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HEALTH FOOD
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Staple Foods: Energy Foods
Staple foods are cheap sources of energy and are also
called energy foods. They are like wood for fires. The harder a person works, the
more energy foods he needs. Our diet contains a lot of staple foods. But a diet
of these foods alone, without the foods in the other three groups, makes our bodies
weak.
Some examples of staple foods are:
Wheat, rice, oats, maize (corn), ragi (millet)
Starchy vegetables:
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, tapioca
Starchy fruits:
Bananas, bread fruit
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Foods that give us extra protein
Proteins are bodybuilding foods. They are necessary
for proper growth, for making healthy muscles, brains and many other parts of our
body
Staple foods contain only half of the protein that
our bodies need. To be healthy our diet should contain at least one food from this
group
Some examples of foods containing proteins are:
Pulses, Peas, beans, soybeans, nuts, peanuts (groundnuts)
Dark green leafy vegetables
Animal products like:
Milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, meat, fish
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Foods that give us extra energy
Fats and sugar are concentrated forms of stored energy.
Our bodies change fat into sugar when more energy is needed. Always one should have
little fat or oil with each meal.
Some examples of energy foods are:
Fats?oil, butter, ghee (clarified butter), meat, fat
Fat rich foods:
Nuts, oil seeds, paneer (casein)
Sugars:
White and brown sugar, honey, jaggery (raw sugar)
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Foods that contain lots of vitamins and minerals
Vitamins are protective foods. They help our bodies
work properly. We become sick if we do not eat foods with all the necessary vitamins.
Some examples of vitamin foods are:
Dark green leafy vegetable?spinach, drumstick leaves,
amarnath (China Spinach)
Dark yellow vegetables?carrots, pumpkin
Other vegetables?tomatoes
Fruits?papaya, amla (Indian gooseberry), orange, mango,
lemon
Animal products?meat, eggs, chicken, fish, milk
Minerals are needed for making healthy blood and teeth.
Some examples of mineral foods are:
Millet contains lot of calcium and iron, jaggery (raw
sugar) and tamarind contain iron for making healthy blood, dark leafy vegetables
contain lots of iron, seaweed for iodine.
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