Explain that food is the body s source of 40 or more essential nutrients. Write these nutrient groups on the board. Explain that the body can t provide these nutrients for itself, so we must get them from food. All foods provide nutrients, but in different amounts. That s why we need to eat a variety of foods every day.
All foods can be part of a healthy diet.
There are no bad foods, only bad diets. Provide an example of a bad diet, such as eating foods that only contain protein. This kind of steady diet would lack other nutrients vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals, and fats. Relate that our body needs the right amount of each nutrient, just as a factory needs the right number of different kinds of workers. Explain that a factory can make do with only a few bosses, but it has to have many workers on the assembly floor to get the job done.