Food:
Every organism that utilises any substance to support their nutritional values is called food. The origin of food usually comes from plants, animals and fungus that contain a variety of essential nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, dietary supplements, oils and many others.
That essential substances ingested by any organism are future divided into many essential elements to maintain the cell activity, growth and development. For the need of metabolism of an organism, they show different behaviour towards the feeding utilisation. All these factors are affected by the different geological conditions or their habitat.
Healthy eating patterns:
For healthy aging, smart eating food choices plays an important role in an organism. If you are very well known about the different food groups, their essential ingredients and nutrients it may help you for a healthy eating pattern.
The weight of your body depends on your age, sex and physical activity, so you should know how much diet you eat. For that purpose, the knowledge of essential food groups is very impactful.
List of healthy eating food groups:
- Fruity
- Vegetables
- Dairy
- Grains
- Protein food products
- Solid fats and oils
- Added sugar and salt
- Beverages and wine
Here is the detailed discussion of these healthy eating food groups:
VEGETABLES
The main source of carbohydrates, fibre, minerals, vitamins and other essential nutrients are vegetables. A wide variety in flavour, texture and colour of vegetables are naturally existing in all our world. The group of green vegetables, orange vegetables, in the form of peas, beans and legumes are naturally produced in all regions of the world.
Dark green vegetables:
The source of dark green vegetables are spinach, broccoli, kale and collard greens etc.
Orange and red vegetables:
The source of orange and red vegetables are carrots, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet potatoes and acorn squash etc.
Starchy vegetables:
The most common source of starchy vegetables is green peas, white potatoes and corn.
Other than those vegetables there are also number of vegetables like beets, onions, cauliflowers, celery leaves and green beans etc.
The one form of carbohydrates is also called fibre that is not digested by the human body and it is also obtained from many vegetables like peas and beans. Although the nutritional value of fibres is very high and helps the stomach for digestion process and prevent intestinal problems.
FRUITS
The full of flavour, colour and nutrient that are available in your diet is fruit. As we know, a very wide variety of fruits are available all over the world with beneficial health effects. In our daily eating habits, fruits are the best source of nutrition for our bodies health and wellness.
Naturally occurring fruits like citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit and kiwi that are full of vitamin C that are very essential for healthy body function. A wide variety of berries, cherries, pineapples, apples, mangoes, figs, pomegranate, strawberries and grapes are also available that are full of nutritional value.
Eating fruit with their skin also has extra beneficial effects on the body because they have more fibres that help in the function of digestion.
GRAINS
Any product that is obtained from rice, barley, cornmeal, rye, oats and wheat is known as grains. Bread, tortillas, even popcorn and breakfast cereals are popular examples of grains in our daily life. Grains are usually low in fats, so have high nutritional values. Grains are also the 3rd most important source of carbohydrates in the body along with dietary products, vegetables and fruits. So that grains are also the main source of energy in your body.
By the consumption of grains in an adequate amount, it also provides vitamin B, iron and fibre too.
Some of the grains in our food are usually in the refined form which have high nutritional content and the shelf life of these products are very high. White flour, white bread, degermed cornmeal and white rice are the most common products of refined grains.
PROTEIN FOODS
Proteins are the most important group in the human body, these are actually the building blocks of cells. Proteins are involved in the repairing and building of tissues in cells and also helps the body to fight against infectious diseases.
Extra proteins in the body are used as an energy source. It is very necessary to eat an adequate amount of proteins in our daily diet to stay healthy and strong, especially in older ones. The most common source of protein in humans is meat and poultry. But eggs, nuts, beans, soy products, seeds and seafood are also the main source of proteins.
Eggs and meat are the main source of proteins, vitamins and minerals and are the good choice for balanced food to fulfil nutritional requirements. Vitamin B12 is the most important vitamin that is only obtained from animal meat and milk.
Pulses like peas, beans and lentils that are naturally low in fat are full of fibre, minerals and vitamins.
DAIRY
Dairy is also the most important group of food in our daily life. The dairy products are the main source of getting calcium, potassium and vitamin D in the body for the strengthening of bones and muscles. The good choice of dairy products with low fats have very beneficial effects on your body. Yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, milk and pudding are the main dairy products.
OILS AND SOLID FATS
The main source of calories in your body are oils but are also important for essential nutrients like vitamin E in the body. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are present in oil, but these fats are important and healthy for the body because it absorbs most of the vitamins and gives energy to the body.
BEVERAGES
Some beverages are good for health and some are not because some beverages only provide calories to the body but not nutritional values. Beverages that are free from calories show beneficial effects on the body like 100% juices, low fat milk and fat free products.