Healthy Intentions Reading Answers

Dec 13, 2022

Healthy Intentions Reading Answers contain comprehensive passages and 13 different types of questions. Candidates will be shown various question types with clear instructions in this IELTS Section. Healthy Intentions Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For the Matching heading, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. For sentence completion, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Healthy Intentions Reading Answers

Most of us have healthy intentions when it comes to the food we eat. But it can be tough. Especially when you consider that our bodies have not properly adapted to our highly processed fast-food diets.

One hundred years ago, the leading causes of death in the industrial world were infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, and pneumonia. Since then the emergence of antibiotics, vaccines, and public health controls has reduced the impact of infectious disease. Today, the top killers are non-infectious illnesses related essentially to lifestyle (diet smoking, and lack of exercise). The main causes of death in the United States in 1997 were heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Chronic health problems, such as obesity, non insulin-dependent diabetes, and osteoporosis, which are not necessarily lethal but nonetheless debilitating, are steadily increasing. It is clear that economic and technical progress is no assurance of good health.

Humans are quantitatively different from other animals because we manipulate the flow of energy and resources through the ecosystem to our advantage, and consequently to the detriment of other organisms. That is why we compete so successfully with other species. But with this success come some inherent failings, particularly in terms of our health.

According to physician Boyd Eaton and his anthropologist colleagues, despite all our technological wizardry and intellectual advances, modern humans are seriously malnourished. The human body evolved to eat a very different diet from that which most of us consume today. Before the advent of agriculture, about ten thousand years ago, people were hunter-gatherers, the food varied with the seasons and climate, and all were obtained from local sources. Our ancestors rarely, if ever, ate grains or drank the milk of other animals.

Although ten thousand years seems a long time ago, 99.99 percent of our genetic material was already formed. Thus we are not well adapted to an agriculturally based diet of cereals and dairy products. At least 100,000 generations of people were hunter-gatherers, only 500 generations have depended on agriculture, only ten generations have lived since the onset of the industrial age and only two generations have grown up with highly processed fast foods. Physicians Randolph Nesse and George Williams write: ‘Our bodies were designed over the course of millions of years of lives spent in small groups hunting and gathering on the plains of Africa. Natural selection has not had time to revise our bodies for coping with fatty diets, automobiles, drugs, artificial lights, and central heating. From this mismatch between our design and our environment arises much, perhaps most, preventable modern disease.’

Do we really want to eat like prehistoric humans’? Surely cavemen were not healthy? Surely their life was hard and short? Apparently not. Archaeological evidence indicates that these hunter- gatherer ancestors were robust, strong, and lean with no sign of osteoporosis or arthritis —- even at more advanced ages. Paleolithic humans ate a diet similar to that of wild chimpanzees and gorillas today: raw fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetation, fresh untreated water, insects, and wild-game meat low in saturated fats. Much of their food was hard and bitter. Most important, like chimpanzees and gorillas, prehistoric humans ate a wide variety of plants — an estimated 100 to 300 different types in one year. Nowadays, even health-conscious, rich westerners seldom consume more than twenty to thirty different species of plants.

The early human diet is estimated to have included more than 100 grams of fiber a day. Today, the recommended level of 30 grams is rarely achieved by most of us. Humans and lowland gorillas share similar digestive tracts — in particular, the colon — but, while gorillas derive up to 60 percent of their total energy from fiber fermentation in the colon, modern humans get only about 4 percent. When gorillas are brought into captivity and fed on lower-fiber diets containing meat and eggs, they suffer from many common human disorders: cardiovascular disease, ulcerative colitis, and high cholesterol. Their natural diet, rich in antioxidants and fiber apparently prevents these diseases in the wild, suggesting that such a diet may have serious implications for our own health.

Not all agricultural societies have taken the same road. Many traditional agriculturalists maintain the diversity of their diet by eating a variety of herbs and other plant compounds, along with meat and grain. The Hausa people of northern Nigeria, for example, traditionally include up to twenty wild medicinal plants in their grain-based soups, and peoples who have become heavily reliant on animal products have found ways of countering the negative effects of such a diet. While the Masai of Africa eat meat and drink blood, milk, and animal fat as their only sources of protein, they suffer less heart trouble than Westerners. One reason is that they always combine theiranimal products with strong, bitter antioxidant herbs. In other words, the Masai have balanced the intake of oxidizing and anti-oxidizing compounds. According to Timothy Johns, it is not the high intake of animal fat or the low intake of antioxidants that creates so many health problems in industrial countries; it is the lack of balance between the two.

Eating the right foods and natural medicines requires sensitivity to subtle changes in appetite. Do | fancy something sweet, sour, salty, stimulating, or sedating? What sort of hunger is it? And after consumption, has the need been satisfied? Such subtleties are easily overridden by artificially created super-stimuli in processed foods that leave us unable to select a healthy diet. We need to listen more carefully to our bodies’ cravings and take an intentional role in maintaining our health before disease sets in.

Section 2

Solution with Explanation
Questions 1- 7:
The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? You may use any letter more than once.

a reference to systems for neutralizing some harmful features of modem diets

Answer: G
Supporting Statement: not all agricultural societies have taken the same road. Many traditional agriculturalists maintain the diversity of their diet by eating a variety of herbs and other plant compounds, along with meat and grain.
Keywords: agricultural societies, traditional agriculturalists, diversity, meat and grain.
Keyword location: Paragraph G
Explanation: These phrases appear to be a link to the mechanisms for counteracting some detrimental aspects of contemporary diets. So, G is the correct response.

a suggestion as to why mankind has prospered

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: Humans are quantitatively different from other animals. Because we manipulate the flow of energy and resources through the ecosystem to our advantage, and consequently to the detriment of other organisms. That is why we compete so successfully with other species. But with this success come some inherent failings, particularly in terms of our health.
Keywords: energy, resources, organisms, inherent failings.
Keyword location: Paragraph B
Explanation: These statements offer an explanation for why humanity has succeeded. So, B is the correct response.

an example of what happens if a balanced, plant-based diet is abandoned

Answer: F
Supporting Statement: when gorillas are brought into captivity and fed on lower-fiber diets containing meat and eggs, they suffer from many common human disorders. These includes cardiovascular disease, ulcerative colitis, and high cholesterol. Their natural diet, rich in antioxidants and fiber apparently prevents these diseases in the wild. Further, suggesting that such a diet may have serious implications for our own health.
Keywords: gorillas, meat and eggs, cardiovascular disease, ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol.
Keyword location: Paragraph F, last line
Explanation: These words offer a hypothetical illustration of what can occur if a healthy plant-based food is abandoned. The solution is therefore F.

a chronological outline of the different types of diet mankind has lived on

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: Although ten thousand years seems a long time ago, 99.99 percent of our genetic material was already formed. Thus we are not well adapted to an agriculturally based diet of cereals and dairy products. At least 100,000 generations of people were hunter-gatherers. However, only 500 generations have depended on agriculture, only ten generations have lived since the onset of the industrial age. And only two generations have grown up with highly processed fast foods.
Keywords: dairy products, hunter-gatherers, ten generations, industrial age, fast foods.
Keyword location: Paragraph D
Explanation: These lines provide a chronological overview of the many diets that humans have followed throughout history. The solution is hence D.

details of which main factors now threaten human life

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: one hundred years ago, the leading causes of death in the industrial world were infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, and pneumonia. Since then the emergence of antibiotics, vaccines, and public health controls has reduced the impact of infectious disease. Today, the top killers are non-infectious illnesses related essentially to lifestyle (diet smoking, and lack of exercise).
Keywords: antibiotics, vaccines, public health controls, non-infectious illness.
Keyword location: Paragraph A
Explanation: The last word of the paragraph also makes note of the fact that advancements in technology and the economy do not guarantee good health. These sentences make clear that non-infectious diseases currently pose the greatest threat to human life. So, the response is A.

a reference to one person’s theory about the cause of some of today’s Illnesses

Answer: G
Supporting Statement: according to Timothy Johns, it is not the high intake of animal fat or the low intake of antioxidants. This creates so many health problems in industrial countries. It is the lack of balance between the two.
Keywords: Timothy John's, low intake, antioxidants, health problems.
Keyword location: Paragraph G, last line
Explanation: These sentences allude to Timothy John's theory regarding the origin of various modern ailments.

detail of the varied intake of early humans

Answer: E
Supporting Statement: archaeological evidence indicates that Paleolithic humans ate a diet similar to that of wild chimpanzees and gorillas today: raw fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetation, fresh untreated water, insects, and wild-game meat low in saturated fats. Much of their food was hard and bitter. Most important, like chimpanzees and gorillas, prehistoric humans ate a wide variety of plants – an estimated 100 to 300 different types in one year. Nowadays, even health-conscious, rich westerners seldom consume more than twenty to thirty different species of plants.
Keywords: paleolithic humans, vegetation, prehistoric humans, health-conscious.
Keyword location: Paragraph E, line 3
Explanation: These lines imply that early humans consumed a variety of foods. The solution is therefore E.

Question 8-13:
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

An increase in material resources leads to improved physical health.

Answer: No
Supporting Statement: the leading causes of death in today’s Industrial world are due to infectious diseases. However, with the emergence of antibiotics, public health controls, and vaccines, there’s a reduced impact of infectious diseases.
Keywords: industrial world, antibiotics, vaccines.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, last line
Explanation: It is mentioned in the final sentence of a paragraph that advancements in technology and the economy do not guarantee good health. It is clear that more material wealth will not result in better health. As a result, the assertion is false and the information is true, hence the solution is no..

Cereals were unknown to our hunter-gathering ancestors

Answer: No
Supporting Statement: hunter-gatherer ancestors rarely ate grains or drank the milk of other animals. It is clear that our hunter-gatherer ancestors were dependent on cereals too.
Keywords: hunter-gatherer, ancestors, milk, cereals.
Keyword location: Paragraph C, 2nd last line
Explanation: An allusion to hunter-gatherers, who relied on food that changed with the season and climate. And was all sourced locally, may be found in the second-to-last line of paragraph C. Since it has already been stated that the information conflicts with the Hence statement, the answer is no.

In the future, human bodies will adapt to take account of changes in diet.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: No relevant information was found in the reading passage.

Many people in developed countries have a less balanced diet than early humans.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Statement: according to physician Boyd Eaton, the human body evolved to eat a very different diet from that which most of us consume today. Similarly, in Paragraph F. It is mentioned that the early human diet is estimated to have included more than 100 grams of fiber a day. Today, the recommended level of 30 grams is rarely achieved by most of us.
Keywords: physician Bouf Eaton, 100 grams, fiber, 30 grams.
Keyword location: Paragraph C & F
Explanation: These lines suggest that a number of people in modern nations consume a diet that is less balanced than that of early humans. So, yes, it is the solution.

Gorillas that live in the wild avoid most infectious diseases.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: No relevant information was found in the reading passage.

Food additives can prevent people from eating what their bodies need.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Statement: such subtleties are easily overridden by artificially created super-stimuli in processed foods that leave us unable to select a healthy diet. We need to listen more carefully to our bodies’ cravings and take an intentional role in maintaining our health before disease sets in.
Keywords: super-stimuli, healthy diet, intentional role.
Keyword location: Paragraph H, 2nd last line
Explanation: These lines suggest that superstimuli in processed foods, which are artificially induced and readily overcome the quality of food. Further, deter people from consuming the nutrients their bodies need. As a result, the statement is consistent with the idea, hence the response is yes.

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