Mineral Case Study
Period 5-6
Case #1
Thomas who is a High School Junior is one of the best sprinters the
school has ever seen in history. Last year, his Sophomore year he beat 3 tough
records. The track team counts on him by carrying them all on his back. Although
there is a lot of pressure on Tom, it seems to interact by playing a huge role in
his health. In order to become the track star he wants to be had to start training
in October. With junior year work catching up to him he seemed to not be able to
juggle both responsibilities, so he knew something had to change.
A month later, he started eating healthier by wishing away the french fries
and chips but still running six miles a day. Replacing his lunch with a yogurt, and
not eating an after school snack before training. Over the course of two weeks
his mom realized symptoms such as coughing and redness on his face. She
thought it was just the cold weather, and grumpy Tom.
In addition, Thomas also has been slacking in school recently. His grades
are now C’s and D’s compared to the A’s he's had in the past. This wasn’t like
Tom, he was always on top of his school work and always met the teachers
expectations until this month. His teachers noticed his lack of interest and
emailed his mom about his work ethic. “Tom lately has been very tired in class
and not participating nearly as much as he use to, i dont know whats wrong!”
Despite Thomas’s slack, he tries to be the best he can be on the track, his work
ethic has been slipping since the beginning of the year ever since he changed his
daily routine. As a result his doctor and mom came to the conclusion that since
Tom has been having trouble breathing he should run the 200 meter instead of
the 400 meter. “I would rather you rest up and get better, you always have next
year” his coach said. You have also noticed recently he hasn’t been the social
butterfly he is, he doesn't hangout on weekends, and you or your friends don’t
know why. His girlfriend noticed that his nose and throat have been bothering
him recently with a scratchy feeling.
You want to help Tom as much as possible and solve this problem for him
so he can get back in his running shoes. What do you tell him? Can it be the
change in his diet? Him not being use to running in the past months? The cold
weather? A deficiency? Where do we start!
Case #2
What’s Wrong With Me
Case Study: In the spring after her 17th birthday, Haley decided that she needed to get
into shape. In order to get her summer body, along with exercise haley decided to
become a vegetarian. In the matter of 10 seconds, Haley decided to cut all of the meat
out of her diet, which without proper research can be bad for her health. During the next
few weeks, Haley was experiencing a shortness of breath along with her fatigue and
tiredness. She is also taking a lot of advil for frequent headaches, and was needing to
wear two pairs of socks because her feet were cold! During her next visit to the doctor
she asked “What is wrong with me.” Can you help Haley?
Case #3
The Mystery of Tyler’s Mineral Deficiency
Tyler is twenty years old. Ever since he was little he has been allergic to
egg and dairy products. Tyler does not like any of the milk and egg substitutes so
he tries to stay away from them as often as he can. Lately at night, while in bed,
Tyler has been coughing excessively and has to sit up in order to stop. To solve
this problem he has been sleeping with two pillows instead of one so that he is
propped up more. One day after school, Tyler choked while eating crackers; he
figured it was because he was not drinking while eating something dry. After
talking to his mom about all of these strange occurrences, Tyler’s mom
suggested he goes to the doctor. The doctor listened to his lungs and could hear
that he was having trouble breathing and the doctor found a lump on his neck.
What mineral is Tyler lacking?
Case #4
Growing up, David was always a picky eater. As a baby he’d spit out his food
unless his parents held his nose shut. As a child he’d throw tantrums whenever he didn’t
like something. As a teenager he’d just hide in his room whenever he didn’t like what his
mom was making. Now that he’s graduated, and dorming, he has full rein over his
meals.
David’s typical meal plan consists of: cup noodles, poptarts, chips, twizzlers, and
red gatorade. With little variety in his diet his health began to decline. His mom started
pointing out that he’d put on some weight, but he’d just brush it off and continue with his
eating habits. David was always a really lazy kid, so it was no surprise that his grades
were sub par. But he took note of how hard it had become for him to remember his
course materials. He also noticed that his hands would hurt when taking notes, or
playing video games.
On his drive home for winter break David noted that his reaction time wasn’t what
it usually was. He pulled over for a few minutes to try to get his head cleared, and
started driving soon after. When he drove over a patch of black ice he wasn’t able to
react and drove into a tree. This resulted in him spending winter break in the hospital
with two broken ribs, a fractured jaw, and a bruised hip. While his mom scolded him on
his recklessness, and irresponsibility she noticed a glazed look in his eyes. When she
called his name he took a few seconds to respond, and didn’t seem at all enthused with
the sound of her voice. Knowing that her son was never like this before she asked the
doctors to run some tests.
“He’s usually so alert! Now he doesn’t even notice when a pretty nurse walks in.”
After practically begging, they ran some blood, and urine tests. His urine showed high
levels of calcium. What did his blood test show?
Case #5
The game that killed her (vibe).
Once upon a time, there was a junior in high school named Angelina. It
was a typical Monday morning and she was eating her usual breakfast; frozen
waffles, her favorite fruits (berries, lemons, and limes) and a tall glass of freshly
squeezed orange juice. At school, she took a quiz in Math and later found out
she got an A! All of her studying and hard work truly paid off. After school, she
went to soccer practice and scored every single goal, as always. She drank
some water and had some more fruit as a quick snack before running on to the
field for practice. Overall, she was a very energetic, hardworking, healthy, and
happy 16 year old “soccer star.”
As the end of the year approached, Angelina found herself staying up until
2am almost every night, studying for finals. In addition to studying and meeting
up with tutors for extra help, she had SAT classes and tried to practice soccer
drills in her backyard for at least 2 hours a day minimum; her intense summer
soccer program starts the week after school ends and she wanted to be as
prepared as possible. Angelina’s private soccer coach yelled at her for spending
so much time studying, because “she already has good grades and needs to
focus on soccer.” He didn’t understand what it felt like to be a stressed junior in
highschool, since he was a much older man, solely focused on soccer. Angelina
was a stressed out mess, with a soccer ball in hand 24/7.
Two weeks later, Angelina’s finals were in just a few days. Her mom
scolded her for not eating breakfast anymore, but she had no time and wasn’t
hungry anyway. Sometimes she even skipped lunch to study in the library, but
her mom didn’t need to know that. Later that day, Angelina was practicing soccer
and experienced a sharp, painful cramp. She had been getting bad cramps for a
few weeks now; she assumed she was about to get her period, but that wasn’t
the case. She wasn’t sure why she was experiencing the cramps and thought it
would get better, but it only got worse. She also noticed that her fingers felt tingly
and numb, especially when she was trying to write while studying. She assumed
it was because her hands hurt from doing so much school work, but the
numbness and tingling continued. On top of this, her math grade, which was an A
from all her studying, dropped down to a C; a few points away from a C- to be
exact. She didn’t understand what she was doing wrong, especially since she
was spending so much time on school work. Why was she constantly confused
and blanking out during tests? What if the same thing happened during her
SATs? Can you help Angelina figure out what the problem is? Her finals are in a
few days, SATs are in a week, and summer camp is around the corner- help!!!!
Case #6
Soccer Is Not The Best Thing To Practice
There are best friends, Kelly and Julia. They have been friends since
kindergarden. They are finally in highschool starting their junior year. During the summer
they both thought that junior year would be so stressful and they would have a lot of
anxiety. They also play soccer. They are always at the field practicing so they can make
the team again. Every year they try out and make it but not on varsity. They are hoping
to this year. They have been training so much this summer, they even went to a summer
camp to get better. The summer camp was with professional soccer players. Their
favorite snacks to eat while training are bananas, dark chocolate (because it is “better for
you”), Whole grain bread with avocados on it and nuts. They always have that as their
lunch. They spend 24/7 with each other. They also live right next door from each other.
Junior year started and they were doing really good. They had all A’s and they
made the soccer team, varsity. They were so happy to be on the soccer team and to be
on varsity. Everyday after school they had practice until 5 and then they would go home
and eat and do homework and then they would hang out after that because they lived
right next door. When they would hang out they would either just talk, watch a movie or
kick the soccer ball around the yard. One night when they were playing soccer and Kelly
kicked the ball hard and Julia stopped it and as she was about to kick it back to her she
couldn't because she had muscle cramps in her leg and she got very worried because it
was not a spasmus. She asked Kelly “What is happening because I cannot get hurt, we
just started the season and we are finally on varsity.” Kelly did not know what what
happening she just sat by her side and helped her massage it out. “Why don’t we go
inside and eat some dried fruit, I know you love the mango ones.” She smiled and
helped her up. All of a sudden Julia felt very weak and could do anything. She couldn’t
even stand to walk back inside. Then when she got inside she sat down but then she got
light headed and felt nauseous. After that Kelly got Julia’s mom because she was
worried. Julia’s mom got some water because she felt nauseous. The Julia’s mom told
her to go lay down because she wasn’t feeling good. Julia’s mom asked her “what did
you have to eat Julia?” She answered and said “I ate some dried fruit and and avocado
sandwich.” “Julia those things are not good when you eat them together,” She answered.
Julia looked at Kelly and then said “Then what about the muscle cramps, and the
weakness I had?” Her mom said “Let me check you high blood pressure because it
might be really high and you were not drinking enough.” She got the blood pressure a
machine and checked it. It was very high. She said i think we should go to the hospital
and check this out.
They all went to the hospital and told them her symptoms and they said “Does
she have diabetes?” Her mom answered “No. I don't think so.” They check on if she has
diabetes and she does she has type two diabetes. With her weakness and her nausea
she got very dizzy and then threw up. She then fell asleep because she felt very tired.
When she woke up she said what happened and could not really remember what
happened to her. Her mom and Kelly told her and she was very scared but then her
doctor came and said that she was fine to go home she just need to watch her diabetes.
They go home and her mom said that her life was going to change because of all of the
things she need to watch for.
Case #7
Your good friend Lebron was a everyday student that played varsity basketball,
and played soccer for his community. He was one of the best in his class, and he was
always practicing, always looking for ways to get better. He had a great life even outside
of sports and was a very social with lots of people, and even had a great relationship with
a girl named Mia. Last year as a junior, Lebron and his team made it all the way to the
championship game and won. However that was just for his high school basketball team,
he wants to do it for both basketball, and his community soccer team.
Lebron always looked for ways to become faster, more athletic, and stronger. He
has been on a diet for his entire life while on the team, it mainly consisted of vegetables
mainly greens, and fish. However he felt that he wasn’t doing the best he could still. He
began looking online, and going to the library for books about health and fitness.
Eventually he found a book that was telling him that switching over to fluids could
improve him. So in order for further improvement, he decides to convert into a new, a
more viable diet, that isn’t detrimental to his physical well-being. He thinks that it would
be a beneficial if he starts to practice his both extra-curricular activities because he finds
that his skills are starting to plummet gradually by the day. So in further vindication, he
feels that he needs to get back into his teams.
However as time goes on Lebron begins to see signs of negativity. He begins to
notice that he can not strike the ball as hard, or shoot the ball as well in the basket. His
limbs are just getting too weak to do anything, and for the first time in his time with both
his teams, he actually had to not play games to rest. But then it got worse, when he
thought he was strong enough to play after missing some games, he not only was not
strong, but he was also getting headaches, and becoming nauseous. He was telling both of
his coaches to take him out longer because of this. But then however it got even worse.
Lebron began to have confusion meaning he couldn't understand anything. He began to
forget plays during practices, and worse games. Lebron is only getting frustrated he has
no idea, what to do. Doesn't anyone know what could`ve happened? What is the
answer?
Case #8
The Tiny Dingus Dancer
Jenny is a senior in high school who has been dancing since she was five. She
attends a dance studio called, Dingus Dance School in a town named Dingusfield. She
has a full ride to major in dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. An
outstanding Arts school. Looking at all the famous and beautiful ballerinas, she became
nervous and stressed and realized she needed to thin down a little bit if she wanted to
look and dance like they do. To lose some weight, she thought cutting meat out of her
diet would be a good idea. For lunch she didn’t have any sandwiches and simply had
salads everyday. Also, the stress continued with dancing five classes a day, she never
had a break to drink water. She would go from 3pm to 8pm straight dancing, without a
sip of water in between each class.
A couple days went by without eating any meat or drinking enough water, she
started to get very lightheaded during her dance classes and nearly fainted in one of
them. She also would have to ice her legs everyday after classes because they were
bothering her and felt very tight. Her dance teacher and dance friends started becoming
very worried about her and wanted to know what her problem could be and what they
could do to help. Her life revolved around dance and if she could not dance any longer,
her whole life would take a turn… What could her problem be?
Case #9
Victoria’s Mineral Study Case
Victoria was always a star athlete, participating in many sports since she was a
child. When she started high school, she started taking her running career more
seriously. She ran 6 times a week, three miles each day. Her dream was to get first
place in the national race. To stay in shape, she would eat what she thought was
healthy. Oatmeal for breakfast, salads for lunch, and chicken or steak for dinner. She
would only drink milk and gatorade. Although she had somewhat of a healthy diet, she
cut out water, fruits and vegetables.
She trained with her team made up of ten people. Her team was very dedicated
to this sport and did everything they could to be the best they could. After a few weeks of
her strict diet and long hours of running, she started to get tired very easily. Her bones
felt thin and within three weeks she broke two bones. Her mother was very concerned
and thought Victoria should take a break from running. After going to the doctor, Victoria
was out of her sport for six weeks and was told to start physical therapy. Three months
later, Victoria changed her diet and was able to run without getting hurt.
Case #10
In recent news, teenage heart-throb Harry Styles of boyband One Direction came out of
a 5 year stint of touring the world with his 3 (previously 4) band mates. Ready to take a
14 month break, Harry has decided to let himself go. To keep up with the high demand
of performing every night, Harry had a challenging workout regimen and usually sticks to
a strict diet consisting mostly of fruit and veg. However, since the break he started eating
mostly carbs, stuffing his face with processed white bread every chance he could. He
converted to the religion of the pastafarians, worshipping the flying spaghetti monster by
eating spaghetti for at least one meal a day. He maintains his water intake because he
has become increasingly thirsty, but he increased the amount of white flour and
processed food items in his diet and cut back on the fruit and veggies, because now he
can finally eat how he wants. Since his diet has changed, his legs have been cramping
when he walks, he feels tired and sluggish. He has also said he head spins when he
stands up and sometimes his hands and feet get tingly. And he found that when he goes
up the stairs he gets winded and his muscles become heavy and sore frequently. But
these are all symptoms of gaining weight, right? Find out what crucial mineral Harry is
missing in his diet.
Case #11
Something New, Something Uncertain
Taylor was a new, incoming freshman at Penn State University full of energy and
excitement getting to her classes everyday. Everyday she woke up at 5am drank some
water and went on an hour run around campus discovering new locations. When she got
back to her dorm she would make herself a Strawberry-Banana fruit smoothie and a
turkey sandwich, and then make her way to her calculus class, which was in a building 6
minutes away and up by 10 flights of stairs. Taylor is a runner so she had no problem
getting to class in less than 15 minutes. Not only was taylor a fast walker, but she was a
fast learner and comprehended everything she learned with no question. She came to
class eager to learn and was very engaging in conversations that occurred in class. After a
few months Taylor had a tighter schedule with her classes and not as much free time, so
she decided that if she didn’t eat breakfast, or drink her water before the run, she would
have more time to run. She had time to run, but she was getting more tired every day
which took her longer to run her miles. But because she wasn’t drinking her water before
every run and eating breakfast like she used to she didn’t have the physical energy to
walk up all those flights of stairs to her class from shortness of breath. Because of her
tiredness and lack of energy, taylor decided to stop running in the morning to get to class
on time. Although her professor didn’t know she changed her morning routine and
stopped running daily and drinking her smoothies, he did however notice a significant
drop in her grades. Taylor was experiencing a poor ability to concentrate and recall
information, which then led to her depression and weight gain from overeating due to
stress. Many people were asking her lots of questions and even suggesting to go visit a
nutritionist or doctor. This just gave taylor more anxiety, irritability, and mental
depression. What do you think happened to Taylor?