---
title: "Nutrients in a Healthy Diet"
description: "Identify the seven components of a healthy diet — carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, and water — and explain the role of each in the body"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/nutrients-in-a-healthy-diet-mt_sDmrVCfzqt
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/nutrients-in-a-healthy-diet-mt_sDmrVCfzqt.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Nutrients in a Healthy Diet

Identify the seven components of a healthy diet — carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, and water — and explain the role of each in the body

Subject: Science · Area: Organisms & Life Processes · Ages 11 to 13
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/nutrients-in-a-healthy-diet-mt_sDmrVCfzqt

## Ready when they can

- Names all seven dietary components and a food source for each
- Explains what each nutrient does in the body (e.g. proteins for growth and repair)
- Identifies which nutrients provide energy and which do not

## Lesson: Nutrients in a Healthy Diet

Everything you eat gets broken down into nutrients your body uses to grow, move, and stay well. A healthy diet needs seven of them: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and water.

Carbohydrates and fats give your body energy. Bread, rice, and pasta are full of carbohydrates. Butter, oil, and nuts are rich in fats, which also cushion your organs and store energy for later.

**Example.** Proteins do a different job. Meat, fish, eggs, and beans are packed with protein, which your body uses to build new cells and repair muscle after you run or play sport.

Vitamins and minerals are only needed in small amounts, but they matter a lot. Vitamin C from fruit helps cuts heal, and calcium from milk builds strong bones. Neither one gives you energy.

**Tip.** Fibre, found in wholegrain bread and vegetables, keeps your digestion moving smoothly. Water carries nutrients around your body and keeps every cell working. Like vitamins and minerals, neither gives you energy, but you cannot stay healthy without them.

*(drawing: Sort the seven nutrients by job: 2 give you energy, 1 builds and repairs you, and 4 keep everything running.)*

**Recap.** Seven nutrients keep your body running: carbs and fats fuel you, protein builds you, and vitamins, minerals, fibre, and water keep everything working without adding energy.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Animal Nutrition](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-nutrition-mt_E1wR8IfCV6)

## Opens up

- [Digestion & Enzymes](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/digestion-and-enzymes-mt_0NlbulkB5P)
- [Reading a Food Label](https://lightmysky.com/learn/design-and-technology/reading-a-food-label-mt_1oQ_cPb_-T)
- [Calculating Dietary Energy](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/calculating-dietary-energy-mt_83KkBCtVyR)
- [Diet Imbalance & Deficiency](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/diet-imbalance-and-deficiency-mt_NZHFcEtTyI)