Have I got a deal for you!  I'm going to give you a free machine.  It is more powerful than any computer.  It can last longer than any bicycle or a car.  It can even fix itself!  All you have to do is give it yummy food!  Be careful, though.  If you eat too much of one kind of food, it could start to break down.  Please read this instructional manual on how to take care of . . . your body.

It fixes itself!

Look at your body's great skin, muscles, and the blood that moves around with the beat of your heart.  How can you make sure they stay healthy and strong?  You need to make sure your body has what it needs to build and fix these different parts.  Your body uses protein to make new muscle, make parts of cells and send messages inside of cells.  You can get it from eating eggs, fish, meat, milk, cheese, nuts or beans.  You can also find a little bit in brown rice and spinach.  So if you want to grow bigger, eat more protein.  It also helps your body heal itself.  Can your bike do that?

This may be too much for breakfast.

Smarter than a computer!

If you walk around the grocery store, you will see some foods that are "Fat Free."  A lot of people try not to eat fat.  That must mean that fat is bad, right?  Not at all!  Sure, if you eat too much fat it will not be healthy, but if you don't eat any, you can't make new cells!  Lipids are found in nuts, eggs, butter, and meats.  Lipids are also called fats and they help you build the outside of your cells, as well as your brain and nervous system.  Good thing there are a lot of them in the milk that babies drink from their mother.  They are putting their brains together!  So, please, eat fats and keep building your brain!

Now all I need to find is some toast.

Lots of storage!

Sometimes you feel like running, jumping, screaming, flipping, and doing everything under the sun.  You get this energy from breads, candy, and fruit.  Carbohydrates are big molecules that store lots of sugars for your body to use as energy.   So why not eat these all the time?  Well, your gas tank can only get so full.  When you fill up with bread or candy, your body will store some of these in your liver and your muscles.  When those areas are too full, then these carbs will start turning into fat.  Too much fat makes your body heavier and your machine will not be as fast.

Fun Fact!  You will get more fat on your body if you eat too many carbs than if you eat fats.

Cheap gas!

You know carbohydrates in their yummiest state.  Candy bars, cereal, bananas, grapes and other sweet things.  Sugar is a simple kind of carbohydrate that your body quickly turns into energy.  When you eat sugar, you will feel a spike in energy!  Your body will tingle and tell you "Yes!  Energy!  Eat more!"  You can find sugars everywhere.  Be careful, though.  As a scientist you know that anything that goes up must come down, so after riding that sugar high, you will crash.  A little sugar now and then is great.  In fact, you need some!  Just remember that too much sugar will slow you down a lot more than it speeds you up, since the extra sugar you don't use can be stored as fat.

Just a small piece please.

Act now!

Your body is an amazing machine.  You don't even have to do much to make it work.  You have a lot of eating choices.  When you know what foods will make your body strong, what will make it smarter, and what will give it energy, you can make the best choices.  You can give your body the right fuels to think better than a computer, to heal yourself, to store more, and to last longer than a bike . . .

References:

Child and Youth Health. "Fuel for Your Body."  Women's and Children's Health Network Kids' Health, 2013. <http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=284&id=1431>

Kids Health. "Learning About Fats." Kids Health, 2010.  <http://kidshealth.org/kid/nutrition/food/fat.html> 

Kids Health.  "Learning About Proteins." Kids Health, 2010.  <http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/body/protein.html>