The Importance Of The Food Groups In Our Diet

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Our body needs the right nutrients in the right amount to prevent diseases, to recover from unavoidable illnesses, for health and vitality.

The body gets its nutrients from carbohydrates, fats, protein,vitamins and minerals. The sources of each vary but they are obtained by eating foods from all four food groups.

The food groups are not of equal importance.
Good nutrition involves eating more of the important ones and less of the least important. Good nutrition involves watching certain foods, limiting some and even avoiding some


For the purpose of communicating the nutrition necessary for health and vitality, I am using Canada Food Guide.  Canada Food Guide uses a rainbow to illustrate food groups and their importance in our diet. 

The four groups of foods that provide the body with nutrients are:

1. Vegetables and fruits
2. Grain products
3. Milk and milk alternative
4. Meat and meat alternatives

The food groups are listed in order of importance, with Vegetables & Fruits the most importance. Meat & Meat Alternatives is the least important food group.

Their degree of importance is significant because the importance we place on a food product will affect our eating habits.

For good nutrition or healthy eating habits we will need to plan for meals consisting of more vegetables and fruits than grains.  We will need a diet of more grain products than milk or meat, and so on.

Individuals who find it difficult to place the right importance on a food product may develop unhealthy eating patterns.

 This Healthy Eating Guide has been taken from Canada Food guide. It has been simplified so that anyone can use it to work out their daily food intake. CLICK HERE..

Canada Food Guide.