60 Minutes of Activity a Day...do it for life!

Fit "Fitness" into your busy day - It is important to your health and success. Whether it is walking the dog, running, or riding a bike, physical activity should be one of the healthy habits in your daily life.

Get out and get active - limit sedentary activities. Student's lifestyles today are very different from their parents'. TV, video games, texting, and online social networks are now replacing the neighborhood kickball game. Kids and teens are spending more time sitting and less time running, jumping, and playing. Commit to staying active.

What are the Benefits? Students who are physically fit will........

• Find it easier to maintain a healthy weight
• Sleep better
• Have higher self-esteem and self-confidence
• Be more attentive in class and perform better in school
• Have proper growth with stronger bones, muscles, and joints
• Feel less stressed
• Reduce their risk of chronic disease
• Decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• Have lower blood pressure
• Have lower LDL "Bad" blood cholesterol levels, and raise HDL "good" cholesterol levels
• Feel happier and have a better outlook on life!

School-aged athletes need to energize their bodies with good nutrition if they hope to perform their at their best. Whether it's playing football, swimming, or jogging, athletes need to eat a nutritious, balanced diet to fuel their body. Good nutrition, like any sporting event, has basic ground rules and nothing affects your ability to compete more than good nutrition.

Eating the right foods helps you stay physically fit and reach your optimum performance. To reach your highest potential and maintain a winning edge, all of your body systems must be perfectly tuned using proper nutrition.

Eat a variety of Healthy Foods and stay Hydrated. The young bodies of student athletes are still growing. It is important to nourish that growth and fuel the demands of strenuous exercise and organized sports.

That translates into eating a variety of foods every day - grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. The base of the diet should come from carbohydrates in the form of starches and sugars. Fluids, especially water, are also important to the winning combination. Dehydration can stop even the finest athlete from playing his or her best game.

Eat enough Energy, Protein, Vitamins, Minerals and Fiber.

• Choose lots of brightly colored Fruits and Vegetables.
• Get plenty of Calcium. Calcium helps build healthy bones.
• Iron is important. Iron helps carry oxygen throughout the body. Iron-rich foods include red meat, chicken, tuna, salmon, eggs, dried fruits, leafy green vegetables, and whole grains.
• Protein for strength. Protein can help build muscles, along with regular training and exercise. Protein-rich foods include fish, lean red meat and poultry, dairy products, nuts, soy products, and peanut butter.
• Smart Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates or "carbs" provide energy for the body and are an important source of fuel for young athletes. However, there is no need for "carb loading" before a big game. Choose carbohydrates in whole-grain foods that are less processed and high in fiber, like pasta, brown rice, whole-grain bread, and cereal. Fiber also helps lower cholesterol and may help prevent diabetes and heart disease.
• Water, and staying properly hydrated, is key to an athlete’s success.

Without the right foods, even physical conditioning and expert coaching aren't enough to push you to be your best. Good nutrition must be a key part of your training program for you to succeed.

In order to plan a healthy diet, we must know how to read food labels. Food labels show us if a food has a little or a lot of certain nutrients. Look on the side of a product to find the Nutrition Facts title.

You will find the serving size of the food below the nutrition facts title. Similar food products have similar serving sizes. The servings per container are also included to let you compare what you actually eat with the serving size on that product. So remember, if the serving size is 1 cup and you eat 2 cups, then you will need to double the numbers on the label.

% Daily values are listed to give you an idea of how one serving of a product contributes nutritionally to a 2000-calorie diet. Use the % daily values to see if a food has a little or a lot of nutrients.

The amount of calories in one serving of the product is listed. Only a few nutrients are listed on the Nutrition Facts label that relate to today's most important health issues. The label lists total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium because people eat too much of these. Fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron are listed because people do not eat enough of these every day. You should try to eat at least 100% of the daily value of each of these every day. Fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, total carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron are required on the label. Other nutrients may be listed if the company would like to list them.

Nutrition Facts

Get the nutrition facts on common foods found in Fruits, Vegetables, and Seafood. Learn about the calories, fat, and nutrients found in these foods as Percent Daily Values (%DV) based on that found in a 2,000-calorie diet.

What Are Nutrients?

Nutrients are substances found in food that are needed for good health. Your body can't make nutrients, so they must be supplied by food. During digestion, food is broken down into nutrients, which are absorbed into your bloodstream and carried to every cell in your body. More than 40 nutrients in food are classified into six groups: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. Each nutrient has a specific function and they all work together for your good health.Carbohydrates - are the body's main source of energy or calories. Carbohydrates are classified in two groups: complex carbohydrates (starches) and sugars. Fiber, which is another carbohydrate, aids digestion and helps fight some diseases but is not a nutrient because it is not digested and absorbed by the body.Protein - supplies energy and amino acids. Amino acids are building blocks that build, repair, and maintain every cell in your body.Fats - also supply energy but they have many other functions. Fats transport nutrients and they are a part of many body cells. Fats provide storage and insulation for your body. Carbohydrates and proteins that are not needed for energy are stored as fat.

Vitamins - trigger many different body processes. These compounds are needed in very small amounts in the diet to regulate chemical reactions in the body. Each vitamin has a specific job in your body, so one vitamin can't replace another. Vitamins do not provide energy but they help our bodies use the energy from foods.

Minerals - are like vitamins and are used in the body to promote chemical reactions and form body structures.

Water - is a part of every cell and tissue in the body. Water carries nutrients to cells and removes waste products. Water is also needed to help regulate body temperature. Water makes up 55-75% of your body weight.

Good nutrition leads to great academic performance

Your body needs healthy fuel to perform, to grow and to ward off illness and disease. Would you feed a million-dollar racehorse junk food & soda? Of course not, so think about what you eat...because you are worth far more than a horse!

Good nutrition has a positive and direct impact on your ability to do well in school. When your nutritional needs are met, you have the cognitive energy to learn and achieve. You will be better prepared to learn, more likely to attend school, and are more apt to take advantage of learning opportunities.

Protein – Choose a variety of foods with lean protein

Protein is an indispensable nutrient and can be found throughout every tissue in our body. Protein is a vital source of energy but the most important function of protein is building and repairing tissue. We also need protein for our immune function, proteins transport vitamins and minerals throughout our body.

Grains – Make half of all the grains you eat whole grains

Eating grains, especially whole grains, provides health benefits. Dietary fiber from whole grains, may help reduce blood cholesterol levels and lower risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Grains are important sources of many nutrients, including several B vitamins, magnesium and selenium.

Vegetables - Make at least half of your plate fruits and vegetables

Eating vegetables provides health benefits — people who eat more vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.

Fruits – Make at least half of your plate fruits and vegetables

Eating fruit provides health benefits — people who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.

Dairy – Always choose fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk

Milk and dairy products are especially important to bone health during school aged years, when bone mass is being built. It provides important sources of calcium, potassium and vitamin D, and help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and help to lower blood pressure in adults.