Healthy eating: food groups and a varied diet
Aprende
Your body needs food to grow, play and think. But no single food has everything you need. That is why we eat different foods.
The five food groups Vegetables and fruit help the body to work well. Bread, rice, pasta and potatoes give energy for playing: they are the starchy foods. Milk, cheese and yoghurt are dairy foods and help us to have strong bones and teeth. Meat, fish, eggs and pulses are the protein foods. They help us to grow and to have strong muscles.
A plate for eating well: half vegetables and fruit This is how a plate is divided. Half is vegetables and fruit. One quarter is bread, rice or pasta. Another quarter is meat, fish, eggs or pulses. To drink, water. Each country draws its own plate or pyramid in its own way (in England it is the Eatwell Guide), but the idea is the same: eat from all the groups.
Everything you eat is your diet. Eating a varied diet means having foods from different groups. Three foods from the same group are not varied. Every family eats in its own way, and in each group there are many foods to choose from.
Foods for every day Some foods are for every day. Others are for now and then. Ice creams, cakes and fizzy drinks are for now and then. They are not forbidden: they are eaten only a few times. The drink for every day is water.
Foods for now and then Eat when you are hungry and eat slowly. When you are full, stop. If a food makes you feel ill, do not eat it and tell an adult.
Worked examples
Ejemplo 1
Gus has bread, a yoghurt and a banana for breakfast. Which groups are they from?
- Bread is from the starchy foods group.
- Yoghurt is a dairy food.
- A banana is fruit.
They are three different groups: it is a varied breakfast.
¡Ojo! Many children count the foods and do not look at which group each one is from.
Ejemplo 2
Tony eats rice, pasta and bread. That is three foods. Is it varied?
- Look at which group each one is from.
- Rice, pasta and bread are from the same group: starchy foods.
- To make it varied, vegetables and protein foods are missing.
It is not varied: it is three foods, but from only one group.
¡Ojo! Many children think that three foods are already varied.
Ejemplo 3
Mara puts water, an ice cream and a carrot on the table. Which is for every day and which is for now and then?
- Water is the drink for every day.
- A carrot is a vegetable: it is for every day too.
- An ice cream is for now and then.
Water and the carrot, for every day. The ice cream, for now and then.
¡Ojo! Many children think that ice cream is forbidden. It is not: it is eaten less often.
Un reto para pensar
Look at what you eat today. Draw your plate and colour each group a different colour. Are there vegetables or fruit? Is any group missing? If you like, tell someone at home.
Practica
Rondas de 10 preguntas. Elige el nivel:
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