Which are the main food groups?

Now that the back-to-school season is settling down, the nutritionists at MyPlate are offering a back-to-basics refresher lesson on the food groups. As the MyPlate icon shows, the five food groups are Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy .

What are the 7 main food types?

Healthy Eating As You Age: Know Your Food Groups Vegetables. Fruits. Grains. Protein Foods. Dairy. Oils & Solid Fats. Added Sugars. Beverages. Feb 25, 2022

What are the 7 food groups in KS3?

The food groups are: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and water .

What are the main types of food?

What are the five food groups? Fruit and vegetables. Starchy food. Dairy. Protein. Fat.

What are the 12 main food groups?

Table 1 describes the composition of these 12 nutrient-specific food groups: (1) grains; (2) milk and milk products; (3) fruit and fruit products; (4) eggs; (5) meat and poultry; (6) fish= shellfish; (7) vegetables; (8) fats=oils; (9) legumes= nuts=seeds; (10) sugar and sugar products; (11) non-alco- holic beverages; ...

What are the 3 main food categories?

The three major groups of food are energy-providing foods, body-building foods, and protective foods . Energy-giving foods: These are composed of carbohydrates and fats.

What are the 5 food groups for kids?

School-age children need to eat foods from all 5 healthy food groups. The 5 healthy food groups are vegetables and legumes, fruit, cereals and grain foods, dairy and dairy alternatives, and meat and meat alternatives . Healthy foods have nutrients that are important for growth, development and learning.

Eating fruit has many health benefits . People who eat fruits and vegetables as part of an overall diet may lower their risk for certain diseases. Fruits provide nutrients needed to maintain your health and body.

What is the 7 food group plan?

Food is divided into 7 different groups : drinks, carbs, fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat/fish/eggs, fats, and high-sugar foods . Each of these groups provide different nutrients and should be consumed at a different rate.

Why are the 7 food groups important?

The seven components of a balanced diet Provide quick and efficient energy for movement . Fruit, honey, biscuits, bread, rice, pasta, cereals. Repair, growth and efficient working of all the body tissues. Meat, fish, dairy, lentils, nuts, seeds.

Are there 3 basic food groups?

The three major groups of food are energy-providing foods, body-building foods, and protective foods . Energy-giving foods: These are composed of carbohydrates and fats.

Why are the 5 food groups?

Foods are grouped together because they provide similar amounts of the key nutrients of that food group . For example, the key nutrients of the milk, yogurt, cheese and alternatives food group include calcium and protein, while the fruit group is a good source of vitamins, especially vitamin C.

What are the main food groups? - BBC Bitesize (2024)

What are the main food groups?

Food groups are created by grouping together foods with similar nutritional values.

How many food groups are there?

The five main food groups are:

Fruit and vegetables
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Dairy
Fats and oils

Video - What are the food groups?

In this video, the Great Spoon is hosting a fun food groups quiz. Learn about the five different food groups and some examples of food that belong to each of them.

What is a healthy diet?

We need variety and balance in our diets. We should enjoy foods from each of the five food groups to stay healthy.

Every meal we eat does not need to be perfectly balanced. However, over the course of a day or a week, we should be consuming the recommended amounts for good health.

Here is a chart showing the five food groups and some examples of foods in each group.

Benefits of the different food groups

Each of the five food groups serve a different purpose in helping our bodies with the functions it needs to keep working.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables provide fibre which we need to help digestion. They are also packed with vitamins and minerals to support a healthy immune system. For example:

vitamin A supports good eyesight and can be found in spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and red peppers.
vitamin C is great for skin repair. Good sources of vitamin C include oranges, strawberries and blackcurrants.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide us with all the energy we need for everyday activity and bodily functions.

Proteins

Foods that contain protein help our bodies grow, repair and make new cells. Eating from this food group will give you healthy muscles.

Dairy and dairy-free alternatives

These foods are great for the health of our bones. We get calcium from dairy and many dairy-free alternatives have calcium added to them. Calcium gives us strong bones and is good for our teeth.

Fats and oils

Fats and oils give us an energy store and essential fatty acids. This allows our bodies to absorb vitamins we get from other food groups.

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Slide 1 of 5, A variety of fruit and vegetables such as brocolli, carrots, peppers and cucumber., Fruit and vegetables Fruit and vegetables are packed with minerals and vitamins. They also provide fibre which we need to help digestion.

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What are the NHS guidelines around food and diet?

Current health guidelines from the NHS encourage us to eat:

at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
three servings of dairy like milk, yoghurt or cheese
three to five servings of carbohydrates. These should ideally be high fibre options, such as wholemeal brown bread and wholemeal pasta
two to three servings of protein rich foods per day. Make sure over the week you are having some protein, such as oily fish or beans, like kidney beans
a small amount of oils and spreads

What is fibre?

Dietary fibre is plant material that cannot be digested by the body.
Dietary fibre helps the digestive system to move the food we eat through the intestines and push the waste material out of the body.
Foods that are rich in fibre include beans, pulses, and vegetables, such as broccoli and carrots.

Learn more about our digestive system here: How do humans digest food?

Which foods are less healthy?

What are the main food groups? - BBC Bitesize (3)

Foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat, like crisps and cakes, are not included in the five food groups. These are foods that we should eat less of as occasional treats because they do not provide our bodies with any nutrients.

Too much sugar and fat can make us gain excess weight and too much salt is bad for our blood pressure.

What are the main food groups? - BBC Bitesize (4)

Why is water an important part of a healthy diet?

Along with eating a healthy balanced diet we should be drinking lots of water. Our bodies are made up of over 60% water, some of which is lost through breathing, sweating and going to the toilet. We need to replace it for our bodies to function properly and keep us hydrated.

Find out more about why drinking water is an important part of our health and wellbeing: Why do we need water?

Test your knowledge

Try this short quiz to check your knowledge of the five food groups.

Challenge - Design a balanced meal

Create a healthy balanced meal that includes all the five food groups.

Remember to include something from the five food groups:

Fruit and vegetables
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Dairy
Fats and oils

You might want to think about a main meal, such as lunch or dinner, and a healthy snack/dessert.

For example:

A sandwich made with brown bread (carbohydrates) filled with ham (protein), cheese (dairy) and salad (fruit and vegetables) followed by a piece of fruit as a snack.