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In our fast paced lives, we often ignore the importance of healthy food. Food is what fuels our body and gives us all that we need.
There are different food groups, each with its own characteristic properties. These food types are vital for providing nourishment to the body and enabling the body to perform day-to-day functions.
A food guide pyramid was created to understand the types of food that are best for the body and what should give a miss. This pyramid was particularly made to enable people to understand the nutrition value of certain food over others. This guide helps in determining how to eat to remain healthy.
The food guide pyramid is typically colorful, with vertical stripes dividing it into the five major food groups.
Each food group is denoted by a color. The first stripe is orange and signifies grains, the second is green and stands for vegetables, the next is red and denotes fruits, and the fourth is yellow and stands for fats and oils.
The last two stripes are blue and purple and stand for dairy products and proteins (fish, nuts, meats, eggs, beans, and other protein rich food).
The food pyramid is not only meant for adults to help them plan their diet better, but also for children, to help them understand the value of good, fresh, and nutritious food. The food guide pyramid indirectly explains the need for eating a variety of food.
There are different colors on the pyramid that indicate that all meals should be a combination of differently colored foods.
Some of the bands are skinnier than others. This denotes the need to eat more of some types of food. Usually, the bands for fats and proteins are smaller than those of dairy, fruits, and vegetables.
This is simply because the body requires fewer amounts of fats and meat than milk, fruits, and vegetables.
Due to the popularity of the food guide pyramid, special charts were released for children.
These were designed especially to appeal to children and show them the importance of healthy food and regular activity, since all this helps to make a person stay fit.
The food guide pyramid teaches children that all food is not the same and that our bodies require different food in different quantities. Even within a group, there are differences in nutrition. For example, broccoli is more nutritious than potatoes, though they belong to the same group.
This is because the nutrient content is different in each.
The food guide pyramid can prove to be an excellent way to get children involved in their own health.
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