Main->Readings->4th Grade Readings->Table of Contents->Part 3: The Food Pyramid
Vocabulary |
As you saw in the last section, human beings can digest many kinds of food. Some animals can only eat meat, other animals can only eat plants, but human beings can eat all kinds of food. The only kind of food humans cannot digest is the fiber in plants, which is called cellulose (SELL-you-lohs).
When human beings first existed, they had to get their food in the wild. There were no stores, and not even any farms. Being able to eat all kinds of food helped human beings survive, because they could eat whatever was around. If there were no animals, they could eat plants. If there were no fruit, they could eat roots. If there was a great deal of food, they could eat a great deal and store up fat for times when there was no food at all.
Things are much easier for us today. We do not even have to think about how to get our food. We just pick it up at the store. There are some problems with this. Even though we live in a modern world, our bodies are still made so we can live in the wild.
For instance, we like the taste of sweet things. This helps in the wild because fruits, which contain sugars, are good sources of energy. Also, human beings like the smoothness and richness of fat. This also helps in the wild because it allows us to store food in our own body's fat for times when we are starving. Finally, human beings can eat much more than they need. This helps in the wild because when there is food, we can eat too much, which helps when there is no food.
In rich countries like the United States, all these things which are good for starving people living in the wild are bad for us. We eat too many sweets. Sweets do not contain important nutrients. They damage our teeth, and they crowd good foods out of our diets. We eat too much fat, which our bodies keep on storing and storing because there is never a time when food is not available. We just plain eat too much, all the time. People are getting fat.
Many people in the U.S. go on diets to lose the extra weight. They often leave important foods out when they do this. You may have heard of all-protein diets, all-carbohydrate diets, or other things like that. These diets are not a good way to keep you healthy. Often, people are so worried about their extra weight that they are willing to do anything.
The easiest way to be healthy, strong, and well-nourished is not to go on a special diet. It is to eat foods which contain all the important nutrients. To help people do this, the U.S. Government made the Food Pyramid.
In the picture below, you can see a copy of the Food Pyramid.
This image provided courtesy of the Food and Nutrition Information Center (http://www.nalusda.gov/fnic/)
You can see that breads, pasta, grains, and other starchy foods take up the biggest part at the bottom. These are important energy foods which contain carbohydrates. These are the things you should eat the most, 6 to 11 servings a day.
The next biggest group is the vegetables. Vegetables contain carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fiber to help our digestive system work. You should eat 3 to 5 servings a day of vegetables.
The third group is the fruits. Fruits are sweet, but they also contain important vitamins and fiber. If you have 2 or 3 servings of fruit a day, you are doing well.
The dairy products contain calcium and some protein, and help build strong bones. You should have 2 or 3 servings of this group every day.
The last group is the meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and beans group. This is the main protein group. You need protein in your diet every day, 2 to 3 servings. Some people do not like meat, but there are other things you can eat which have protein.. Baked beans, eggs, nuts, and lentil soup are an example, and tofu, which comes from beans.
You notice that the top of the Pyramid is the smallest. That is where they put the fats, oils, and sweets. They are at the top because that is the smallest part, not because they are the most important. You do not need to add these to your meals! But don't you need some fat in your diet? Yes, you do, but guess what - you already get plenty of fat from all the other food groups. Sweets are also in this group because they are made from simple sugars which digest quickly, are poor sources of energy, and add extra calories to your diet.
It might seem as if the Food Pyramid tells you to eat a lot. However, serving sizes are very important. For instance, one slice of bread is a serving, so if you have a sandwich you have already eaten two of your bread servings! In the table below, you can see that it is easier than you think to eat all the servings you need.
|
WHAT COUNTS AS A SERVING?
Food Groups |
||
| Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta | ||
| 1 slice of bread | 1 ounce of ready to-eat cereal | 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta |
| Vegetable | ||
| 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables | 1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw | 3/4 cup of vegetable juice |
| Fruit | ||
| 1 medium apple, banana, orange | 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit | 3/4 cup of fruit juice |
| Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese | ||
| 1 cup of milk or yogurt | 1-1/2 ounces of natural cheese | 2 ounces of process cheese |
| Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts | ||
| 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish | 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans or 1 egg counts as 1 ounce of lean meat. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 1/3 cup of nuts count as 1 ounce of meat. | |
Figures courtesy of Consumer Information Center,
Pueblo, CO
The
Food Guide Pyramid
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm
Everybody is different, and everybody needs to eat different amounts to keep up their energy. Scientists who study food use the calorie as a way of measuring the amount of energy in food. A food calorie (KAL-oh-ree) is the amount of heat it takes to raise a gram of water one degree Celsius.
If you eat more calories than you need, your body will store it as fat. If you eat too few, you will not grow properly or have enough energy. A young child might need 1600 calories a day, and cyclists in the Tour de France need to eat 9,000 calories a day just to keep their weight the same, but a school-age kid like you should probably be eating about 2,200 calories a day. In the next part, you will learn how to find the number of calories in a serving of food (and many other facts) by using the Food Label.
Questions: For your first assignment of the week, answer these questions in complete sentences on a sheet of loose-leaf paper, with a proper header:
Notes: For your second assignment of the week, in your journal on the next clean page, write the vocabulary words from this section and their definitions.
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Go on to Part 4: The Food Label
This page last modified August 15, 2002
Copyright ©2000 Delia Marshall Turner. All rights reserved.
Questions? Send me a note at dturner@haverford.org