Nutrition Basics

Nutrition Basics — page 3 — The body can receive the vitamins it needs through vitamin supplements or food Let’s Talk about Nutrients When you eat your body breaks down food into tiny pieces Those pieces are called nutrients Eating food with the right nutrients keeps you healthy Nutrients help you grow taller build strong muscles and have healthy skin Nutrients from food help build every cell in your body The old saying is true You are what you eat Food contains six types of nutrients They are proteins fats carbohydrates vitamins minerals and 6

Nutrition Basics — page 4 — YOUR LIFE Energy In Energy Out It is important to have energy balance when exercising This means the calories taken in by the body equals the calories burned Use this chart to compare food and exercises worth 100 calories for the average ten-year-old Foods Worth 100 Calories Exercise Needed to Burn 100 Calories 15 almondsBike riding for 31 minutes 1 cup 8 oz grapes Swimming for 25 minutes 1 2 cup 4 oz vanilla low-fat yogurt Jogging for 17 minutes 1 cup 8 oz oat cereal Running for 10 minutes 1 cup 8 oz unsweetened applesauce Jumping rope for 17 minutes 7 water Most food contains all six nutrients in different amounts Nutrients are divided into two categories The body needs a large amount of protein fat carbohydrates and water each day These are macronutrients Macro means big Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients Micro means small The body needs only small amounts of vitamins and minerals each day

Nutrition Basics — page 5 — Milk 2 Nutrition Facts Serving size 8 fl oz 245g Serving Per Container 8 Calories 130 Calories from Fat 45 Total Fat 5g Total Carbohydrate 13g Protein 8g 8 4 Vitamin A 10 Calcium 30 Vitamin C 4 Iron 0 Nutrition Facts Label This chapter discusses calories and nutrients Check out this nutrition facts label for 2 percent milk How many calories are in one cup 8 oz of milk Can you find the nutrients on this label Which of the six nutrients is not listed How do you know milk contains that nutrient Food Gives You Energy Protein fat and carbohydrates provide energy to the body People need energy for everything they do such as playing laughing and reading Energy helps move muscles and keeps the heart pumping Energy is measured in units called calories Food has different numbers of calories Children ages 8 to 11 need 8

Nutrition Basics — page 6 — Ready Set Digest The average child eats more than 1,000 meals each year All of the food in these meals is broken down into nutrients Teeth mash food into pieces and mix it with saliva to make a mushy glob The glob slides down the esophagus into the stomach Then the stomach squirts out digestive juices and churns the food into a thick liquid called chyme The chyme moves into the small intestine where more digestive juices break nutrients into tiny pieces The nutrients travel through the walls of the small intestine The body then uses the nutrients for all types of jobs 9 between 1,400 and 2,200 calories each day Active children need extra calories to fuel their bodies Playing soccer uses more calories than playing video games And dancing burns more calories than watching television The more a body moves the more energy it uses Even at rest the body needs energy to stay alive Calories keep the body running 24 hours a day When hunger strikes it is time to fuel up with healthy food

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