FOOD GROUPS We need to eat a balance and variety of foods from these groups: Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta Fruit and vegetables Meat, fish, eggs, beans Milk and dairy foods Foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar 1

FOOD GROUPS There are five (5) main food groups that we need to eat food from every day to stay healthy. Food is the fuel for our body and we need the fuel for energy, to help our body grow and repair itself, and to keep warm.

On the basis of their function foods are further divided into three main categories: Energy giving food Body Building food Bread, cereals and potatoes Meat and fish Protective food Fruit and vegetables Milk and dairy Fatty and sugary 3

Grain: This is the food group that we should eat most often. It includes healthy foods such as cereal, rice and pasta. We should eat 6-11 servings from this group every day. Bread products provide us carbohydrates which provides us energy.

A Serving of 100% Whole Grain Foods If you enjoy foods made entirely with whole grain, you can follow the suggestions in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, where a serving of whole grain is defined as any of the following: 1/2 cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain 1/2 cup cooked 100% whole-grain pasta 1/2 cup cooked hot cereal, such as oatmeal 1 ounce (1 ounce = 28.349 grams) uncooked whole grain pasta, brown rice or other grain 1 slice 100% whole grain bread 1 cup 100% whole grain ready-to-eat cereal

What is an "ounce-equivalent?“ The U.S. Guidelines actually say you should eat a specified number of “Ounce- equivalents" instead of servings. Because a slice of most breads, a cup of most cold cereals, and the amount of dry rice or pasta that cooks up to 1/2 cup all weigh about an ounce, the Guidelines thought this would be more specific and understandable than simply saying "serving."

GRAIN GROUP 1 ounce-equivalents 1 slice bread ½ cup cooked (pasta, rice or cereal) 1 cup “ready to eat” cereal 1 “mini bagel” ½ English muffin 1 small (2-½” diameter) muffin 1 small (6”) flour or corn tortilla 3 cups popcorn 7 7

2- Fruits and Vegetables Fruits and vegetables give us fibers and important vitamins and minerals. We should eat Three (3) servings of fruit and three to five (3-5) servings of vegetables every day. Because they are low in fat and calories, fruits and vegetables are healthy snakes between meals. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets a serving size for vegetables to be equal to about one-half cup, except for greens like spinach and lettuce (one full cup). One serving of sliced fruit or berries is equal to 1/2 cup; however a single piece of fruit, such as an apple or an orange counts as one serving. 

Typical serving sizes for fruits and vegetables: One banana Six strawberries Two plums Fifteen grapes One apple One peach 1/2 cup of orange or other fruit juice Vegetables Five broccoli florets Ten baby carrots One Roma tomato 3/4 cup tomato juice 3/4 cup vegetable juice Half a baked sweet potato One ear of corn 1/2 cup whipped rutabaga. Four slices of an onion

3. Dairy: We should have 2-4 servings from the dairy food group every day. This is the best source of calcium which we need to make our bones strong. 1 Cup Serving From The Dairy Group 1 cup of milk ½ cup evaporated milk 1 cup yogurt 1 ½ cheddar cheese 1 ½ Swiss cheese 1 slice American cheese  1 ½ cups ice cream

4. Meat and Proteins: We should eat 2-3 servings a day of the foods in this group. This food group includes poultry, fish, meat, dry beans, eggs and nuts. The foods from this group give us proteins, iron and zinc. Items Serving Size Chicken, fish or other meat 3 oz. Peanut Butter 2 Tbsp. Egg 1 whole or (3 oz scrambled) Beans 1/2 cup

5. Fats, Oil and Sweet: Fats, oil and sweet hardly provide any nutrition for the body so we should eat very little from this food group. Fibers: Fibers are very important in our diet Because it helps to move food through the stomach, Helping to prevent constipation. Everybody needs Some fibers in their diet. It is generally thought that there are five main groups, however some times fruit and vegetables are classified into separate group Making total six groups.

Iron and zinc are minerals Iron and zinc are minerals. We need minerals for the growth and care of our body. Nutrition: To give our bodies nutrition, a food must contain vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and minerals. A lot of food from fats, sweets, and oils food group such as butter, margarine, gravy, salad dressing, sugar and jelly do not contain these things.

Nutrition gravy margarine jelly salad dressing butter

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals Vitamins also keep us healthy. They are known as nutrients. We get the minerals and vitamins from the food we eat. Two important vitamins are vitamin C which we het from fruits such as oranges, Vitamin B which we get from meat and bread groups. Minerals such s calcium keep our body healthy. Calcium is found in many milk and dairy products.

Calcium is essential for the formation of the bones and for the muscular activity. Phosphorus is essential in the formation of the skeleton and the teeth. Magnesium contributes to the formation of the bones and the muscles and to the development of the nervous system. Iron is an oligo-element needed for an optimal growth of the infant’s organism and participating to the development of his immune system.

Group B vitamins: participate to the metabolism and contribute to the immune system’s and nervous system’s functions. Vitamin C: essential for the formation of blood cells and muscles and promotes the absorption of the iron contained in the food. It has a role in hormonal mechanisms and helps the elimination of toxic substances. It is a useful antioxidant. Vitamin D: helps in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and has an essential role in the bones’ mineralisation.

Group B vitamins: participate to the metabolism and contribute to the immune system’s and nervous system’s functions. Vitamin C: essential for the formation of blood cells and muscles and promotes the absorption of the iron contained in the food. It has a role in hormonal mechanisms and helps the elimination of toxic substances. It is a useful antioxidant. Vitamin D: helps in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and has an essential role in the bones’ mineralisation.

Daily Healthy Food Plan Table shows the daily food plan for healthy life.

Food Breakfast Lunch Afternoon Snack Number of servings Total serving of Grains Breakfast 2 1 3 Two pieces of toast Small bowl of cereal Fruit juice Morning Snack 4 Fruit Muffin Lunch A chicken salad sandwich Crackers with tomato Apple 7 Afternoon Snack Crackers Glass of Milk 8 Dinner Vegetable soup Spaghetti served with a green salad Dinner roll Fruit salad 11

bowls of cereal Toast fruit muffins crackers with tomato spaghetti spaghetti with green salad fruit salad

Vitamins and Minerals Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. Though it seems like everyone is supplementing their diet with some form of calcium, most people are deficient. Your body can’t process calcium if you don’t have enough magnesium and you can’t absorb calcium without ample stores of vitamin D. You need vitamin K to regulate your blood calcium. And if you don’t have enough calcium, you won’t be able to process zinc. If you don’t have enough zinc, you won’t be able to process vitamin A.    Too much calcium can reduce the effectiveness of vitamin A and magnesium, and can cause anxiety (while too little causes depression). Also, people taking too much (and the especially wrong kind) of calcium are calcifying their soft tissue. And if your diet is acidic, your body is going to pull minerals (especially calcium) from wherever it can get it (teeth, bones, organs, etc.) to keep your blood at its proper, slightly alkaline pH (read more about this in Acid vs. Alkalinity).