This week was me and Captain Jet's fourth week serving as health ambassadors. We taught the lesson: 'Better Beverages' to our class of 6th graders. In this lesson, we discussed what added sugars were and why they're something we should stay away from. A big reason for the obesity crisis in America is due to the massive amount of sugar in our diet; most people consume more than their body's natural threshold for carbohydrates.
At the beginning of the lesson, we had the kids yell out their favorite drinks, eight of which I wrote on the board. We then had a volunteer come up and circle the beverages they thought were healthy. After discussing each of the choices on the list, we passed out handouts of specific foods' nutrition labels (Gatorade, Oreos, Butterfinger, Cereal) to the students and discussed how to read nutrition labels. We allowed about five minutes for the students to discuss the label with their group. We had informed the students of different ways to spot added sugar, such as looking for words ending in "-ose" and looking for ingredients like high fructose corn syrup. The students pored over their labels and broke them down into the sugars, servings, and calories.
Captain Jet held up containers full of the amount of sugar in certain beverages to show the students the amount of added sugar one drink can contain. Many of them gazed awestruck at the half-full container of white sugar that represented a bottle of Gatorade.
This lesson was jam-packed with information, and because many of the students were keen on discussing their ideas, we had to cut out some parts of the lesson. Time was a huge issue.
At the end of the lesson, we gave the students a healthier, tasty beverage option by mixing 100% cranberry juice with carbonated water. The students loved it!
It is vital to choose "better beverages" because we can be consuming loads of empty calories without even realizing it, and causing damage to our bodies. Dietitians and nutritionists would stress limiting sugary foods and drinks because of the adverse effects added sugars can have on our body in the form of fat and possibly cholesterol.
At the beginning of the lesson, we had the kids yell out their favorite drinks, eight of which I wrote on the board. We then had a volunteer come up and circle the beverages they thought were healthy. After discussing each of the choices on the list, we passed out handouts of specific foods' nutrition labels (Gatorade, Oreos, Butterfinger, Cereal) to the students and discussed how to read nutrition labels. We allowed about five minutes for the students to discuss the label with their group. We had informed the students of different ways to spot added sugar, such as looking for words ending in "-ose" and looking for ingredients like high fructose corn syrup. The students pored over their labels and broke them down into the sugars, servings, and calories.
Captain Jet held up containers full of the amount of sugar in certain beverages to show the students the amount of added sugar one drink can contain. Many of them gazed awestruck at the half-full container of white sugar that represented a bottle of Gatorade.
This lesson was jam-packed with information, and because many of the students were keen on discussing their ideas, we had to cut out some parts of the lesson. Time was a huge issue.
At the end of the lesson, we gave the students a healthier, tasty beverage option by mixing 100% cranberry juice with carbonated water. The students loved it!
It is vital to choose "better beverages" because we can be consuming loads of empty calories without even realizing it, and causing damage to our bodies. Dietitians and nutritionists would stress limiting sugary foods and drinks because of the adverse effects added sugars can have on our body in the form of fat and possibly cholesterol.
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