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Lesson #4: Fresh Foods Fuel Fitness

Chapter FourCristina is on a quest to help her family eat healthier as part of a prevention and treatment plan! She researches healthy foods and learns how to balance meals. Her family’s diet is heavy on brown rice, beans, avocados, and tomatoes, which are all healthy choices! But, Abuela’s doctor explains that balanced nutrition means “eating the rainbow” and reducing the amount of processed foods we eat. But, what are processed foods and what in the world does it mean to “eat the rainbow?” There’s so much to learn!

Lesson Overview:In this lesson, students learn what it means to “eat the rainbow” and how that is different from eating processed foods. They discuss places they might purchase fresh fruits and vegetables and explore which foods grow during each season in their state. Students explore the health risks from over-consumption of processed foods and sugar, as found in soft drinks and fruit-flavored punches and juices. They propose options for replacing foods low in nutrition or high in sugar with foods higher in nutrition and lower in sugar, such as eating an orange versus drinking a glass of orange juice.

Content Areas: Life Sciences and Health Education

Lesson Duration: 60-minute class period

Essential Questions:• What are processed foods?

• What are fresh foods?

• Why was it better to eat more fresh foods than processed foods?

• What are the effects of eating too much sugar?

• How can I eat more fresh fruits and vegetables?

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Materials:• Handout: Sugar—One Lump or Two? (1 per pair)

• Handout: What’s in Season? (1 per group)

• Website/Handout: Why is it Important to Eat Fruit? from ChooseMyPlate.gov

• Website/Handout: Why is it Important to Eat Vegetables? from ChooseMyPlate.gov

• Computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones with internet access

• Drawing paper

• Crayons, markers, and/or colored pencils

Objectives:Students will:

• Discuss the benefits of fresh versus processed foods

• Identify fruits and vegetables that are available locally each season

• Explain the unhealthy effects of consuming too much sugar

• Propose strategies for “eating the rainbow”

Vocabulary:Processed food Fresh food Locally grown

Background Information for the Teacher:Processed foods are any foods that have been changed or modified in any way before the consumer has an opportunity to eat it. Some examples include:

• Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables

• Cereals, fresh meat and poultry

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• Foods fortified with fiber, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids

• Foods packaged to stay fresh

• Prepared frozen foods

There is a variety of levels of processing when it comes to processed foods. Some foods are minimally processed while others are ultraprocessed, such as foods that contain ingredients such as flavors, colors, sweeteners and hydrogenated oils, emulsifiers and other additives that you would not normally cook with at home. In a study published in the journal BMJ Open, scientists led by Carlos Monteiro at University of Sao Paolo found that nearly 60% of an American’s daily calories come from “ultraprocessed” food1.

Locally grown foods provide an alternative to processed foods and can be purchased where you live. There are many benefits to buying and consuming locally grown foods. Buying food from within your community can help preserve habitat for wildlife, save energy, and grow your local economy. Fresh produce loses nutrients quickly during transportation. Food grown locally is picked within a day or two providing a fresher, tastier alternative. Also, farming as an occupation continues to decrease from year to year and farmers get paid significantly less when they sell their food through distributers. When farmers sell to local families, they get paid full retail price. If farmers are making more money, they will be less likely to sell farmland. When people buy locally grown food, they are preserving natural habitats for wildlife, while increasing sustainability.

The overconsumption of sugar affects multiple organs and can lead to serious health issues. Sugar fuels every cell in the brain. Your brain also sees sugar as a reward, which makes you keep wanting more of it. If you eat a lot of sugar regularly, you are reinforcing that reward, which can make it a tough habit to break. Sugar can also alter moods by creating a quick burst of energy followed by a feeling of anxiety when the sugar is taken in by the cells of the body. This constant fluctuation may increase the risk of depression in adults. Sugar also causes cavities by attracting bacteria. Sugar causes an increase in blood pressure, which adds additional stress to the body’s arteries leading to heart

Lesson #4: Fresh Foods Fuel Fitness

1Time Health, 2016. Retrieved from http://time.com/4252515/calories-processed-food/

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disease and strokes. Sugar also causes inflammation, which leads to joint pain in some individuals. The pancreas becomes overworked when too much sugar is consumed by constantly releasing insulin to lower the glucose levels in the blood. Over time, the pancreas falters leading to Type 2 diabetes.

Procedure1. Ask, “What is Cristina trying to learn about now?” Students’ answers should include

to help her family eat healthier by creating a plan for making smart choices about the foods they eat.

2. Say, “Cristina has done a lot of research to learn about how to make healthy choices, but she still has a lot of questions. What do you think the doctor means by eat the rainbow? What are we eating if we’re not eating the rainbow?” Allow time for students to discuss.

3. Say, “Today we are going to discuss two important terms related to food and explore what they mean to us and how we choose foods to eat. Those terms are processed foods and fresh foods.”

4. Say, “Processed foods are foods that have been changed in any way before the consumer has an opportunity to eat them. Processed foods give us an abundant, safe, and affordable food supply. However, one of the problems with many processed foods is that sugars have been added and the nutrients our bodies need have been stripped away.”

5. Explain that it probably is not possible for us to avoid eating processed foods all the time. Not all of them are bad for us and they can be very convenient and helpful to families that lead busy, active lives. Engage students in a discussion around the following questions:

Lesson #4: Fresh Foods Fuel Fitness

a. What type of processed foods do you eat on a regular basis? Think of foods that come in boxes, wrappers, packages, or bags.

b. What types of processed foods do you think contain the most sugar?

c. Why might it be a problem for us to eat too many processed foods?

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6. Say, “Let’s explore what happens to the body when we consume too many processed foods, especially those with added sugars.”

7. Students will work with a partner to complete this activity. Distribute Sugar–One Lump or Two? Handout and share the following instructions with the students:

Lesson #4: Fresh Foods Fuel Fitness

a. Read each caption to see how eating too much sugar affects our bodies–even if we are elite athletes who exercise all the time.

b. For each caption, you and your partner will complete the following cause-effect sentence starters.

○ Eating too much sugar can affect our brain by…

○ Eating too much sugar can affect our mood by…

○ Eating too much sugar can affect our teeth by…

○ Eating too much sugar can affect our joints by…

○ Eating too much sugar can affect our heart by…

○ Eating too much sugar can affect our pancreas by…

8. Ask, “Since we probably cannot cut out all processed foods from our diets, what can we do to increase the amount of nutrients and decrease the amount of sugar in the foods we consume?” Accept all responses.

9. Say, “We can eat fresh foods! Fresh foods are foods that have not been processed and are sold fresh, such as fruits and vegetables. Eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables is a great way to replace processed food with fresh food, decrease the total amount of added sugars in our diet, and increase the nutrients we consume.”

10. Display or distribute Why is it Important to Eat Fruit? from ChooseMyPlate.gov and read with students; repeat for Why is it Important to Eat Vegetables? from the same website. Ask students to share their reactions to the information.

11. Ask the following questions:

• Where do you and your family buy your fruits and vegetables?

• Has anyone ever seen or been to a farmer’s market?

• What might be a benefit of buying fresh foods grown near you?

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• Would you rather buy tomatoes that came from 10 miles away or 1,000 miles away? Explain your thinking.

• What are some healthy options if fresh, locally-grown foods are not available?

• Buy frozen, canned, and/or bagged produce

• Buy fruits and vegetables that are not locally grown

• Grow our own fruits and vegetables!

12. Say, “When buying fresh fruits and vegetables, it helps to know which foods are currently in season and which are not. Fruits and vegetables naturally grow in cycles and ripen during a certain season each year. When they are ripe, they are at their best nutritionally. If you eat seasonally, you are eating fruit and vegetables during the time of year they are naturally at their best. But, how can I find out which foods are in season? The easiest way is to use a seasonal chart that shows you which foods are at their best during which months.”

13. Divide the class into 4 groups and share the following directions:

• Each group will be assigned a season of the year and will conduct research to find out what fruits and vegetables are grown fresh in our state during those three months of the year.

• To conduct our research, we are going to use an interactive seasonal map: http://fresheverydayproduce.com/in-season/

• Once you’re on the website, click on our state. Then, click the available produce items in that month and write them on your capture sheet. If there are no fruits and vegetables available during your season, check the states around us. (Note for the Teacher: If you do not have access to enough technology to conduct this exercise in small groups, do it instead as a whole group. Students can work independently to record the information the class gathers from the website.)

14. When students are finished collecting their data, ask each group to share their finding with the class.

15. Ask, “What are the colors of the rainbow? What are some foods from our research that could make up the rainbow that we eat?” Have students draw and color a rainbow

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of fresh fruits and vegetables they would like to eat as part of their healthy diets. Display pictures around the classroom.

16. Students will write a note to Cristina to give her advice about making healthy food choices.

Celebration Extension: As part of their presentation, have students create a sample shopping list to show others how they might replace some processed foods with fresh, seasonal alternatives. Students may also share the food rainbows they created in class!

Suggested time for presentation: 5 minutes

Additional Resources:• http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/how-sugar-affects-your-body

• http://www.foodinsight.org/sites/default/files/what-is-a-processed-food.pdf

• http://fresheverydayproduce.com/

National StandardsHealth Standards

• Standard 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to enhance health.

• Standard 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.

CCSS

• SL.4.1.D Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

• SL.4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Lesson #4: Fresh Foods Fuel Fitness

Directions: Even elite athletes are affected by eating too much sugar. Read each caption to determine what happens to different systems of the body when we eat more sugar than we should!

Eating candy or cookies can give you a quick burst of energy by raising your blood sugar levels fast. When your cells absorb the sugar, you may feel jittery and anxious. Studies have linked a high sugar intake to a greater risk of depression in adults.

Eating sugar gives your brain a huge surge of a feel-good chemical called dopamine. Your brain craves more and more sugar to get that same feeling of pleasure.

Bacteria love to eat sugar lingering in your mouth after you eat something sweet. This causes cavities.

Sugar affects arteries by causing them to grow faster than normal and get tense. This adds stress to your heart and damages it over time, which can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

When you eat too much sugar, your pancreas pumps out more insulin than normal. Over time, your pancreas will break down and your blood sugar levels will rise, setting you up for Type 2 diabetes.

Eating lots of sugar has been shown to worsen joint pain because of the inflammation they cause in the body.

Sugar—One Lump or Two?

Name: __________________________________________________________________

What’s in Season?

Directions: Use the website below to see what foods are available for each season. Select your state and a month in the season your group was assigned and identify some fresh seasonal foods that are available in your area! http:/ /fresheverydayproduce.com/in-season/

Winter (December, January, February)

Summer (June, July, August)

Spring (March, April, May)

Fall (September, October, November)