Ever wondered what to eat, how much to eat and from which food group? There’s no better guide to help you achieve this than the food pyramid, which ensures that you eat a balanced diet, through a proper understanding of what and how much to eat. The model shows which kinds of food should be eaten in greater amounts and which should be consumed in a relatively lesser quantity to accomplish a balanced diet. Each group of the food pyramid is important as it supplies us with some nutrient or the other, so don’t miss out on any group. At the base of the pyramid stands the Bread and Cereal group. These foods help in maintaining a diet which is low in fat but high in carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals and thus should be eaten more. Foods such as wheat, rice, maida, suji, jowar, bajra, rice flakes, vermicelli etc are included in this group.
The suggested number of servings, in the cereal group, for a sedentary person are 10. One serving is equivalent to half katori rice, one medium chappati, 2-3 puris, one slice of bread, two tablespoons of dry riceflakes or any other breakfast cereal.
The next level encompasses the Vegetables and Fruit groups. These are excellent sources of fibre, vitamins and minerals and are generally low on fat and calories. Prepare your vegetables with minimum oil or butter to keep them low-fat and prefer whole fruit to fruit juice. Whole fruits are rich in fibre and a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Green leafy vegetables such as cauliflower, brinjal, apple, orange etc are included in this category.
You can take 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 fruit servings, where one serving is equivalent to one katori raw leafy vegetable, half katori any other vegetable, one small potato or onion and one medium fruit.
Next on the pyramid is the Milk, Meat and Beans group, foods rich in protein. These foods include milk, meat, poultry products, fish, dry beans, peas, pulses, eggs and nuts. Though rich in protein, iron, zinc and vitamins, intake of animal foods from this group should be limited as they are high in saturated fats and cholesterol. Before eating these, trim all visible fat and avoid frying. Eat organ meats infrequently and limit your egg yolk intake to 3-4 times in a week. Foods from the milk, yogurt and cheese group are important for providing adequate calcium.
Here the suggested number of servings is 2-3 each for the milk and meat and beans group. One serving is equivalent to one medium cup milk, one katori curd, 25 gm paneer or cottage cheese, two small pieces of meat, poultry or fish, one egg, one katori dal or legumes or pulses or beans.
At the top-end of the pyramid are the Fats, Oils and Sweets. Butter, margarine, ghee, mayonnaise, table sugar, jam, jelly, honey etc are all included in this group. It is desirable to include only small amounts of these as they are high on fat and sugar. Excessive fat leads to obesity and other related illnesses, while too much sugar is a source of non-nutritious calories. For fats and oils, the suggested number of servings is 3-5. One serving is equivalent to one teaspoon of fats and oils and one teaspoon of sugar. It becomes easy to plan your meals once you are aware of the different levels of the pyramid and know how many servings you can take. Remember to choose foods from each level, eat what you like but balance your intake of proteins, carbohydrates and fat. Bon Appetite!
