The goal of a health class is to increase knowledge to help the students live an overall healthy life with the things they can control. One of the most important things they can control to some extent, is their diet and what they are putting into their bodies. These learning goals will help high school students build a better knowledge base for what they are putting into their bodies through their diet.

1. Understand the functions of fat in your body.
2. Identify the amount of fat needed in your diet
3. Understand the functions of carbohydrates in your body.
4. Identify the amount of carbohydrates needed in your diet
5. Understand the functions of protein in your body.
6. Identify the amount of protein needed in your diet
7. Understand the functions of essential vitamins and minerals in your body
8. Identify the amount of vitamins and minerals needed in your diet
9. Understand the functions of water in your body
10. Identify the amount of water needed in your diet
11. Understand how to read nutrition labels to identify the amount of the nutrients in the product.

Module Duration: 8-10 class periods(4-8hours). It is designed for 30 minutes of learning per day.

Before we begin, please take this pre-survey.

To start the module we will need to know how many calories are recommended each day for ourselves based on a few factors. This will be based off of your age and activity level. You can use this chart to see your recommended amount of calories per day. Once you have your recommendation, you will now be able to better understand how to incorporate all of the nutrients into your diet. You can find nutrition info on pretty much anything you eat within the United States. Most restaurants provide calorie and other nutrition amounts on their menu or website. Everyting you buy at the store will have a nutrition label, or if it doesnt you can look up the approximate nutrition information online. In order to plan your meals accordingly it will be important to understand how to read those nutrition labels. The Health Nerd (2016, 0:00-1:03) provides a brief introduction on how to read nutrition labels below:

It is important to know that the percentages on there are based on a 2,000 calorie diet so you percentages may not be the same. The one thing The Health Nerd stresses is that the nutrition facts are based on the serving, so there may be more than one serving in the container. You will have to do some math if you are eating more than one serving to get the correct nutrition information. As we move through the module, we will learning about all the different nutrients listed on the nutrition label.

Comment: Reflect on your recommended calorie intake. Before we get into the rest of the module, do you think you are getting around the correct amount of recommended calories. Do you think you are getting too many or not enough? Explain why you think so and if you think you are getting all of the proper nutrients in your current diet

Update: Think about your favorite food from a restaurant or the store. Find a similar product from a different company. Explain why one is healthier than the other. Would you switch to the other product if it is healthier? or is the taste that different to you?

Fat gets such a bad reputation when talking about it within a nutrition plan. In many diets, it is completely avoided. In reality, fat is essential for many body functions. It also is one of the three nutrients that provide us with energy. Fat provides 9 calories per gram. The true definition of a calorie is "the energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water through one degree celsius"(Oxford Languages, 2021)

The important body functions that are involved with fat are:

1. Brain Development
2. Blood Clotting
3. Controlling Inflammation
4. Maintaining Healthy Skin and Hair
5. Absorption of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
6. Insulation

Fat is essential in the diet but in moderate amount just like any other nutrient. There are 3 different types of fat.

Figure 1:

(Pharmacy, 2021)

The majority of the fat you consume should be unsaturated fat. Having a diet including unsaturated fats can help reduce the risk of heart disease. The other 2 fats are saturated fat and trans fat. Consuming too much of these fats can have the opposite effect and increase the risk of heart disease. Trans fat is a fat that is made in a lab through a process of hydrogenation which makes vegatable oil harden, making it more saturated.

Overall for teens, fat should be about 25-35% of their overall calories. Saturated and trans fat, together, should only make up a maximum of 10% of the overall calories. Excess fat in the diet can lead to unnecessary weight gain, obesity, high cholesterol and other health problems.

Comment: Using Figure 1 or another source, find an unsaturated fat you have not tried before and explain why you may have not tried it. Also, explain how you can add the unsaturated fat you chose into your diet.

Update: Find a recipe of one of your favorite foods. Look at the ingredient list and find a way to eliminate the saturated and trans fats or substitute it with an unsaturated fat. You can use this article to help you with some substitutions. Post the recipe and explain where you made the changes.

Carbohydrates are another nutrient that provides energy for the body. It provides four calories per gram. There are many people that try to avoid carbohydrates in their diet because some famous diets, like the Atkins Diet, avoid carbohydrates. In reality carbohydrates are what is easiest for the body to use for energy.

There are 2 main types of carbohydrates. Those are Simple and Complex. 

(HealthiNation, 2012)

As you can see from the video, we want most of our carbohydrate coming from complex carbohydrates. We want to limit the processed sugars which are many simple sugars. Although there are healthy simple sugars like those that come from fruits, vegetables, and milk, most of the simple sugars we consume are from processed sugars. Not all complex carbohydrates are the best either. We should look for whole grains, starchy vegetables and legumes when looking for healthy sources of complex carbohydrates. Carbohydrates should account for about 45-65% of each persons daily recommended calories for each day as carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy. At least half of the calories coming from carbohydrate foods should be from whole grain foods. Any access carbohydrates will be stored as fat so it is important to once again eat in moderation.

As we grow older it is important to add more fiber to our diet, which is a tough complex carbohydrate, to help push waste through our digestive system. Good sources of fiber include:

1. Fruits and Vegetables
2. Whole Grains, and products made from whole grains
3. Nuts, Seeds, and Legumes.

Comment: What are some processed simple sugars you could substitute for something else in your current diet. Explain why the substitute will be better.

Update: Find or Create a recipe that includes a wide variety of healthy carbohydrates.

Protein is the last nutrient that provides energy for the body. Like carbohydrates, protein provides four calories per gram. Protein is the nutrient that helps the body build and maintain it's cells and tissues so it is crucial to include in the diet. Proteins are made up of amino acids. There are 20 amino acids. 11 of the amino acids are nonessential because your body can synthesize them. The other nine are considered essential because you must get them from food.

Figure 2

(S., 2015)

Figure 2 shows protein that is considered complete protein. Complete protein contains all 9 essential amino acids within it. There are other proteins like legumes, nuts/seeds, and whole grains that can be combined in the diet to include all nine essential amino acids.

Teen girls should consume about 46 grams of protein a day. Teen boys should consume about 52 grams of protein each day. Although it is not the body's first option for energy, it still can be used for energy.

Comment: Think about your favorite protein source. Talk about some different options you may try that are complete protein and explain the healthiest option available for those.

Update: Vegetarians and Vegans may have trouble getting their essential amino acids along with other nutrients. Find a recipe and explain how it combines all the essential amino acids and also has a good amount of carbohydrate and unsaturated fat.

Vitamins and minerals are also a critical part of a persons diet even though they do not provide energy. They are both responsible for carrying out basic bodily functions. Vitamins are organic, meaning they are produced by the plants and animals we consume. Minerals are inorganic, meaning they are from the earth, soil, and water and they are absorbed into the plants we eat. There are two main types of vitamins. There are water-soluble(dissolve in water) vitamins and fat-soluble(stored in body fat) vitamins. Figures 3 below shows water soluble vitamins, their functions and foods that are high in each vitamin. 

Figure 3

(Romito et al., 2020)

Vitamin C gets a lot of attention because of its antioxidant properties for the immune system. The truth is that all of these vitamins are equally as important to living a healthy life. Figure 4 below shows all of the Fat soluble vitamins along with their functions and the foods that are high in those vitamins.

Figure 4

(Romito et al., 2020)

These fat soluble vitamins are just as important, and many vitamins functions are to help work hand and hand with the minerals we will talk about next. Although vitamins and minerals are not the same, they work with each other to regulate the body functions. Figure 5 shows the sources and functions of the main minerals.

Figure 5

(Romito & O'brien, 2020)

All of these vitamins and minerals are essential to keeping a well functioning body. It is important to eat a wide variety of foods in order to get all of these essential nutrients.

Comment: Looking through Figures 3, 4, and 5, figure out what vitamins and minerals you might be lacking in. Discuss which foods you could start eating in order to get those vitamins/minerals.

Update: Find a post a recipe that you would eat, that would include foods of all of the vitamins/minerals you are lacking in your diet. 

Water is just as important as all of the other nutrients. Many people do not consume the recommended amount of water for each day. For an average person they should consume about 8 cups (64 ounces) of water a day. The Mayo Clinic Staff (2020) suggests to increase water intake if a person: 

1. Exercises regularly with activity that makes them sweat.
2. Environmental issues like hot and humid weather or high altitude may make someone dehydrated
3. Overall health with sickness may cause added dehydration
4. Pregnant or Breastfeeding women will need to consume more water to keep hydrated

To test hydration besides looking at the color of your urine, (Your urine should be clear to light yellow if properly hydrated, not dark yellow), you can use the skin test. You can see how to do the skin test in the video below.

(The Doctors, 2019)

With proper hydration, it will help your body maintain all of the functions in the body water is used for. Here is a list of functions water helps with:

• Moving food through the digestive system
• Digesting carbohydrates and protein
• Aiding chemical reactions in the body
• Transporting nutrients and removing wastes
• Storing and releasing heat
• Cooling the body through sweating
• Cushioning the eyes, brain, and spinal cord
• Lubricating the joints

Comment: Talk about your favorite and least favorite waters. Explain why you like and dislike each of the waters

Update: Research and find some different strategies for consuming the recommended amount of water each day. Describe one that you would be interested in trying and how you will it work in your daily routine.

The purpose of this module is to imporve your knowledge on nutrition. We want everyone to be able to live a healthier lifestyle. Living with a healthy lifestyle begins with getting proper nutrition. For the assessment, you will have three options. You can create a presentation, essay, or personalized nutrition plan for a week. These will be peer reviewed so that you can submit the best overall final product.Please look at the rubrics below and see which peer review project you would like to complete:

• Presentation
• Essay
• Personalized Nutrition Plan

If you choose the personalized nutrition plan, you can use this template as a starting point. In order to make a copy for yourself, click on File> Make a Copy.

Once you have chosen your topic, you can let the teacher know so they can assign peer review groups.

Once you are done, please fill out this post-survey