Eating Correctly Using The Food Groups

 Eating properly can help keep you healthy and fit. As long as you eat nutritionally your overall life will be more rewarding. Learning to eat nutritionally will keep you fit and usually you will be able to keep the proper weight for your size.

There are six food groups that you should add to your diet. These six food groups form the food pyramid as some people refer to it.

The base of the pyramid is the Bread, Grain, Cereal and Pasta food group. These foods provide complex carbohydrates, which are an important source of energy. You should have 6 to 11 servings of these foods in a day. Examples for one serving include 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of rice, or pasta, and 1 flat tortilla.

The next food groups going up the pyramid include the Fruits group and Vegetables group. In both groups, these foods will provide you with important nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, folate or potassium. They are also low in fat and sodium and high in fiber. You should have 3 to 5 servings of vegetables or fruits each day. Examples of one serving of fruit include one medium size apple, orange or banana, ½ cup of canned fruit, and ¾ cup of fruit juice or about 4 ounces. Only count 100 percent real fruit juice. Examples of one serving of vegetables include 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables, ½ cup of other vegetables either cooked or raw, and about 4 ounces of vegetable juice.

The next food group above the Fruits and Vegetables are the Dairy Items and the Protein Items. Dairy items provide your body with protein and vitamins and minerals, especially calcium. You should have 2 to 3 servings of dairy products in your diet each day. Examples of one serving of a dairy item include 1 cup of cottage cheese or ½ cup of whole milk. Protein items provide your body with much needed protein, iron and zinc. You should include 2 to 3 servings of protein daily in your diet and each serving should be between 2 and 3 ounces. Examples of one serving of protein would include 2 to 3 ounces of any type of meat, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1/2 cup cooked dry beans, and 1/3 cup of nuts.

At the top of the food pyramid are the Fats and Sweets. The foods in this group do not provide much in the way of nutrition. They do provide calories, which is one culprit for weight gain. Examples of this food group include salad dressings, oils, cream, butter, margarine, sugars, soft drinks, candies and sweet desserts.

For different types of diets, refer: http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/diets.htm
About the Author

Nitin Jain for http://www.vitaminsdiary.com. Descriptions and information on various vitamins, amino acids, minerals, herbs and nutritional supplements and their possible uses. You are free to publish the above article in your ezine or website, provided the credit is given to the author and a hyperlink (HTML clickable) is given to http://www.vitaminsdiary.com

 Nitin Jain

More Articles 

Malay Food Anyone? - Jing Huang
Malay cooking uses ingredients such as lemon grass, pandan (screwpine) leaves, and kaffir lime leaves. Fresh herbs, such as daun kemangi (a type of basil), daun kesum (polygonum or laksa leaf), nutmeg, kunyit (turmeric) and bunga kantan (wild...

Organic Food: Ten foods you should definitely buy -- organic -- for your young children - Olan Butler
I believe successful computing also involves successful health management. So you will receive articles like this one periodically interspersed between computing articles. Poor health produces poor computing. 1. Baby Foods: A 1995 report...

Is Acai The World's Most Powerful Superfood? - Todd Levering
The acai berry consists usually of a pit, and only 10 per cent of the berry is edible. It is small, round, and dark purple in color. It resembles a grape, but it is usually smaller and darker. It consists of an enormous seed and very little...

Food Poisoning--An Overview - Karen Cole Peralta
Food poisoning results when you eat food contaminated with bacteria or other pathogens such as parasites or viruses. Your symptoms may range from upset stomach to diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps and dehydration. Most such infections go...

Perfect Picnics - Frugal Food Safety Tips - Cyndi Roberts
Summer is finally here and for a lot of us that means heading out to the lake or to the park for a picnic with friends or family. Unfortunately, if we're not careful when we plan, transport and serve that picnic, our outing might not end up...

Food for Love - Elizabeth Harfleet
Food and romance have been intricately woven together for centuries, and what better time than Valentine's Day to take a closer look at this intriguing relationship. In this article, Manchester based nutritional therapist, Elizabeth...

Food Profile - Cinnamon - Sherri L Dodd
Origin: Imported from China to Egypt as early as 2000 B.C., cinnamon was given as a prestigious offering to Monarchs. It is even featured with positive and symbolic meaning in the NY Times All-time Best Seller, The Bible, in the books of Exodus...

Fast Food Fixes - Repairing Food Disasters - Chris WebAdmin
With all of the hustle and bustle of the season, the chaos of our schedules sometimes spills over into the rest of our lives. Anyone who has ever been distracted in the kitchen knows that almost anything can happen and often with disastrous...

Spanish Food - How To Make Spicy Gazpacho Soup. - Linda Plummer
Home-made soups are so good for you - all that nourishing stock and chock-a-block full of vitamins and minerals. But ... who on earth could face boiling bones for hours on end during the scorching Spanish summer weather, not to mention ...

How to choose low fat high fiber foods for a healthy diet - Zaak OConan
Raising the level of dietary fiber, while lowering the amount of fat in your diet, is one of the most effective changes you can make, both in terms of weight loss and overall health and fitness. Unfortunately, most people consume too much fat and...