Dietary supplements could be bad for you

 

Dietary supplements could be bad for you   

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIU1rXLcu3U

Millions of people around the world take dietary supplements in the belief that they will boost their health. New research casts doubt on the benefits of these pills and tablets. A new report from the American organisation Consumer Reports (CR) found serious health risks from supplements that included vitamins, probiotics, and weight loss pills. CR said the biggest problem with supplements is that they are largely unregulated. While medicinal drugs have to be tested for safety and effectiveness, dietary supplements need far less government approval in many countries. This means that consumers are largely in the dark regarding the ingredients of the supplements and how the body will react to them.

Lisa Gill, an editor at CR, said the report showed how dangerous many supplements were. She said they could cause liver failure, kidney failure requiring kidney transplants, seizures, and heart problems. Gill added: "Just because it's not prescription, you say, 'oh, it's safe,' but that's not necessarily true." Gill urges consumers to avoid 15 ingredients commonly found in supplements, including red yeast and caffeine powder. She warned: "There have been deaths associated with each of these." She told people to seek medical help before taking supplements. She said: "Tell your doctor and your pharmacist what you're taking. Treat it like a medication. It's that important. It's really about your health."

3. WASTE: Students A strongly believe supplements are a waste of money; Students B strongly believe they are very effective.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

4. HEALTH: How do these things affect our health? What can we do to be healthier? Discuss this

  • Supplements
  • Sleep
  • Work
  • Food
  • Family and friends
  • Money

5. BELIEF: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "belief". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. WELL-BEING: Rank these. Put the best important things for our well-being at the top.

·         exercise

·         good food

·         sleep

·         shelter

·         dietary supplements

·         no stress

·         money

·         happiness

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article says people take dietary supplements to boost their height.    T / F
  2. Research casts doubt on whether or not supplements are good for us.     T / F
  3. The biggest problem with supplements is the lack of regulation.     T / F
  4. The article said its best to take supplements in the dark.     T / F
  5. An editor said a report shows that supplements can cause kidney failure. T / F
  6. Things that don't need a prescription are not harmful to us.     T / F
  7. The report lists 50 ingredients for us to avoid.     T / F
  8. The editor said we treat supplements the same as medication.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. belief
  2. boost
  3. doubt
  4. effectiveness
  5. react
  6. dangerous
  7. seizures
  8. necessarily
  9. treat
  10. health
  1. improve
  2. automatically
  3. hazardous
  4. respond
  5. deal with
  6. uncertainty
  7. well-being
  8. opinion
  9. fits
  10. value

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. New research casts
  2. weight
  3. medicinal drugs have to be
  4. consumers are largely in
  5. how the body will
  6. She said they could cause liver
  7. that's not necessarily
  8. Gill urges consumers
  9. Tell your doctor and your pharmacist
  10. Treat it
  1. what you're taking
  2. the dark
  3. true
  4. doubt on the benefits
  5. to avoid 15 ingredients
  6. tested for safety
  7. like a medication
  8. loss pills
  9. failure
  10. react to them

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

serious
far
doubt
safety
react
belief
largely
loss

Millions of people around the world take dietary supplements in the (1) ____________ that they will boost their health. New research casts (2) ____________ on the benefits of these pills and tablets. A new report from the American organisation Consumer Reports (CR) found (3) ____________ health risks from supplements that included vitamins, probiotics, and weight (4) ____________ pills. CR said the biggest problem with supplements is that they are largely unregulated. While medicinal drugs have to be tested for (5) ____________ and effectiveness, dietary supplements need (6) ____________ less government approval in many countries. This means that consumers are (7) ____________ in the dark regarding the ingredients of the supplements and how the body will (8) ____________ to them.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

necessarily
failure
medical
including
pharmacist
prescription
seizures
associated

Lisa Gill, an editor at CR, said the report showed how dangerous many supplements were. She said they could cause liver (9) ____________, kidney failure requiring kidney transplants, (10) ____________, and heart problems. Gill added: "Just because it's not (11) ____________, you say, 'oh, it's safe,' but that's not (12) ____________ true." Gill urges consumers to avoid 15 ingredients commonly found in supplements, (13) ____________ red yeast and caffeine powder. She warned: "There have been deaths (14) ____________ with each of these." She told people to seek (15) ____________ help before taking supplements. She said: "Tell your doctor and your (16) ____________ what you're taking. Treat it like a medication. It's that important. It's really about your health."

Comprehension questions

  1. What do people think dietary supplements will do to their health?
  2. What does new research cast on the benefits of supplements?
  3. What does the article say is the biggest problem with supplements?
  4. What does the article say needs to be tested for safety?
  5. Where are consumers regarding knowledge of what's in supplements?
  6. What is Lisa Gill's job?
  7. What could happen to your liver or kidneys because of supplements?
  8. How many ingredients did Lisa Gill advise people to avoid?
  9. What kind of powder was mentioned?
  10. What does Lisa Gill tell us to treat supplements like?

Role play

Role A — Dietary supplements

You think taking dietary supplements is the best thing for our health. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): no stress, exercise or sleep.

Role B — No stress

You think no stress is the best thing for our health. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): dietary supplements, exercise or sleep.

Role C — Exercise

You think exercise is the best thing for our health. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): no stress, dietary supplements or sleep.

Role D — Sleep

You think sleep is the best thing for our health. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): no stress, exercise or dietary supplements.

Discussion - Dietary supplements could be bad for you

  1. What springs to mind when you hear the word 'supplement'?
  2. What do you think of taking vitamins and supplements?
  3. What are the dangers of supplements?
  4. Why don't people eat more healthily instead of taking supplements?
  5. How healthy is your diet?
  6. Why do people think they need supplements?
  7. What surprised you about what you read?
  8. Why aren't supplements more regulated?
  9. How much do you know about supplements?
  1. How healthy do you think you are?
  2. Has what you read changed your mind about supplements?
  3. How dangerous is it to take things without a prescription?
  4. How much do you trust medicines?
  5. Would you ask a doctor before taking supplements?
  6. What are the healthiest things you can eat?
  7. Do we really need supplements?
  8. How good are you at taking care of your health?
  9. What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

Spelling

Paragraph 1

  1. in the elfieb that they will
  2. casts tdbuo on the benefits
  3. imintvas, probiotics, and weight loss pills
  4. they are largely ungeldeutra
  5. ilncdieam drugs
  6. the nnisdgreeit of the supplements

Paragraph 2

  1. requiring kidney tnpaslsnrat
  2. Just because it's not prrietsnoipc
  3. but that's not inaclssryee true.
  4. deaths aiadctseos with each of these
  5. Tell your doctor and your acpitamhrs
  6. Treat it like a dancmioeti

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Electric-car battery charges in five minutes

  Electric-car battery charges in five minutes     watch:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U1a2UOVs3M Car makers are spending a lot of money on electric cars. In the future, electric cars will replace petrol cars. Environmentalists believe this will reduce the amount of CO2 put into the atmosphere. A big problem for electric cars is charging the battery. Some batteries in today's electric cars can take up to 12 hours to charge fully. However, a company in Israel says it has created a lithium-ion battery that people can charge in just five minutes. This is the same amount of time it takes to fill a tank of gas with petrol. The new lithium-ion batteries were developed by the Israeli company StoreDot. They are being manufactured by a Chinese company called Eve Energy. The new batteries could totally transform driving. They would mean electric cars would be able to travel as far as petrol cars. Many people with electric cars today suffer from "range anxiety". This ...
Read more

EU angers UK by calling Gibraltar a 'colony'

Watch:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfrWWQ4Kfy8   The United Kingdom has objected to the European Union's use of the word "colony" to describe the island of Gibraltar. The European Council (a body that defines the EU's political direction) produced a document regarding UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit. It says in a footnote: "Gibraltar is a colony of the British Crown. There is a controversy between Spain and the UK concerning the sovereignty over Gibraltar, a territory for which a solution has to be reached." A UK government spokesperson said: "Gibraltar is not a colony and it is completely inappropriate to describe it in this way. She added: "Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family....This will not change due to our exit from the EU." Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Morocco. It is home to over 30,000 people. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured it from Spa...
Read more

Chimpanzees love dancing, say researchers

  Chimpanzees love dancing, say researchers   Who knew that chimpanzees love to dance? They also like to clap along to music, and nod their head, tap their feet and move in time with the rhythm. A new study shows that chimpanzees could appreciate music. The researchers are from Kyoto University in Japan. They say their study could help us understand how early humans developed an interest in music. Researchers Dr Yuko Hattori and professor Masaki Tomonaga conducted tests on seven chimps. They played the apes six two-minute songs on a piano for six days. The researchers said the chimps had a definite sense of rhythm and it changed their mood. The male chimpanzees seemed to respond to the melodies more than the females. The researchers wrote that chimpanzees could have passed on a liking for music and dance to early humans millions of years ago. This could have happened via a common ancestor around six million years ago. The researchers said the study suggested that our love...
Read more