Content Area 1: Calories In
What is a calorie?
The number of calories in a food is a unit of measure that describes how much energy a particular food possesses. Our bodies burn these calories and break them down to provide us with the energy we need to breathe, make our heart beat, and think. Physical activity also consumes calories. Physical activity includes everything from brushing your teeth in the morning to running around a track. If the calories we take in during the day equals the calories our bodies use during the same day, then our weight remains constant. Anytime that the balance is changed our weight also changes: if we take in more calories than our bodies use our weight will increase and if we use more calories than we take in our weight will drop.
What is in the food we eat?
Our diets need to contain carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. We want to get the majority of calories from carbohydrates and proteins but our bodies do need a certain amount of fats to stay healthy. Carbohydrates are a good source of energy because they fuel muscles during exercise. Proteins are needed to provide the building blocks to make body tissues like muscles. Your body depends on fats for a variety of functions. Fats form a major energy source for cells. They make up adipose tissue, which stores energy, cushions and protects organ, and provide insulations. 3 Fats are necessary for the absorption of many things the body needs. Some vitamins that we need to stay healthy (such as vitamin A, D, E, and K) are only dissolved by fats. If we do not get enough fats in our diets, these vitamins will pass through our bodies and not get absorbed. Vitamins and minerals control the reactions in our bodies that change food into energy and are needed to make your body work properly. They boost your immune system, help cells and organs grow, and help keep your bones strong. Some vitamins can be stored in our bodies whereas others cannot be and therefore need to be replenished every day.
What is a healthy diet?
In Delaware there is an initiative 5-2-1-Almost None. In this initiative students are instructed to eat 5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables, spend no more than 2 hours a day in front of a screen (TV, computer, or video games), to be physically active 1 hour a day, and to consume Almost None of sugared drinks. I will be using materials provided by this initiative to help my students construct healthy menus.
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