Unit 28 :
Dietary Restrictions and Preferences

 Intermediate

Objective

To be able to share ideas about food preferences.

  • Brain Storm : Share your ideas with your teacher. Try to make sentences.

What is your healthy diet? Are you concerned about the foods you’re eating? Do you have food allergies? If so, what are they?

Vocabulary

Read the following words or phrases with your tutor and use it in a sentence.

  • vegan(adj)
  • organic(adj)
  • lactose intolerant(adj)
  • saturated fat(phr)
  • artificial flavors(phr)
  • gluten-free kosher(phr)
  • bloated(adj)
  • fatigued(n)
  • lose feeling(phr)

Carmela

Dialogue 1

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Carmela

Tony

Who did you invite over for dinner Saturday?

I invited Keith, Sung, Stephanie, and Luis.

You didn’t!

 I did. Why?

You’re going to have a hard time cooking for them. Keith is a vegan and only eats food that’s organic. Sung is lactose intolerant and his doctor put him on a low-salt diet.

Really? I didn’t know. How do you know so much about their diets?

I went on a trip with them and I’ll never do it again. We could never agree on a restaurant.

What about Stephanie and Luis?

Stephanie is a health nut, and doesn’t eat anything with saturated fat, added sugar, or artificial flavors. She also doesn’t eat red meat. And Luis, he can only eat gluten-free kosher foods.

This is a disaster. How am I going to cook for all four of them?

Beats me. Maybe you can turn it into a potluck. At least each of your guests will have one dish they can eat.

 I can’t invite my friends over for dinner and then tell them to bring their own food!

Well, you wanted a solution and beggars can’t be choosers.

You’re right. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Let’s Practice

Arrange the jumbled letters to come up with a word/ words. The words are used in the dialogue read. Give its  meaning also.

1. naicgro

2. tedsaratu

3. nagve

4. tolinntare

5. wol-atls ietd

6. taurantesr

Dialogue 2

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Dr. van Eyck

Nico

Good morning, I’m Dr. van Eyck. I understand that you’re not feeling well.

 That’s right, doctor. I’ve had a stomachache for three days. The pain comes and goes, but I also have heartburn and I am feeling bloated all the time.

Well, let’s take a look. Have you felt nauseous? Does it hurt when I press here?

Oh yes, that hurts, and I feel nauseous all the time. But, doctor, that’s not all. I’ve also had bad headaches in the past week and I feel fatigued all the time.

Have you had a stuffy nose, a cough, a sore throat, or an earache?

Yes, I’ve had all of those.

You have? All of them?

And, there’s more. I’ve been feeling pains in my leg. Sometimes it feels stiff and sometimes I lose feeling in it. I’m having a lot of trouble walking.

I have to say that you have an unusual combination of symptoms. Have there been any significant changes in your life in the past few days?

Well, my in-laws are visiting from out of town. Do you think you’ll need to admit me into the hospital for tests?

 I’m not sure that’s necessary. Are things really that bad at home?

You have no idea!

Discussion：

Share your ideas with your teacher.

1. When you buy food, do you read the label? What information can you find on the label?

2. Do you ever take any nutritional supplements? Which ones?

3. Do you take any action to consume less salt? Do you think people should reduce their salt intake?

4. Do you think that a vegetarian diet could be healthy? In what ways do you think it might be good and in what ways bad?

5. Do you, or anyone you know, suffer from food allergies? What problems do they cause?