Find out About the 5 Basic Food Groups RIGHT NOW

Jun 03, 2019

Everyone has a favourite food that they love to eat almost all the time. It is their own personal food group! For some people it would be avocado, for others, it would be juices and others would swear by lentils. With so many options, one hardly remembers the 5 Basic Food Groups important to sustain a healthy lifestyle. In the world of Nutrition and Dietetics, everything changes pretty fast. It started with the food pyramid, went on to a balanced diet and now there are a number of different versions of a healthy diet. However, before choosing any diet, one must see if it has the basic food group items. The key to eating well and staying fit is enjoying a variety of nutritious foods from each of the basic food groups. How does it help? Well, foods having similar amounts of key nutrients are grouped together to form a food group. For instance, the key nutrients of milk, cheese, yoghurt are protein and calcium and the fruit group is a great source of vitamins, especially vitamin C.

What are the 5 Basic Food Groups?

To meet the daily nutrient requirement, one must eat a recommended amount from each food groups every day.

What are the 5 basic food groups and what do they constitute? Let us find out!

Fruits

The fruit group allows an array of fresh fruits, fruit products, including dried, canned and frozen fruit and 100 per cent fruit juice. One of the most important constituents of the group is berries and melons which are nutrient-dense. While everyone has their own notion of the consumption of fruits, it highly depends on the age, gender and activity levels of a person. The best thing about having fruits as a part of the meal is that they are nutritious both when eaten fresh or raw. It can be added to cereal, porridge, toast, salads or even used to finish a meal. In fact, one can use it in between meals as a snack.

Vegetables

The vegetable food group contains all the leafy greens, fresh vegetables and vegetable products. This also includes frozen, canned and dried vegetables along with 100% vegetable juice. The main group is then divided into subgroups containing similar foods. Say, there is a subgroup of dark green vegetables, red and orange vegetables, starchy vegetables, beans and peas among others. This classification helps promote a wide variety of vegetables. With such a huge variety of vegetables available in the market, one can choose to have anything.

Grains

The grain food group can be divided into two subgroups namely, whole grains and refined grains. The whole grain subgroup has products that are high in fibre and protein and the refined grain subgroup has products high in vitamin B and iron. While whole grains constitute products like quinoa, oats, muesli, brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, the refined grain subgroup contains corn flakes, traditional pasta, grits and crackers.

It is recommended to consume at least half of the grain intake from the grain subgroup to ensure a healthy nutrient intake. This is because food grains are extremely rich in nutrients that help the body.

Protein Foods

As the name suggests, this group contains all Protein-rich foods like meat, fish, eggs, poultry, nuts, soy products, beans and seafood. Even though the fibre-rich beans and peas are a part of the vegetable group, they are also a source of high protein. Those who wish to follow a healthy diet must consume lean meat and poultry to enhance the nutrition quality of the diet. To get rid of the monotony, one can experiment with the preparation of the food as variety is highly possible here.

Dairy

The dairy food group is one of the most interesting as it constitutes dairy products that are generally high in calcium. One can consume all types of yoghurt, cheese, and other liquid milk products. Moreover, one can also consume calcium-rich fatty desserts like ice cream and pudding in this group which makes it people's favourite. While soya milk is a part of the dairy group, it does not include products like butter, cream, and cream cheese as they are no high in calcium.

How this helps!

Knowing about the essential nutrients that the body requires helps in more ways than one. Whatever way of eating you follow, there are a few things one must know before removing certain groups from the diet. Say, one day you decide to go gluten-free or meatless or off dairy, you must know the nutrients you are cutting out. It is best to find alternatives to these foods so the normal body functioning does not suffer.

What to Know Beforehand

The daily food consumption depends considerably on the gender, age and activity levels. To ensure a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet, one must choose from a variety of foods from each group. A good daily diet intake would consist of foods across all 5 groups so that the body receives all necessary nutrients.