Nutrition and Healthy Food for Children

Unit 12 - Nutrition and Healthy Food for Children

E1

The essential foods that the body needs are foods rich in starch and fibre (carbohydrates) which are pasta, rice, oats, couscous and many more. Carbohydrates give us energy, calcium, fibre and B vitamins which help to keep the digestive system healthy. Recommended amount is 3 to 5 servings per day. Protein groups contain nuts, beans, peas, lentils, quorn and Soya for vegetarians. Meat, fish and eggs also hold protein. They provide us with iron, minerals and vitamins to help the body repair and grow. We should be eating 2 - 3 servings a day. Dairy is another food group which includes, milk, yoghurt and cheese. These contain protein, calcium and vitamins. Dairy keep are bones and teeth healthy. We should try to eat 3 servings a day.

Plenty of different fruits and vegetables whether they are fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced. These give us antioxidants and chemicals which can prevent illness; they keep the digestive system healthy and are high in fibre. And the recommended amount it 5 portions per day. Lastly it is important that you include fats and sugars in your diet but too many fizzy drinks or high fat content foods can have a negative effect. You need to make sure that you vary different food and only eat the amount to maintain a healthy weight.

There are a number of government initiatives to encourage healthy eating such as 'five a day' and 'CHANGE 4LIFE' which encourage adults and child to make sure they eat 5 portions of fruit of vegetables per day. Now these initiatives have been brought in companies have started labelling which...