Keep healthy

Fact 2

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Do you want to keep healthy? You know that to do that, you need to get some exercise! But do you know why? There are a lot of reasons. First, exercise makes you feel fit, strong and healthy. Your brain releases chemicals called 'endorphins' which make you feel good. You feel happy and relaxed.

Another reason is that it stops you from getting fat and your muscles get stronger. Your lungs, heart and bones get stronger too. In other words, your body works much better. Also, regular exercise makes you look great and helps you get rid of angry and bad feelings. It helps you sleep well. And exercising with others can be fun. Glossary

get rid: (v.) to be free of someone or of a situation.

So get started now! Here are some tips. Don’t use the elevator! Climb the stairs. Play games in recess that make you move. Join in sports lessons and team sports at school. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or not. Walk while you talk with a friend instead of sitting down. Fly a kite! Walk your dog or your friend’s dog.

Ask the kids in your class what they do. Maybe you could do it together, for example, riding a bike, skateboarding or roller blading.

Sports clubs usually cost a lot of money but perhaps you can find places that aren’t expensive where you can play basketball, go swimming, do karate or play soccer

The important thing is to get started now!

We all know the other thing you need to do to keep healthy is to eat the right things. Here’s a picture to show what you need to eat.

In the picture, we see 5 different groups of food. This is what we know as the Healthy Eating Plate. So, as you can see, eating a variety of foods keeps our meals interesting and flavorful. It’s also the key to a healthy and balanced diet because each food has a unique mix of nutrients.

Glossary meal: (n.) plural. The occasions when we take a large amount of food during the day.

Bread, other cereals, and potatos Fruit and vegetables

Foods containing fat and foods containing sugar

Meat and fish Milk and dairy products

Why do we need to eat so much fruit and vegetables? They’re full of things that are good for you. They provide fiber that helps the digestive system. They are delicious raw, cooked, boiled, fried or roasted. Anyway you want them! No single fruit or vegetable provides all of the nutrients you need to be healthy. Eat plenty everyday. A diet rich in vegetables and fruits helps you prevent some health problems and can also help you to watch over your appetite.

Glossary

raw: (adj.) food not cooked.

Dairy is a fun group. The dairy group is important because it provides your body with calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein. It includes milk, cheese, yogurt, and milk-based desserts, such as ice cream, frozen yogurt, and puddings made with milk.

Meat and fish are an excellent source of protein. We find and need protein to keep our body healthy, especially when we refer to muscles, bones, skins, hair, and virtually every other body part or tissue.

Eating the correct amount of meat and fish helps us produce the enzymes that makes us powerful. At least 10,000 different proteins make you what you are and keep you that way.

When we talk about fat, it is important to remember that it is a necessary part of our diet, but the most important fact is to consider the type of fat that we need. We should regularly choose foods with healthy fats, such as fish, nuts, seeds, and healthy oils from plants. Also consider limiting foods high in unhealthy fat like eating a lot of red meat, and keep butter for special occasions. Use healthy oils from plants like extra virgin olive, canola,

Glossary corn, sunflower, and peanut sunflower: (n.) edible seeds that yield an oil oil in cooking, on salads and with a wide variety vegetables, and at the table.of uses.

Here comes the hard part. Most of us LOVE candy, cakes, cookies, donuts and other sweet things. We also like junk food containing a lot of fat, like potato chips. Eating healthily doesn’t mean you need to give these up. Just make sure you don’t eat too many!

Glossary

cornmeal: (n.) meal made from corn, especially maize flour or oatmeal. Grains are an important food group. They give you energy. They are good sources of fiber, iron, magnesium, several vitamins and other things your body needs. Grains include foods made with wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, and barley, etc., such as bread, pasta, breakfast cereal, popcorn, tortillas, and oatmeal.

Last but not less important, our body needs liquid. But what kind of liquids should we limit and which should we drink a lot? Limit juice—because it can have a lot of sugar just like sodas do. Drink but limit yourself to one small glass of juice per day, and avoid drinks with lots Glossary avoid: (v.) to keep of sugar like sodas, fruit drinks, away from; keep and sports drinks, because they clear of. provide a lot of calories but no other nutrients. Also drinking lots of sugary drinks can take us to put on weight and increase the risk of health problems.

But... don’t forget to drink water! Without water, your body would stop working properly. Why? Your body has a lot of important jobs to do and it needs water to do many of them.

So, do exercise and eat good food and you’ll stay healthy!