The only healthy dietis one that includes all food groups: Discuss The aim ofthis easy is to discuss the food groups and their impact on a healthy diet.
Theessay will show how important a nutritional diet is and the Food Pyramid willbe used as an example. The aliments in the pyramid will be presented individually,stating their importance and their “contribution” to a balanced life. Diet plays afundamental part in people’s lives.
The food that people consume has an immenseimpact on their health and well-being. A poor alimentation can lead to obesity,kidney diseases, diabetes. As James Douglas-Hamilton said, “what we eat is, ofcourse what we choose to eat, and that must always be the case”(Douglas-Hamilton, 1996, p3). However, people should continuously be aware oftheir dietary choices. “Temptation”is a very strong word when it comes to food. All those nicely wrapped packageson the shelves are made to catch the buyer’s eyes, but not all of them are asnutritious as they present themselves. In order to guidepeople to living a healthier life, the Food Pyramid was created.
It was firstlypublished in Sweden in 1974 by Anna Britt Agnsäter, as a guide to cheap and nutritional food. Later on,in 1992, the Americans The FoodPyramid represents a graphic explanation of what and how often people shouldconsume certain types of food in order to reduce the risk of alimentationrelated diseases. The pyramid has five layers, which follow very simple rules.
If the food is on the lower layers, it means it can be consumed more often andin higher quantities. The top of the pyramid represents the aliments thatshould be consumed in smaller quantities. Nonetheless, no foods should beexcluded from people’s diets, as they all contribute to a balanced regime. The FoodPyramid emphasizes the fact that a nutritional diet is based on balance,variation and moderation. A healthy diet begins with cereals, fruits andvegetables, because they are low in saturated fats, sugar, sodium andcholesterol. These three, go hand in hand with the foods which are high inproteins, such as milk, yogurt and cheese, which are represented in the thirdlayer of the pyramid, and meat, fish, eggs, poultry, which fill the fourthlayer of the Food Pyramid.
The top layer illustrates the food and drinks highin saturated fats, which are the “enemies” of a good diet and which should beconsumed rarely and in very small quantities. The FoodPyramid was the guideline created to improve the quality of life. It gives thepossibility of diversity, where people can choose and combine the food fromeach group, based on individual preferences. To beginwith, the lowestlayer of the pyramid is represented by fruits and vegetables. These two shouldbe consumed daily, as they “provide” the human body with vitamins, minerals,fibers.
Moreover, they are very low in calories. Fruits and vegetables shouldbe consumed raw, between five and seven times a day.Inorder to get the daily recommended intake of carbohydrates. Peopleshould move one layer higher on the pyramid and consume cereals, potatoes,pasta and rice. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy. However, it isimportant to choose integral cereals over whole-wheat cereals.
They should beconsumed between three and five times a day.The dairyproducts such as milk, yogurt and cheese can be consumed daily, as theycontribute to the immunity system. They are very rich in calcium and proteins.In addition, dairy products contain phosphorus and water. That is why it isrecommended to have three servings of dairy food per day. Movingtowards the top of the pyramid, there is the fourth layer, which consists inmeat, fish, eggs, and poultry.
They all represent an incredible source of zinc,copper, vitamin B, iron and proteins. However, for a healthy diet, people arerecommended to consume mostly fish and white meat, and no more than three timesa week. The numberone enemy of a healthy diet is, of course, sugar. Sugar and saturated fats fillthe last layer of the pyramid. Nowadays, sugar dominates the food economy.
Itis a well-known fact that it is a very addictive substance. It is called “thewhite death” and it can lead to obesity, heart disease or even cancer. Sugar isfound in most of the food that is consumed nowadays.
