulin levels
14. What is an eating disorder?
● Any of several psychological disorders characterized by serious disturbances of eating
behavior
● At least 30 million people of all ages and gender suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S.
● Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness
● 13%% of women over 50 engage in eating disorder behaviors
● Genetics, environmental factors, and personality traits all combine to create risk for an eating
disorder
15. How do eating disorders effect the brain?
● During prolonged malnourishment, the body’s organs begin to shut down due to lack of
nutrients and calorie energy
● The brain is an organ, and when it doesn’t get enough nutrients, it can not function properly
● Damage to the brain as with any other organ is from severe vitamin damage
● The neurological consequences may worsen the longer someone struggles with an eating
disorder; and in many people, cognitive dysfunction begins in older age
16. What are some resources you can use if you or someone else has an eating disorder?
● Encourage them to seek help
● Contact your primary care provider
● Speak with the school counselor
● Contact the National Eating Disorder Association
17. What are some behaviors for weight loss or weight gain?
● Starvation Diets - when people significantly reduce their caloric intake or stop eating all
together
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● Fad Diets – diets that become popular through marketing that are not scientifically proven or
even safe in some cases
● Drugs – there are over the counter drugs, prescription diet drugs and uses of illegal drugs for
weight loss or weight gain
● Purging – most common type is self-induced vomiting
● Laxative Abuse – when a person attempts to eliminate unwanted calories or lose weight
through repeated use of laxatives
● Smoking – could lead to weight loss by increasing the metabolic rate, decreasing metabolic
efficiency, or decreasing caloric absorption, all of which are associated with use
● Eating excessive amounts of one type of food
18. What are some safe and successful ways to achieve weight loss?
● Commitment to proper diet and exercise plan
- Eat a variety of foods
- Balance food intake with physical exercise
● Focus
- Grains, Veggies and Fruits
- Low in Fat, Saturated Fat and Cholesterol
- Moderate Sugar
- Moderate Salt and Sodium
19. How much water should you drink per day?
● The answer varies from person to person
● Factors that do influence water intake involve exercise, weather/temperature and current
health
● You get a small amount of fluid from the foods you eat
20. List a few concepts from the summary slide.
● a healthy diet full of nutrition and hydration will fuel your brain and allow you to learn and
perform optimally
U2L3 Student Guide 5
● the brain recognizes the difference between pleasant and unpleasant doods and
encourages us to eat more or less based on its decision
● certain types of foods stimulate different activities in the brain
● the brain recognizes the difference between pleasant and unpleasant foods and encourages
us to eat more or less based on its decision
U2L3 Student Guide 6
