Food is the basic necessity of life. We eat food, so that our body can carry on its functions normally. Foods are classified into different groups according to their composition and nutritional values. We need different nutrients like, proteins, fats and carbohydrates, also mineral and vitamins for healthy growth. In order to get all these nutrients, we require to eat food as our body cannot produce them alone. Deficiency of any of these nutrients can lead us to severe health problems.
Now we need to understand, what is a food group?
A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. Nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and recommend daily servings of each group for a healthy diet.
COMMON FOOD GROUPS:
DAIRY GROUP:
This group is also called milk group , Examples of dairy products include milk, yogurt and cheese. Though they are also dairy products, ice cream is typically categorized with sweets and butter is typically classified with fats and oils in nutrition guides. The foods in this group are excellent source of calcium and proteins. Recommended serving is 2-3 servings per day.
MEAT GROUP:
This group contains all the protein sources, like egg, beef, pork, mutton, fish, chicken, turkey, besides this group also include legumes, dry beans and lentils. Foods in this group are good sources of proteins, iron, B vitamins and zinc. 2-3 servings of protein group is recommended per day.
Grains and Cereal Group:
This group sometimes refer to as cereal group, contains wheat, rice, oats, barley, bread and pasta. This include simple and complex carbohydrates, which provide good amount of energy to our body. More fiber rich foods in this category are the whole grain foods such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, oatmeal or grits. Recommended serving is 6-11 servings per day.
Vegetable Group:
This is a typically large category, second only to grains. This group includes all the fresh and cooked vegetables and their juices, like spinach, carrots, onions,peppers and broccoli. Recommended servings are 3-5 servings per day. They provide several vitamin, minerals, fiber and enzymes. Most vegetables consist phytochemicals which help us to prevent from many chronic diseases.
Fruit Group:
This is sometimes categorized with vegetables, it’s a typically medium-sized category in nutrition guides. Recommended serving is 2-4 servings per day. This group contains all kinds of fresh, or frozen fruits and juices, like, apple, orange, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, and other berries and citrus fruits as well. Citrus fruits are high in vitamin C and other antioxidants. Fruits like apricots, cantaloupe and nectarines are good sources of vitamin A.
Fats, Oils and Sweets
They are sometimes categorized with sweets, this is a typically a very small category in nutrition guides, if present at all, and is sometimes listed apart from other food groups. This include butter, margarine, cooking oil and shortening. Un saturated fats and vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, olive oils and avocados include in this group. And for sweets which includes desserts, jams ,jellies candies and soft drinks. These sweet things have no such nutrition and they are termed as “Empty Calories”. They can be consumed in limited quantity, if we consume them in large amounts, then ofcourse, it causes obesity.
