NUTRIENTS & FOOD LABEL FACTS

1) Water
Does anyone know what our bodies are made of?(Bodies are made of bones, blood, muscle, fat, WATER.) Water is a nutrient that makes up 60% of our body weight. It is important in many functions, it is part of every cell in every tissue in the body. Water carries other nutrients to all parts of the body, it carries waste out of the body and it helps to regulate body temperature.


When you run or play sports your body heats up pretty quickly. Who sweats a lot when they are outside playing??? Your body starts to sweat as a way to get rid of the heat. When the sweat evaporates on your skin your body and blood get cool. It is very important to replace the fluid that is lost by sweating so your body does not become dehydrated. If you get dehydrated the body cannot cool itself anymore and your performance will drop. Without enough water, whether you are exercising or sitting all day, you are at risk for dehydration which can be fatal.

*About eight 8 ounce glasses are needed each day just to keep our body working properly.




2) Protein
Protein is a nutrient used to make and repair our body cells (like blood and muscle cells). About 1/2 of your dry body weight is protein. If you do not eat enough carbohydrates, protein will be changed to carbohydrates so that you can get energy. If you eat too much protein, the extra amount will be changed into fat and stored in your muscles to use later. Your body cannot store protein as protein so you need to eat some every day. Your muscles need some protein every day especially if you play sports, run or exercise. Taking in the right amount of protein can help build strong muscles. Can you name some foods that are high in protein?(chicken, meat, seafood, milk, eggs, cheese, nuts, dried beans and peas).



3) Carbohydrate
What do you think of when you hear the word carbohydrate??? ENERGY! Carbohydrates are the primary (number one) source of energy for our bodies. With enough carbohydrates, the protein and fat that we eat can do their jobs. If you remember our study of the food guide pyramid you'll remember that the carbohydrates were the largest group on the bottom of the pyramid.

If we do not eat enough carbohydrates, the protein and fat that we eat have to be used for energy and cannot do their jobs of promoting growth and activity. Growing children need a bit more carbohydrates because you are more active and your bodies are still developing.

There are two types of carbohydrates, do you know the difference??? SIMPLE and COMPLEX carbohydrates. Can you name some foods that are high in carbohydrates? (breads, cereal, pasta, fruits, jelly, vegetables, sugar, honey) The difference between these groups is that the simple carbohydrates are in a simple sugar form like jelly, jam, honey, sugar; while the complex carbohydrates have to be broken down by the body through digestion before they are in the simple form. It is recommended that we get most of our energy from the complex carbohydrate group because the length of time it takes to absorb the nutrient provides energy for a longer time. Some complex carbohydrates include breads, pasta, fruits, and vegetables.


Sugar While we are talking about SIMPLE carbohydrates lets focus on sugar. Sugar is a source of calories but it has NO nutrients at all. It provides no vitamins or minerals only empty calories. Do you think it would be a good idea to get all of your calories from sugary foods??? (NO) This would keep you from getting any vitamins, minerals, and protein that your body needs to be healthy and strong! Another big problem with sugar is that it causes tooth decay. If you left a tooth sitting in a glass of water with sugar you would see how it eats away at the tooth, leaving holes and brown decay. Natural sugars are a great substitute for sweet treats. Instead of candy or soda you could have fresh fruit or fruit juice.



Fiber Some of those COMPLEX carbohydrates we were talking about have another benefit. They are high in fiber. Fiber is the plant material that cannot be digested by your body. It is best seen as the "strings" in celery or the veins in a lettuce leaf. Because we can't digest it, it passes through our body and helps to move all the other food and nutrients along with it. This is very good because it helps prevent heart disease, cancer of the intestines, diabetes and obesity. High-fiber diets are usually low in fat and very filling. Some high-fiber foods are fruits with seeds and peels, vegetables, beans, and whole grain cereals



4) Fat
Fat is a nutrient that is the most concentrated source of energy for the body. What happens when we eat too much fat? We store it in our body. What about when we eat too many calories? Extra calories also get stored as fat if they are not used up for energy that day.

Do you know why our bodies store fat??? One of the reasons is so it can be used for energy later on. The fat we store in our body protects our vital organs. Fat gets deposited under the skin where it works to keep our bodies warm by insulating and preventing heat loss. Fat is necessary in our diets because it is the only carrier of some vitamins called fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids. All normal people need some fat in their diet each day. Only 25-30% of your total daily calories should come from foods containing fat. What foods do you know of that are sources of fat??? (butter, margarine, salad dressing, fried foods, chocolate, nuts, seeds and oil)


5) Vitamins
Vitamins are a category of nutrients that include: Fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E,and K Water-soluble vitamins B and C.

Vitamins keep us healthy, prevent disease, help us grow properly, use energy, have good vision and keep us in proper condition. As with calories, children need more vitamins every day because they are growing and their bodies are developing.

Vitamin A is primarily responsible for good eye sight at night; helps keep us from getting infections; helps keep skin healthy; and supports normal bone growth. Some good sources of vitamin A are dark green or yellow vegetables and fruits like turnip greens, spinach, sweet potatoes, carrots, mangos, and cantaloupe.



B Vitamins help our bodies to use carbohydrates, protein, and fat; to maintain a healthy nervous system; produce new red blood cells; and use minerals. The best known B vitamins are Thiamin, Riboflavin, and Niacin. Everybody needs the B-Complex vitamins each day. We get them from whole grain breads and cereals (or enriched breads and cereals), eggs, milk, cheese, meat, fish, poultry, and green leafy vegetables.



Vitamin C is needed to form collagen which holds our cells together. It helps make our cells strong so that they are better able to fight infection and heal wounds quickly. Vitamin C is also needed for healthy teeth and gums; and it helps in absorption of Iron which we will talk about more later. Our body has no way to store vitamin C so we need to get some every day. What foods do you know of that are high in Vitamin C??? (oranges, citrus fruits, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, and green leafy vegetables.)


6) Minerals
Minerals are another nutrient category that, like vitamins, include a number of different forms. When we talk about minerals we are referring to calcium, iodide, phosphorous, fluorine, potassium, zinc and iron. Minerals help you have strong bones and teeth and healthy blood. They also help your body stay regulated in many ways. Calcium and iron are two of the important minerals we will cover in this lesson.

Calcium Can you guess what mineral our body has the most of??? Calcium! Calcium is found in and required for strong teeth and bones. It helps to build strong bones so they will not break easily. It also builds strong teeth to help fight the bacteria that can cause cavities. We all need calcium everyday for these reasons. Children and teenagers need more calcium than adults do because your bodies are still growing. Like we said earlier, your body has more calcium in it than any other mineral. Sources of calcium are milk, cheese, yogurt, green leafy vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and turnips, and some seafood (sardines).



Iron is an important mineral for energy. Iron works with protein to help the red blood cells make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is needed to help carry oxygen to all parts of your body. That oxygen gives you energy to play, run, and do work. Iron is very necessary in our diets. If you do not have enough you may feel tired and weak because your blood probably isn't carrying enough oxygen to other parts of your body. Sources of Iron include liver, poultry, lean meats, eggs, green leafy vegetables, bread, cereals, prunes, raisins, and dried apricots.


Sodium is an element that we all get plenty of! Actually in the United States we take in much more than we need. We should not take in more than 2400 milligrams per day of sodium. Sodium is in a lot of foods and beverages we consume as well as in salt. Lots of processed foods have sodium in them for flavor and to preserve the food. Be aware of sauces, mustard, ketchup, pickles, salty snacks, and sandwich meat because these all have lots of sodium.