Chapter 3: Health: The Ultimate Treasure
Original notes — ready CBSE (NCERT, English Medium) • Class 8 • Science • Book: Curiosity
Chapter 3: Health: The Ultimate Treasure — EG's own notes, in simple words
Book: Curiosity (CBSE, Class 8) | Chapter 3 | Medium: English
Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Diagram (labels are printed on the image): a balanced plate — vegetables, grains and pulses, and fruit. A general picture about balanced food, not a medical chart from the book.
Children playing and keeping clean. A general picture about healthy habits, not a book scene.
What the chapter is about
Health is our greatest treasure because without it we cannot learn, play or work well. Good health does not come from medicines alone. It comes from daily habits: eating balanced food, drinking clean water, exercising, sleeping well and keeping clean.
Our food must give us all the nutrients we need. Carbohydrates and fats give energy, proteins build and repair the body, vitamins and minerals protect us from diseases, and roughage helps digestion. A diet that gives all these in the right amounts is called a balanced diet. Eating only one kind of food can lead to deficiency diseases.
Staying healthy also means preventing disease. Washing hands, covering food, drinking safe water and keeping surroundings clean stop many infections from spreading. Vaccination trains the body's defence system, called immunity, so it can fight certain diseases better.
What you should learn
Notice what a balanced diet contains, how deficiency diseases arise, and which daily habits — hygiene, clean water, exercise and vaccination — protect health.
Key Terms
- Balanced diet — A diet that provides all nutrients — carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, roughage and water — in the right amounts.
- Nutrient — A substance in food that the body needs for energy, growth, repair or protection.
- Deficiency disease — A disease caused by the lack of a particular nutrient in the diet over a long time.
- Immunity — The body's ability to fight off disease-causing organisms.
- Vaccination — Giving a vaccine so the body learns to defend itself against a particular disease.
Remember
- A balanced diet gives all nutrients in the right amounts, not just one food in plenty.
- Proteins build and repair the body; carbohydrates and fats mainly give energy.
- Deficiency diseases come from a long-term lack of a nutrient.
- Hygiene, clean water and vaccination prevent many diseases.
Exam Tip / Common Mistake
Common mistake: saying that eating a lot of one healthy food is a balanced diet. Balance means variety — grains, pulses, vegetables, fruit and milk products together, in the right amounts.
Chart / Table: Nutrients and their jobs
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Carbohydrates | Main source of energy |
| Proteins | Growth and repair of the body |
| Fats | Energy and warmth; needed in small amounts |
| Vitamins and minerals | Protection from disease; body processes |
| Roughage and water | Healthy digestion; carrying nutrients |
Practice set — try it yourself
- What is a balanced diet?
Hint: Think about variety and right amounts. - Which nutrient mainly builds and repairs the body?
Hint: Think of pulses, milk and eggs. - What is a deficiency disease? Give one example.
Hint: Think about a nutrient missing for a long time. - Why is washing hands important for health?
Hint: Think about how infections spread. - How does vaccination help the body?
Hint: Think about training the body's defence.
Questions with Answers
- Why is health called the ultimate treasure?
Because without good health we cannot study, play, work or enjoy life properly. Money or possessions cannot replace a healthy body, so daily habits that protect health matter more than treatment after falling ill. - What does a balanced diet contain?
A balanced diet contains carbohydrates and fats for energy, proteins for growth and repair, vitamins and minerals for protection, roughage for digestion and enough water — all in the right amounts for the person's age and activity. - How do deficiency diseases develop?
When the diet lacks a particular nutrient for a long time, the body cannot carry out the job that nutrient does, and a deficiency disease appears. Eating a varied, balanced diet prevents most of them. - Why is personal hygiene important?
Washing hands, bathing, brushing teeth and keeping food covered remove or block disease-causing microbes. Many infections spread through dirty hands, unsafe water or uncovered food, so hygiene breaks that chain. - What is immunity, and how does vaccination help it?
Immunity is the body's power to fight disease-causing organisms. A vaccine introduces a safe form of the disease agent so the body learns to recognise and fight it quickly if the real disease appears later.
How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Use the Questions with Answers to check yourself afterwards. Ask your teacher or parent to check your answers.