Food and Nutrition

Summary

This chapter introduces the concept of health itself and then explores the nutrients that fuel the body: carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Students learn to read a nutrition label, plan a balanced meal, understand hydration, and recognize how sugary, salty, and improperly stored foods affect health.

Concepts Covered

1. Health
2. Macronutrient
3. Carbohydrates
4. Protein
5. Fats
6. Vitamins And Minerals
7. Water And Hydration
8. Nutrition Label
9. Balanced Meal Planning
10. Limiting Caffeinated Drinks
11. Limiting Sugary Drinks
12. Effects Of Sugary Foods
13. Effects Of Salty Foods
14. Food Temperature Safety

Prerequisites

This is the first chapter of the Grade 4 band. It assumes only the prerequisites listed in the course description — Grade 3 benchmarks across all content strands, plus the Grade 3 skill benchmarks (identifying influences, judging information validity, using I-statements, and setting a goal with a help/no-help decision).

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Hi, I'm Scout!

Welcome to Grade 4 Health Education! I'm Scout, a friendly dog who loves helping students like you build healthy habits. This is a brand-new book just for you, so let me explain how I work before we start. I only ever do six jobs, and my pose always tells you which job I'm doing:

1. Welcome — I open every chapter this way, just like right now.
2. Think — I help you focus on a big idea.
3. Tip — I share a quick trick worth remembering.
4. Warn — I flag something that needs extra care or an adult's help.
5. Encourage — I cheer you on when a topic feels tricky.
6. Celebrate — I celebrate with you when you finish something big.

If I'm not doing one of those six things, I'm not in the chapter. Let's think it through together — healthy choices, happy you!

What Is Health, and Why Does This Book Start With Food?

You already know that health means how well your body and mind are working and feeling. It covers your physical body, your emotions, your relationships, and even how well you sleep. This year, you are the one reading this book directly — so every idea from here on is written straight to you.

This book starts with food because food is one of the most direct ways you affect your own health, every single day, several times a day. Every bite you eat becomes part of your body: it builds muscle, powers your brain, repairs a scraped knee, and even affects your mood. Understanding what food actually does — not just which foods are "good" or "bad" — helps you make smarter choices without needing someone else to decide for you.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to read a nutrition label like a scientist, explain what each nutrient does for your body, plan a balanced meal on your own, and describe why certain drinks and food-safety habits protect your health.

Macronutrients: The Big Three

Nutrients are substances in food that your body needs to grow, repair itself, and get energy. Scientists group nutrients into two categories based on how much of them your body needs. A macronutrient is a nutrient your body needs in large amounts every day because it supplies energy or building material: carbohydrates, protein, and fats are the three macronutrients. ("Macro" means "large" — the same word part in "macroscopic.")

Each macronutrient has a distinct job:

• Carbohydrates are the body's main and fastest source of energy, found in foods like bread, rice, pasta, fruit, and vegetables. Your brain in particular relies on carbohydrates for fuel.
• Protein provides the building blocks your body uses to build and repair muscle, skin, and other tissue — found in foods like beans, eggs, meat, fish, and dairy.
• Fats support long-lasting energy storage, protect your organs, and help your body absorb certain vitamins — found in foods like nuts, seeds, avocado, and cooking oils.

Big Idea

A macronutrient is a nutrient your body needs in large amounts for energy or growth. Carbohydrates, protein, and fats are the three macronutrients — each with its own job, and your body needs all three.

Diagram: Macronutrient Explorer

Macronutrient Explorer Interactive Infographic

Type: infographic sim-id: macronutrient-explorer
Library: p5.js
Status: Specified

Bloom Taxonomy: Understand (L2) Bloom Taxonomy Verb: explain, classify, exemplify

Learning objective: Students explain the job of each macronutrient (carbohydrates, protein, fats) and classify example foods under the correct macronutrient category.

Purpose: Help students connect each macronutrient's function in the body to real, familiar foods that supply it.

Layout: Three large labeled columns — Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats — each topped with an icon (a wheat stalk, a muscle, a droplet).

Interactive elements: - Click a column header to open an infobox describing that macronutrient's main job in the body in one or two sentences - A tray of 12 food icons (bread, rice, apple, chicken, egg, beans, fish, milk, avocado, nuts, olive oil, pasta) below the columns; drag or click each food onto the column it belongs to - Correct placement shows a short confirmation ("Bread is a carbohydrate — it gives you fast energy!"); incorrect placement gives a gentle hint and lets the student try again - A progress counter shows how many of the 12 foods have been correctly sorted

Visual style: Flat, colorful icons with rounded column cards

Color scheme: Carbohydrates = gold, Protein = red-orange, Fats = light green

Responsive behavior: Columns stack vertically on narrow screens; food tray becomes a horizontal scroll strip

Implementation: p5.js with an array of food objects (name, correct category, icon, fact) driving drag-and-drop or click-to-place sorting logic.

Diagram: Nutrient Crew: Different Jobs, One Body

Nutrient Crew: Different Jobs, One Body Interactive Poster

Type: infographic poster-id: nutrient-crew-different-jobs-one-body
Library: p5.js
Status: Published

Five body-city departments show why carbohydrates, protein, fats, micronutrients, and water all matter.

Use Explore mode to select a section and learn more. Use Quiz Me mode to practice finding each idea.

Carbohydrates: Quick Energy

Carbohydrates are the nutrient your body breaks down first for quick, usable energy. When you eat bread, rice, oats, pasta, fruit, or vegetables, your body converts the carbohydrates into a sugar called glucose, which travels through your blood and powers your cells — especially your brain and muscles.

Not all carbohydrates behave the same way. Whole-grain carbohydrates (like whole-wheat bread or brown rice) and carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables also carry fiber, which helps digestion and keeps you feeling full longer. Carbohydrates from added sugar (like candy or soda) give a quick burst of energy but little else your body needs — this connects to why this chapter later discusses limiting sugary foods and drinks.

Protein: Building and Repairing Your Body

Protein supplies the building blocks — called amino acids — that your body uses to build new cells and repair damaged ones. Every time you grow taller, heal a cut, or build muscle from playing sports, protein is doing the work. Good sources of protein include eggs, beans, lentils, chicken, fish, nuts, and dairy products like milk and yogurt.

Growing bodies like yours need a steady supply of protein every day, because you are constantly building new tissue as you grow. Unlike carbohydrates, protein is not usually your body's first choice for quick energy — it is more like construction material than fuel.

Fats: Long-Lasting Energy and Protection

Fats are the most energy-dense macronutrient, meaning a small amount of fat contains more stored energy than the same amount of carbohydrate or protein. Fats also cushion and protect your organs, help keep you warm, and are required for your body to absorb certain vitamins. Healthy fats come from foods like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish like salmon.

Fats have earned an unfair reputation as something to avoid completely, but that is not accurate — your body genuinely needs fat to function. The key idea for a Grade 4 student is balance: your body needs some fat every day, just not an excessive amount, and the type of fat matters (fats from plants and fish are generally better choices than fats from heavily processed or fried foods).

Helpful Tip

Try this memory trick: Carbs = quick energy, Protein = building blocks, Fats = long-lasting energy and protection. Three jobs, three macronutrients — your body needs all three every day.

Vitamins and Minerals: The Body's Helpers

Not every nutrient is needed in large amounts. A micronutrient is needed only in small amounts, but it is still essential — your body cannot function properly without it. Vitamins and minerals are the two main types of micronutrients. Vitamins are substances like Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin A that support specific jobs — Vitamin C helps your body heal cuts and fight off illness, Vitamin D helps build strong bones, and Vitamin A supports healthy eyes and skin. Minerals are substances like calcium and iron — calcium builds strong bones and teeth, while iron helps your blood carry oxygen throughout your body.

You get vitamins and minerals mainly from fruits, vegetables, dairy, and whole grains. Because your body only needs small amounts, eating a variety of colorful foods is usually enough to cover your needs — which is part of why "eat the rainbow" is common health advice: different colors of fruits and vegetables tend to supply different vitamins and minerals.

Diagram: Vitamin and Mineral Matcher

Vitamin and Mineral Matcher MicroSim

Type: microsim sim-id: vitamin-mineral-matcher
Library: p5.js
Status: Specified

Bloom Taxonomy: Remember (L1) Bloom Taxonomy Verb: recall, identify, match

Learning objective: Students recall and match common vitamins and minerals to the body function each one supports.

Canvas layout: - Left column (250px): Six cards labeled Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Calcium, Iron, Fiber - Right column (250px): Six shuffled function cards ("Helps heal cuts and fight illness," "Builds strong bones," "Supports healthy eyes and skin," "Builds strong bones and teeth," "Helps blood carry oxygen," "Helps digestion") - Bottom strip (100px): Feedback caption and "Check Matches" / "Reset" buttons

Visual elements: - Simple flat icons next to each nutrient name (orange slice for Vitamin C, sun for Vitamin D, carrot for Vitamin A, milk glass for Calcium, drop for Iron, grain stalk for Fiber)

Interactive controls: - Click a nutrient card, then click the function card you think matches it — a line connects the pair - Button: "Check Matches" reveals which pairs are correct - Button: "Reset" clears all connections and starts over

Default parameters: - All six pairs unmatched at start; cards presented in shuffled, non-corresponding order

Behavior: - Correct pair: green line and checkmark - Incorrect pair: red line with a gentle prompt to try again - After checking, a summary caption states how many were matched correctly out of six

Instructional Rationale: This is a Remember-level objective (recall and match facts), so a straightforward matching-pairs pattern is appropriate rather than a complex simulation — the goal is confident recall of nutrient-function pairs, not exploration of a dynamic system.

Implementation notes: Use p5.js. Keep function text short enough to read at a glance. Store nutrient-function pairs as an array of objects for easy reshuffling.

Water and Hydration

Water is not a macronutrient or a micronutrient, but it may be the single most essential substance your body needs. Water and hydration describe your body's need for enough fluid to carry out its basic functions — regulating temperature, carrying nutrients to cells, cushioning joints, and flushing out waste. Your body is roughly 60% water, and you lose water constantly through sweat, breathing, and using the bathroom, so you need to keep replacing it.

Signs that you may not be drinking enough water include feeling thirsty, having a headache, feeling unusually tired, or noticing that your urine looks darker than pale yellow. A simple habit — carrying a water bottle and sipping throughout the day, especially before and after physical activity — helps most students stay properly hydrated without much effort. Water helps almost every system in your body work, from your brain to your muscles to your digestion, which makes staying hydrated one of the simplest health habits you can control every single day.

Reading a Nutrition Label

Every packaged food in the grocery store carries a nutrition label — a printed chart that lists the amount of each nutrient in one serving of that food, including calories, carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, and sugar. Learning to read this label turns you into your own nutrition detective: you no longer have to guess what is inside a package.

A nutrition label typically includes, from top to bottom:

1. Serving size — how much food the rest of the label is describing (the numbers change if you eat more or less than one serving).
2. Calories — a measure of how much energy the food provides.
3. Macronutrients — grams of carbohydrates, protein, and fats, often broken into subcategories like "added sugars" or "saturated fat."
4. Micronutrients — amounts of key vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium.
5. % Daily Value — a percentage showing how much of a full day's recommended amount is provided by one serving.

Diagram: Nutrition Label Detective

Nutrition Label Detective MicroSim

Type: microsim sim-id: nutrition-label-detective
Library: p5.js
Status: Specified

Bloom Taxonomy: Apply (L3) Bloom Taxonomy Verb: use, demonstrate, locate

Learning objective: Students locate specific nutrient information on a realistic nutrition label and use it to answer questions about a food product.

Canvas layout: - Left side (300px): A realistic, clickable nutrition label graphic for a sample snack food - Right side (200px): One question at a time (e.g., "How many grams of protein are in one serving?") with a text-input answer box and "Check Answer" button

Visual elements: - Full nutrition label with clearly separated rows: serving size, calories, total carbohydrates, sugars, protein, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, Vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium

Interactive controls: - Click any row on the label to highlight it and show a one-sentence explanation of what that row means - Input box: type a numeric answer to the current question - Button: "Check Answer" - Button: "Next Question" (cycles through 6 questions about the same label)

Default parameters: - Sample label: a granola bar with realistic values (serving size 1 bar, 140 calories, 22g carbohydrates, 9g sugars, 3g protein, 5g fat, 95mg sodium)

Data Visibility Requirements: Stage 1: Show the full label with all values visible Stage 2: Highlight the row relevant to the current question when clicked Stage 3: Show whether the typed answer matches the highlighted value, with the correct value revealed either way

Behavior: - Correct answer: green confirmation and brief encouragement - Incorrect answer: label row highlights again with a hint to re-read the value - After all 6 questions, a summary shows the score and reminds students that every packaged food has a label like this one

Instructional Rationale: Locating and using specific values from a real-looking label is an Apply-level skill, so the pattern uses guided practice with a real (if simplified) nutrition label rather than an abstract animation — students need to practice the actual skill of finding and using label data.

Implementation notes: Use p5.js. Render the label to resemble the real FDA/USDA nutrition facts format for authenticity. Store questions and answer keys as an array of objects.

Next time you're at the grocery store or your kitchen table, try flipping over a snack box and finding the serving size first — everything else on the label is based on that one number.

Balanced Meal Planning

Once you understand what each nutrient does, you can start applying that knowledge to plan your own meals. Balanced meal planning means choosing foods from different food groups so that a meal supplies a healthy mix of carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals — rather than relying heavily on just one type of food.

A simple way to picture a balanced plate: about half filled with fruits and vegetables, a quarter with a protein source, a quarter with a whole-grain carbohydrate, plus a serving of dairy or a calcium source on the side, and water to drink. This is just a starting model — a balanced meal does not have to look exactly the same every day, and cultural and family food traditions offer many different ways to build a balanced plate.

Diagram: Build a Balanced Plate

Build a Balanced Plate MicroSim

Type: microsim sim-id: build-a-balanced-plate
Library: p5.js
Status: Specified

Bloom Taxonomy: Create (L6) Bloom Taxonomy Verb: design, construct, plan

Learning objective: Students design a balanced meal by selecting and placing foods from different food groups onto a plate, then evaluate whether their plate meets a balanced-meal target.

Canvas layout: - Left side (300px): An empty circular plate outline divided into guide sections (vegetables/fruit, protein, grains) plus a small circle for dairy and a cup icon for water - Right side (200px): A scrollable tray of 20+ food icons across all food groups, plus a "Check My Plate" button

Visual elements: - Food icons include: broccoli, carrots, apple, banana, grilled chicken, beans, egg, salmon, brown rice, whole-wheat bread, pasta, milk, yogurt, cheese, nuts, avocado, olive oil, water cup, soda can, candy bar

Interactive controls: - Drag or click food icons onto the plate's sections - Button: "Check My Plate" — evaluates whether the plate includes a source from each major group in reasonable proportion - Button: "Clear Plate" to start over

Default parameters: - Empty plate at start; no foods pre-placed

Behavior: - After "Check My Plate," an infobox explains what the plate does well ("Great protein choice!") and what might be missing ("Try adding a fruit or vegetable.") - If a student places soda or candy as a main component, a gentle note explains that these can be occasional treats but are not part of the balanced-plate foundation - Students can keep adjusting and re-checking as many times as they like

Instructional Rationale: Planning a balanced meal is Grade 4's first genuine Create-level benchmark, so the pattern uses an open-ended plate-building tool rather than a fixed right-answer quiz — students construct their own solution and receive formative feedback, matching the Create-level demand of designing an original plan.

Implementation notes: Use p5.js. Keep the plate model flexible enough to accept multiple valid combinations rather than one "correct" plate. Store food-group tags on each icon to drive the evaluation logic.

Diagram: Build a Balanced Meal from Label Clues

Build a Balanced Meal from Label Clues Interactive Poster

Type: infographic poster-id: build-balanced-meal-label-clues
Library: p5.js
Status: Published

Twelve market-to-table clues connect package evidence, varied foods, hydration, and flexible meal planning.

Use Explore mode to select a numbered marker and learn more. Use Quiz mode to practice finding each idea.

Every Plate Looks Different

There is no single "perfect" balanced meal — families around the world build balanced plates using very different foods and traditions. What matters is including a mix of food groups, not copying one exact picture. You've got this!

Limiting Caffeinated Drinks

Some drinks contain caffeine, a substance that speeds up your brain and body and can make you feel more alert. Caffeine is found in coffee, many teas, and some sodas and energy drinks. Limiting caffeinated drinks matters for a Grade 4 student because your growing body and brain are more sensitive to caffeine than an adult's. Too much caffeine can cause a racing heartbeat, trouble falling asleep, headaches, and jittery or anxious feelings.

Health experts generally recommend that children avoid energy drinks entirely and limit or avoid caffeinated soda and coffee drinks, choosing water, milk, or naturally caffeine-free options instead. If you are ever unsure whether a drink contains caffeine, checking the nutrition label or ingredient list — or asking a trusted adult — is the reliable way to find out.

Limiting Sugary Drinks

Limiting sugary drinks means keeping your intake of soda, sports drinks, sweetened juice, and other sugar-added beverages low, because these drinks deliver large amounts of added sugar with little nutritional benefit. A single can of soda can contain close to 10 teaspoons of added sugar — more than an entire day's recommended limit for a child in one drink alone.

Water and plain milk are the best everyday choices for hydration. Sugary drinks are not "off limits forever," but they work best as an occasional treat rather than a daily habit, especially since liquid calories don't fill you up the way solid food does, which can lead to drinking far more sugar than you realize. Sports drinks and flavored juices can look healthy but still carry a lot of added sugar, so it is worth checking the nutrition label's "added sugars" line before assuming a drink is a healthy choice.

Effects of Sugary Foods

Beyond drinks, effects of sugary foods describes what happens in your body when you eat a lot of added sugar from candy, desserts, and heavily processed snacks. In the short term, sugary foods can cause a quick spike in energy followed by a crash that leaves you feeling tired or cranky. Over the long term, regularly eating too much added sugar is linked to tooth decay, unhealthy weight gain, and a higher risk of certain diseases later in life.

This does not mean sugar is forbidden — your body can handle sugar in moderation, and treats can absolutely be part of a healthy life. The key skill is recognizing added sugar on a label and choosing how often, not simply whether, to enjoy sugary foods.

Effects of Salty Foods

Salt (sodium) is a mineral your body needs in small amounts to help nerves and muscles function, but the effects of salty foods on health become a concern when a person eats far more sodium than the body needs — which is common with chips, packaged snacks, canned soups, and fast food. Eating too much salt over time makes it harder for the body to manage fluid balance and can raise blood pressure, which puts extra strain on the heart.

Because sodium hides in many packaged and restaurant foods that don't necessarily taste "salty," the nutrition label's sodium line is the most reliable way to notice how much salt a food actually contains.

Diagram: Sugar and Salt Detective Chart

Sugar and Salt Detective Chart

Type: chart sim-id: sugar-salt-detective-chart
Library: Chart.js
Status: Specified

Bloom Taxonomy: Analyze (L4) Bloom Taxonomy Verb: compare, examine, differentiate

Learning objective: Students compare added sugar and sodium content across common foods and drinks to identify which choices are occasional treats versus everyday options.

Chart type: Grouped bar chart

Purpose: Show how added sugar (grams) and sodium (milligrams) vary widely across common foods and drinks, helping students see which items are "everyday" versus "occasional treat" choices

X-axis: Food/drink item (Water, Milk, Apple, Soda, Sports Drink, Potato Chips, Canned Soup, Granola Bar, Candy Bar) Y-axis: Two scales — grams of added sugar (left) and milligrams of sodium (right)

Data series: 1. Added Sugar in grams (gold bars): - Water: 0g, Milk: 0g (natural sugar not counted), Apple: 0g added, Soda: 39g, Sports Drink: 21g, Potato Chips: 0g, Canned Soup: 1g, Granola Bar: 9g, Candy Bar: 24g 2. Sodium in milligrams (blue bars): - Water: 0mg, Milk: 105mg, Apple: 2mg, Soda: 45mg, Sports Drink: 270mg, Potato Chips: 170mg, Canned Soup: 890mg, Granola Bar: 95mg, Candy Bar: 40mg

Title: "How Much Sugar and Salt Are Really in There?" Legend: Position top-right, labeled "Added Sugar (g)" and "Sodium (mg)"

Interactive elements: - Hovering any bar reveals the exact value and a one-sentence note (e.g., "Canned soup can be surprisingly high in sodium even though it doesn't taste very salty.") - Toggle buttons let students show only the sugar series, only the sodium series, or both together - Clicking a food label under the x-axis highlights both of that food's bars and displays a short caption on whether it's better suited as an everyday food or an occasional treat

Color scheme: Gold for sugar, blue for sodium, with a soft highlight color for the selected item

Implementation: Chart.js grouped bar chart with dual y-axes and custom tooltip callbacks; toggle buttons control dataset visibility.

Food Temperature Safety

The final piece of this chapter shifts from what you eat to how safely it is handled. Food temperature safety refers to keeping food at temperatures that prevent harmful bacteria from growing, which can cause food poisoning. Bacteria multiply fastest between 40°F and 140°F — a range food safety experts call the "danger zone."

Simple food temperature safety habits include:

• Keeping cold foods like milk, meat, and dairy refrigerated until you're ready to eat them.
• Not leaving perishable food (like cooked meat or dairy dishes) sitting out at room temperature for more than about two hours.
• Making sure meat, poultry, and eggs are cooked thoroughly before eating.
• Promptly refrigerating leftovers rather than letting them cool on the counter for a long time.
• Washing your hands before handling food, and keeping raw meat separate from other foods to avoid spreading germs.

When in Doubt, Ask an Adult

If food has been sitting out a long time, smells strange, or you're unsure if it was cooked or stored safely, don't taste it to check — ask a trusted adult first. Some food safety mistakes can make you seriously sick.

Diagram: Danger Zone Temperature Timeline

Danger Zone Temperature Timeline

Type: timeline sim-id: danger-zone-temperature-timeline
Library: vis-timeline
Status: Specified

Bloom Taxonomy: Understand (L2) Bloom Taxonomy Verb: explain, describe, interpret

Learning objective: Students interpret a temperature/time timeline to explain why leaving perishable food out too long is unsafe and describe safe handling checkpoints.

Time period: A single afternoon, from "Food Cooked (12:00 PM)" to "Food Discarded if Unsafe (4:30 PM)"

Orientation: Horizontal

Events: - 12:00 PM: Food finishes cooking at a safe internal temperature (label: "Safe — just cooked") - 12:15 PM: Food placed on counter to cool (label: "Still safe — just served") - 1:00 PM: One hour at room temperature (label: "Entering the Danger Zone — bacteria start multiplying") - 2:00 PM: Two hours at room temperature (label: "Time Limit Reached — should be refrigerated or discarded now") - 2:30 PM onward: Food left out past two hours (label: "Unsafe — bacteria may have multiplied to unsafe levels") - Alternate branch at 12:15 PM: Food refrigerated promptly (label: "Safe — cold storage stops bacteria growth")

Visual style: Horizontal timeline with a color-graded "danger zone" band overlay between 40°F and 140°F context, and a branching comparison path showing "left out" versus "refrigerated promptly"

Color coding: - Green: Safe temperature/time zone - Yellow: Entering the danger zone (1 hour) - Red: Past the safe time limit (2+ hours)

Interactive features: - Click any event marker to open an infobox explaining what is happening to the food at that point and why - Toggle between the "left out" and "refrigerated promptly" branches to compare outcomes - Hover over the color band to see the definition of the "danger zone" (40°F-140°F, the range where bacteria multiply fastest)

Implementation: vis-timeline with two parallel timeline branches (left-out vs. refrigerated) and custom click handlers opening a definition panel.

Bringing It All Together

This chapter connected two big ideas: understanding what food does for your body, and making smart, informed decisions about what and how you eat. You learned that health depends heavily on nutrition, that your body needs three macronutrients — carbohydrates, protein, and fats — plus vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts, and that water and hydration support nearly every body system. You practiced reading a nutrition label and using it to build a balanced meal, and you learned why limiting caffeinated drinks and limiting sugary drinks protects a growing body, along with the effects of sugary foods and effects of salty foods when eaten in excess. Finally, you learned practical food temperature safety habits that keep meals safe to eat.

Every later chapter in this book — covering growth and development, mental and emotional health, personal safety, and more — will assume you can read information critically and make informed choices, starting with the food on your plate.

Chapter Complete!

Great work, friend! You can now explain what carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals do, read a nutrition label like a pro, and build your own balanced plate. Keep practicing these habits — healthy choices, happy you!

Quick Check — Click to expand

Question: What are the three macronutrients, and what is one job each one does for your body?

Answer: Carbohydrates give your body quick energy, protein builds and repairs muscle and tissue, and fats provide long-lasting energy and protect your organs.