Vegetables come in a wide variety of colors, flavors, and textures. They contain vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates and are an important source of fiber. The plant food group includes dark green vegetables, red and orange vegetables, starchy vegetables, and legumes (beans and peas). Dark green vegetables include broccoli, kale, spinach, and kale.
Red and orange vegetables include acorn squash, carrots, squash, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. Starchy vegetables include corn, peas, and white potatoes. Other vegetables include eggplant, beetroot, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, celery, artichokes, green beans and onions. Legumes include black beans, garbanzos (garbanzos), red beans, soybeans, and tofu.
Legumes can also be counted in the protein food group. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. It is found in many foods that come from plants, including vegetables, beans, and peas. Eating fiber-rich vegetables can help prevent stomach or intestinal problems and lower cholesterol.
Fruits bring color, flavor and important nutrients to your diet. There are many options: citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits; different types of berries; fruits that grow on trees, such as apricots, cherries, peaches and mangoes; and others such as figs, grapes and pineapples. According to the Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 30.6 million), older Americans generally don't eat enough fruit. Adding more fruit to your diet can have significant benefits for overall health.
Fruits, such as vegetables, contain carbohydrates and provide additional fiber that helps keep the digestive system moving. For even more fiber, eat fruits with skins on, just make sure you wash them thoroughly before eating them. While 100% fruit juice also counts for this category, at least half of the fruits you consume should be whole fruits. When buying frozen, canned, or dried fruit, choose options with the lowest added sugar content.
Wondering how many vegetables and fruits you should eat at one meal? Look at your plate. Vegetables and fruits should fill half the plate. Any food made from wheat, rye, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or other grains is a grain-based product. This includes bread and pasta, breakfast cereals, grits, tortillas, and even popcorn.
Cereals, along with fruits, vegetables and dairy products, contain carbohydrates, the body's main source of energy. At least half of the food you eat should be whole grains. Whole grains provide iron and lots of B vitamins, and they also have fiber. Examples of whole grains include whole wheat, whole oats, whole wheat bulgur (also known as broken wheat), and whole wheat corn flour.
Some grain products are refined, giving them a finer texture and a longer shelf life, but eliminating fiber and nutrients. Most refined grains are enriched, meaning that some nutrients are added back after processing. Examples of refined grain products include white flour, degerminated cornmeal, white bread, and white rice. Not sure if you should count beans and peas as vegetables or protein foods? Think of them as vegetables if you eat meat, poultry, and fish regularly.
Count them as proteins if you're vegetarian or vegan, or if you rarely eat meat, poultry, or fish. Eating dairy products helps older adults maintain strong bones and provides several vital nutrients, such as calcium, potassium and vitamin D. For heart health, choose from the many low-fat or fat-free options in the dairy group. These provide you with important vitamins and minerals, with less fat.
Certain alternatives to fortified dairy products can provide nutritional content similar to that of dairy products. For people who choose dairy alternatives, fortified soy milk and yogurt, which contain added calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D, are included as part of the dairy product group and have a nutritional content similar to that of dairy products. Other plant-based milks (for example, almond, rice, coconut, oat and hemp milks) may contain calcium, but are not always fortified with the vitamins and minerals found in dairy products. Watch for added sugars in dairy alternatives; reading the label can help you choose sugar-free or low-sugar options.
See more foods from the dairy product group. While many beverages can be part of a healthy eating pattern, some add calories without adding nutritional value and should be avoided. Drinks that do not contain calories, especially water, or that provide beneficial nutrients, such as skimmed and low-fat milk and 100% natural juice, should be the main beverages you consume. Examples of beverages that tend to have added sugar include soft drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened waters.
Most sweetened beverages don't help meet food group goals and often contain a lot of calories. Carbohydrates are an important source of energy for our body and come mainly from cereals, such as rice and noodles. In addition, fruits, root vegetables, dried beans and dairy products also contain carbohydrates. Fats can be found in foods such as meat, fish, seafood, dairy products, nuts, seeds, and oils.
Fats serve as an energy source. They prevent heat loss in extremely cold climates and protect organs from shock. They are responsible for forming part of the cells of our body and transporting fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. There are many types of vitamins from various food groups and they participate in different types of body metabolism, such as maintaining healthy skin and hair, building bones, and releasing and using energy from food.
Vitamins can be classified into water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins. Minerals are a group of essential nutrients that regulate many body functions, such as fluid balance, muscle contraction and the transmission of nerve impulses. Some minerals also contribute to body structure and to the formation of strong, healthy bones, such as calcium. Dietary fiber is the indigestible part found in plants.
Helps stabilize blood sugar, promote gastrointestinal health and prevent constipation. Dietary fiber can be classified into soluble and insoluble fiber. There are seven main classes of nutrients that the body needs. These are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water.
It's important for everyone to consume these seven nutrients on a daily basis to help them build their bodies and maintain their health. Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in the diet can have negative impacts on health, which can lead to diseases. Vitamins are groups of related substances found in small amounts in food and are needed for the body to function normally. Added fats and sugars come mainly from fats, oils and sweets, but they can also be part of or added to foods in other food groups.
Understanding the different food groups and how much of each of them should make up your diet can help you form a healthy eating pattern over time. Although most foods are blends of nutrients, many of them contain a lot of one nutrient and a little of the other nutrients. It's important to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and alternatives to dairy products or fortified soy. The daily intake amounts listed in cups or ounces may not actually translate into cups or ounces of the food you are eating.
However, very little meat is needed, and if foods such as beans, nuts, and dairy products are included in the diet, a family can have a balanced diet, not including meat. All animal foods contain more protein than plants and are therefore usually better food sources for bodybuilding. Think about the types of foods that your community usually consumes and write a list of two groups of balanced diets, one with the presence of animal foods and the other without animal foods. Macronutrients provide a lot of calories, but the amount of calories provided varies depending on the food source.
The food groups at the top of the pyramid should be eaten in moderation (small amounts), but the food groups at the bottom of the pyramid should be eaten in larger quantities. These foods are usually cheap and provide most of the energy, protein and fiber in a meal, as well as some vitamins. To have a well-balanced diet, people in your community will need to eat other foods besides basic foods. .
