Rainbow Eating: Why Fruits and Vegetables Keep You Strong
Did you know that strawberries are red because of something called lycopene, and it helps your body fight germs? Carrots are orange because of beta-carotene, which helps your eyes see better in the dark! Every color of fruit or vegetable has a special job to do inside your body. Eating many colors every day is like giving your body a superhero team.
What You'll Learn
In this lesson you will: - Learn why fruits and vegetables come in different colors - Find out what vitamins are and why your body needs them - Discover how many servings of fruits and vegetables kids should eat each day - Try a fun rainbow plate activity!
Why Colors Matter
Plants use colors to attract animals and insects to help spread their seeds. But those colors also come from special nutrients—tiny helpers—that keep our bodies healthy. Red fruits and vegetables like tomatoes and watermelon have lycopene, which helps your heart stay strong. Orange and yellow foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, and mangoes are full of beta-carotene. Your body turns beta-carotene into Vitamin A, which helps your eyes and skin. Green foods like spinach, broccoli, and peas are packed with Vitamin K, which helps your blood clot when you get a cut. Blue and purple foods like blueberries and grapes have antioxidants—tiny shields that protect your body's cells from damage.
Challenge yourself to eat one fruit or vegetable you have never tried before. Purple sweet potatoes, golden kiwi fruit, and white cauliflower all count! Every new color brings new helpers to your body.
What Vitamins Do
Vitamins are like tiny tools that help your body build and fix things. You get most vitamins from food—your body cannot make them on its own. Vitamin C (in oranges, bell peppers, and strawberries) helps cuts heal faster and keeps your immune system strong so you do not get sick as often. Vitamin A (in carrots and sweet potatoes) keeps your eyes healthy and helps you see when it is dim. Fiber (in apples, beans, and broccoli) is not a vitamin but it is very important—it helps your tummy do its job and keeps your digestive system running smoothly.
How Many Servings?
Doctors and nutrition scientists recommend that kids eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. One serving is about as much as fits in your hand! Here is an easy way to think about it: try to make half your plate fruits and vegetables at every meal. - Breakfast: a banana sliced on oatmeal (1 serving) - Lunch: baby carrots and apple slices (2 servings) - Snack: a small bunch of grapes (1 serving) - Dinner: broccoli and corn on the side (2 servings) That is 6 servings—you did it!
Match each fruit or vegetable to the color group it belongs to.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
Which color of fruits and vegetables gives you beta-carotene, which your body turns into Vitamin A?
You want to make sure half your lunch plate is fruits and vegetables. Which lunch is the best choice?
My Rainbow Plate Drawing
Get a blank piece of paper and draw a large circle to represent your plate. Color in half the plate with as many fruit and vegetable colors as you can—try to include at least one food from each color group: red, orange or yellow, green, and blue or purple. For each colored section, write or ask a grown-up to write the name of one fruit or vegetable that color. When your rainbow plate is complete, pick your favorite food on it and draw a small star next to it. Share your rainbow plate with a family member and tell them one thing you learned about why that color is good for your body!
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