Basic food groups

I have been asked to talk about carbohydrates, how much, when etc. but before I can do that we need to start with the basic food groups and make sure we are all talking about the same thing.....

There are six main nutrients that we need to survive. When we plan our eating (or diet) we need to be aware of each, they are:

• Carbohydrates (including fibre)
• Fats (including cholesterol)
• Proteins
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Water

We will explore each in more detail later (we have already looked at water). For now we need to think about sources of each of these to maintain a balanced diet. For most healthy people the published recommended daily intakes of each of these nutrients (published by the department of health) will ensure that levels in the body are not deficient or toxic.

Our bodies use energy from food to fuel internal functions such as digestion, breathing, muscle function etc. The energy in food comes from carbohydrate, fat and protein. We all need to eat a balance of these food groups to ensure we have energy for activity and bodily functions.

NOTE: another energy source is alcohol but this is not considered a nutrient or food group.