Class Project by Year 5a

The children of Year 5a (St. Venera Primary School - Malta) of Mrs Xuereb have been doing some research at school and at home about healthy eating. All gathered facts were presented to the whole school during the morning assembly on Tuesday 24th March.

Here is a summary of some of the points they managed to find:

- a healthy diet is sometimes called a balanced diet as it needs to consist of different types of food
- eating properly and regularly is very important. What we eat and drink now, will effect our future.
- our bodies need a variety of food that includes carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread and potatoes.
- five portions a day from the fruit and vegetables group is very important
fruit and vegertables give us fibre, vitamins and minerals.

- Meat, fish and dairy products are also important, but we have to be careful not to eat a lot from this group.

The main nutrients derived from meat are proteins, but it also gives us fats and some minerals. For example, athletes eat lots of proteins; these help them to build muscles. On the other hand, we should take only small amounts from foods which are high in fats and sugars. A small amount of fat is important for health, but eating too much fat is unhealthy. It leads to unclogged arteries, high cholesterol and becoming overweight.

Our bodies need a lot of vitamins too.

Vitamin A – helps maintain eyesight.
Vitamin B – helps body make protein.
Vitamin C – helps to heal skin and prevents cold.
Vitamin D – Strenghtens bones.
Vitamin E – Helps strengthens cells.

Leaving aside food, one must take into consideration exercise too, which is quite healthy for the body. However, although exercise is good for you, it still matters what you eat. Eating the right food means we can learn better and exercise better too.

Water is also very important!! It keeps us hydrated. It helps us to digest food.

After all that information children, this will sound good to your ears. Did you know that chocolate can be part of a balanced diet? Plain dark chocolate is better than milk ones because it is higher in iron.

Do you want to hear a weird fact? Well children, our brains consist of 80% fat!!!
And one last thing, please listen carefully: CHILDREN THAT EAT BREAKFAST GET BETTER SCORES IN TETS THAN CHIDLREN THAT DON’T.