FOOD GROUPS - A GUIDE IN MENU PLANNING

Food is the basic necessity of man. It is a mixture

of different nutrients such as carbohydrate, protein,
fat, vitamins and minerals. These nutrients are
essential for growth, development and
maintenance of good health throughout life. They
also play a vital role in meeting the special needs
of pregnant and lactating women and patients
recovering from illness.
FUNCTIONS OF FOOD
Food may be classified according to their
functions in the body.
Functions of Food

___________________________________

Physiologic Psychologi
al Social cal
functio
functions functions ns

_____ __________________________________

Energy Body building Protective

yielding foods foods
(Vitamins
Foods (Protein) and
(Carbohydrate
, minerals)
protein, fat)
Physiological functions of food:
i. Energy yielding foods:
Foods rich in carbohydrates and fats are called
energy yielding foods. They provide energy to
sustain the involuntary processes essential for
continuance of life, to carry out various
professional, household and recreational activities
and to convert food ingested into usable nutrients
in the body.
ii. Body building foods:
Foods rich in protein are called body building foods.
Milk, meat, eggs and fish are rich in proteins of
high quality. Pulses and nuts are good sources of
protein but the protein is not of high quality. These
foods help to maintain life and promote growth.
They also supply energy.
iii. Protective and Regulatory foods:
Foods rich in protein, minerals and vitamins are
known as protective and regulatory foods. They are
essential for health and regulate activities such as
maintenance of body temperature, muscle
contraction, control of water balance, clotting of
blood, removal of waste products from the body
and maintaining heartbeat. Milk, egg, liver, fruits
and vegetables are protective foods.
Social functions of food:
Food has always been the central part of our
community, social, cultural and religious life. It has
been an expression of love, friendship and
happiness at religious, social and family get-
togethers.
Psychological functions of food:
In addition to satisfying physical and social
needs, foods also satisfy certain emotional needs of
human beings. These include a sense of security,
love and acceptance. For example, preparation of
 delicious foods for family members is a token of
love and affection.

FOOD PYRAMID
The food guide pyramid was introduced in
1992 by USDA (United States Department of
Agriculture) as a general plan of what to eat each
day. The food guide pyramid is a valuable tool for
planning a health promoting diet.
By incorporating the principle of balance,
variety and moderation, an individual can still eat
their favourite foods while following the food guide
pyramid.
Balance: It means choosing food from different
food groups.
Variety: This means including different foods
within each food group. For eg. consuming a
variety of fruits.
Moderation:This means keeping serving sizes
reasonable. This involves self control.
Exercises:
Fill in the blanks:
1. Foods rich in carbohydrate and fats are called
_____________________foods.
2. Foods rich in ___________________________ are
called body building foods.
3. Foods rich in protein vitamins and minerals
are called ___________ foods.
4. The food guide pyramid is based on the
principles of ________ , __________ and ___________.
5. Milk is rich in ________________________.
6. Body temperature is maintained
by_______________________________.
Answer the questions:
1. Why are energy yielding foods important?

2. Which foods represent good sources of

energy?

3. How are milk, egg, liver, fruits and

vegetables called?
4. Which are the protective and regulatory
foods?
5. When was the food guide pyramid
introduced?
6. Who introduced the food guide pyramid?
7. Which are the three principles the food
guide pyramid is based on?

Case study

Mrs Brown is a 47 year old woman who was diagnosed

with type 2 diabetes five years ago as a result of a
routine blood test. Her diabetes is managed by diet,
although it is 18 months since her last review and she
has gained 3kg in weight since then. Previously her
weight had been in the healthy weight range. Her
general medical practitioner has referred her to you for
dietary management. He says she is very anxious about
ending up like her mother and uncle who both have
diabetes with many complications.

Make a short description of Mrs.Browns problems, find

out more about her problems by asking her to provide
you additional information about her disease and in the
end help her by giving her advice on how to manage
her disease . Additionally give her more details about
the foods she should consume and the ones she has to
avoid.