Health and Nutrition
THE MAJOR FOOD GROUPS
What
are the Food Groups?
The Caribbean Food groups consists of:
Staple Foods
Staple foods are foods regularly consumed in a community and from which people obtain a significant proportion of their calorie requirement.
Examples:
Cereals: Bread (from wholegrain or enriched flour), flour, cornmeal,
cooked and ready to eat cereals, macaroni, spaghetti and rice.
Starchy fruits, roots, tubers and their products: Banana, plantain,
breadfruit, yam, Irish potato, sweet potato, dasheen, coco/cassava.
Nutrients contributed:
Carbohydrate
Vitamins
Minerals
Fiber
Recommended number of servings per day: Four or more
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Legumes/
Nuts
Legumes are an ideal food for people who want to help protect
cardiovascular health. Data show that a diet low in meat and high in legumes
and vegetables can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Examples:
Red peas, gungo/pigeon peas, black-eyed peas, cowpeas, split peas,
peanuts, other dried peas, beans, and nuts.
Nutrients Contributed:
Protein
Carbohydrate
Calcium
Iron
Fiber
Recommended number of servings per day: One or more
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Dark
Green Leafy, Yellow, and other Non-Starchy Vegetables
Examples:
Callaloo, spinach, watercress, pak choy, string beans, pumpkin, carrot.
Nutrients
contributed:
Vitamins
A, and C, B complex vitamins
Minerals
Fiber
Recommended number of servings per day: Two or more.
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Fruits
The sweet and fleshy product of a tree or other plant that contains seed and can be eaten as food.
Examples:
Mango,
guava, orange, pineapple, West Indian cherry, pawpaw.
Nutrients
contributed:
Carbohydrate
Vitamin
C
Vitamin
A (yellow fruits)
B
complex vitamins
Minerals
Fiber
Recommended number of servings per day: Two or more.
Importance
of fruits in your diet
Foods from Animals
Examples:
Lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, ham, sausages. Sardines, liver, heart, kidney, tripe, etc.
Nutrients
contributed:
Protein
Iron
B
complex and fat-soluble vitamins
Fat
*Red meats and organ meats are excellent sources of haeme iron.
Other
Examples:
Milk-fresh, evaporated, skimmed, yogurt, cheese.
Nutrients
contributed:
Calcium
Protein
Vitamins
A and D
Thiamine
Riboflavin
Carbohydrate
Fat
Recommended
number of servings per day:
Two or more.
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Fats
and Oils
Fats are substances that help the body use some vitamins and keep the
skin healthy, they are also the main way the body stores energy.
Oils
Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature. They provide essential
nutrients and come from many different plants and from fish. Many oils are rich
in fats that are monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, and low in fats that are
saturated. No cholesterol is contained in oils from plant sources (vegetable
and nut oils). Cholesterol is not found in any plant foods. However, a few
plant oils, including coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil, are high in
saturated fats and should be considered solid for nutritional purposes. Strong
fats are fats that, like butter and shortening, are solid at room temperature.
Strong fats come from many animal foods and, by a method called hydrogenation,
can be made from vegetable oils.
Examples:
Polyunsaturated: Vegetable oils (except coconut oil).
Saturated: Butter, margarine, bacon, salt pork, coconut oil, fat on meat,
fat in whole milk.
Nutrients contributed:
Fat
Vitamin E
Butter and fortified margarine provide vitamins A and E.
*Most oils do not contain vitamin A.
Recommended number of servings per day: Three or more.
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6 CARIBBEAN FOOD GROUPS
Why
we need these food groups?
Nutrients are
compounds in foods essential to life and health, providing us with energy, the
building blocks for repair and growth and substances necessary to regulate
chemical processes.
Proteins
Protein is the major cell component and
important for survival. Protein is used for the building and protection of our
body.
·
Muscles
- Those responsible for movement and the muscles around our organs and our
heart.
·
Collagen
- Provides strength and structure to tissues (e.g. cartilage in joints).
·
Skin,
hair and nails - These are mainly composed of
protein.
·
Haemoglobin
- Transports oxygen around the body.
·
Hormones
- Act as your body’s chemical messengers.
·
Enzymes
- Regulate metabolism - they support important chemical reactions that allow
you to digest food, generate energy to contract muscles, and regulate insulin
production.
· Antibodies - Play a role in your immunity.
Different
types of protein
Meat
Poultry
Fish
Eggs
Dairy
Grains
Beans
Vegetables
Nuts
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Grains
A grain is a small, hard,
dry seed harvested for human or animal consumption, with or without an attached
hull or fruit layer. A grain crop is a plant that grows grains. Cereals and
legumes are the two leading types of commercial grain crops. They are healthy,
yummy, and add variety to a diet.
Why
we need grains
A vital role in the
function of the immune system and in the promotion of hepatic health. The
benefits of fiber are abundant, including helping you feel more complete (which
helps control weight), revitalizing metabolism and keeping baths regularly
visited.
Essential Nutrients in
Grains
Fibre:
Whole grains contain fiber which, in
healthy eating patterns, reduces the risk of coronary arteries and
constipation. High-fibre food also gives you a feeling of fullness that
can help to maintain weight.
Minerals:
Iron is used to deliver oxygen to the
blood. Magnesium is a mineral that is used to create bones and release muscle
energy. For a healthy immune system, selenium is essential.
B vitamins: assist the body in the release of protein, fats and carbohydrates energy.
Phytochemicals: These nutrients naturally occur in plants and are being studied for their ability to protect against disease.
Different
types of grains
·
Teff
·
Wheat
·
Oats
·
Rice
·
Corn
·
Barley
·
Sorghum
·
Rye
·
Millet
·
Triticale
·
Amaranth
·
Buckwheat
· Quinoa
Nutrients
Naturally, the bulk of fruit is low in
fat, sodium and calories. None have cholesterol
Fruits are a source of many essential
nutrients that are under-consumed, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin
C, and folate.
Potassium-rich diets can help maintain
healthy blood pressure.
Dietary fiber from fruit, as part of a
balanced overall diet, helps lower blood cholesterol levels and can reduce the
risk of heart disease. Fiber is essential for the proper function of the
intestine. It helps to minimize constipation and diverticulosis.
Fiber-containing foods, such as fruit, help to give you a feeling of fullness
with fewer calories.
Vitamin C is essential to the regeneration
and reparation of body tissues, to treat and treat cuts and wounds and to
preserve healthy teeth and gums.
Folate (folic acid) allows red blood cells
to develop in the body.
Health
benefits
As part of the overall balanced diet,
eating foods such as fruits that are lower in calories per cup instead of some
other high-calorie foods can be effective in reducing calorie intake.
Eating a diet rich in fruits and
vegetables will minimize risk of heart disease like heart attack and stroke as
part of a healthier overall diet.
A diet rich in certain fruits and
vegetables will protect against certain cancers as a part of an overall
balanced diet.
The addition of fruit will help increase
fiber and potassium intakes, a major nutrient
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Dairy
The Dairy Group includes all liquid milk
products and many milk-based foods which retain their calcium content, such as
yogurt and cheese. Calcium soy milk is also included (soy drink). milk foods
containing little to no calcium
Nutrients
Calcium is used to build bones and teeth
and to retain bone mass. milk products are the key source of
calcium.
Potassium-rich diets can help keep your
blood pressure healthy
Vitamin D works to keep calcium and
phosphorus in good condition and helps build and keep bones
Milk products in their fat-free or non-fat
form give little or no solid fat
Health
benefits
Intake of calcium-containing milk products
is related to improved bone health in children and adolescents and can decrease
the risk of osteoporosis.
The Dairy Group supplies a wide variety of
dietary nutrients including calcium, phosphorus, Vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin
B12, protein, zinc, magnesium, choline and selenium.
During childhood and adolescence,
consumption of dairy products is particularly important for bone health as
bones build up.
Different
types of dairy
·
Milk.
·
Butter.
·
Cheese.
·
Yogurt.
·
Cream (heavy cream, sour
cream, etc.)
·
Ice cream.
·
Whey.
·
Casein.
Benefits
of oils in a diet
·
A rich source of the
omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid
·
Which can help prevent
heart attacks and stroke," says Norris.
·
An excellent source of
omega-6 fatty acids
·
Alpha-linolenic acid
helps prevent stroke and skin problems such as acne
Different
types of ways to consume oils
·
nuts
·
fish
·
cooking oil
·
salad dressings
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