NUTRITION

Where did we get the notion that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Why is it important to get vitamin E in our diets? What are “recommended daily allowances,” and why do they matter? Proper nutrition and food intake are absolutely essential to help keep our bodies on the go. The proper balance of fruits, vegetables, breads, meat and dairy products is of vital importance for healthy teeth, blood vessels and muscles. To learn more about nutrition, use the direct links on the Times Launchpoint Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/

Here are the best sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun.

LEVEL 1

Nutrition Expedition: Learn safe and healthy eating habits while taking a cyber-hike up to food pyramid peak. Explore an online kitchen, and see how much you know about food safety. Ask Carbo your questions about having a healthy body image.

https://www.fsci.umn.edu/nutrexp/kidsma~1.htm

10 Tips to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity: What can you do to feel better today? Tip #1: Eat breakfast. Get more ideas through this fun collection of tips guaranteed to give you plenty of energy.

https://ificinfo.health.org/brochure/10tipkid.htm

Fun Stuff: Meet Pepe Pepper, rapper Barney Broccoli and their friends as you learn about the importance of fruits and vegetables in nutrition. Try some delicious recipes, play some online games, and test your knowledge of 5-A-Day, the recommended number of fruit and vegetable servings.

https://www.dole5aday.com/fun.html

LEVEL 2

Kids Health: Want to be a better athlete? Learn about nutrition so that your body functions at its best. Find out what vitamins and minerals are, how to read food labels and how to make healthy and delicious snacks.

https://kidshealth.org/kid/food/

Kids Food Cyber Club: Carbohydrates give us energy, and proteins help our bodies grow. Try some fun activities that teach you about good nutrition and how you can make healthy food choices.

https://www.kidsfood.org/kf_cyber.html

The Food Guide Pyramid: This site explains the food pyramid and explains what is considered a single serving for each of the different food groups.

https://www.nal.usda.gov:8001/py/pmap.htm

LEVEL 3

Food Zone: Learn how the digestive system converts food into energy. Try experiments that help you discover how vitamin C keeps fruit from turning brown and why some fats are solid and some are liquid.

https://kauai.cudenver.edu:3010/0 /nutrition.dir/menunutr.html

Nutritional Requirements: Create your own personal nutrition profile by finding out your body mass index and caloric requirements. Learn how to read food labels, what constitutes a serving and some tips for better health.

https://www.mealformation.com/nutrequ.htm

Food Safety and Nutrition Information: An assortment of articles on nutrition by the International Food Information Council Foundation. Read about the history of food development, food safety guidelines, and how researchers are studying how the senses of smell and taste influence nutrition.

https://ificinfo.health.org/infofsn.htm

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This week’s column was designed by Tim Smay, Valerie Brunell, Christine Ivory and Anna Manring.

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

What are good sources of vitamin E?

Clue: See Kids Health

Tell Us What You Want To Know

Got a paper or project coming up? Just curious about something? Send us a topic, and we’ll consider it for a future Launch Point column. Write to us at The Times Orange County, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. E-mail us at educ@latimes.com or leave a phone message at (714) 966-4550.

Answer to last week’s Quest:

Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for arbitrating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.