The Five Food Groups and servings

To make sure good nutrition for your kids to stay healthy and grow healthy, they will need to have a large variety of foods. There are five food groups that every child supposes to take in such as grain, vegetables, fruits, milk or dairy products and also meat groups. The grain group includes whole-meal bread, rice, cereals, pasta and others. Whole grain meal will provide sufficient fiber and other nutrients to children. Vegetables include al kinds of vegetables like dark leafy vegetables, legumes, starchy and other vegetables. Fruit group involves all kind of fruits. From fruits and vegetables, kids and obtain sufficient vitamins and minerals from there too. Milk and milk product includes low-fat or fat free milk, yogurt, cheese and others also a good calcium and other nutrition source. Lean meat is a good source of protein.

The quantity of foods that children eat is less important. This is because a child's appetite may decrease and become choosier when their growth rate slows down. Parents do not need to worry about their kids as long as they are gaining weight and have regular physical activities. They still need a variety of foods, but the serving sizes can be lesser. For example, grain group serving may include 1 slice of bread, ½ cup of rice, ½ cup of cooked cereals and 1 ounce of ready to eat cereals. A kid is recommended to take in 6 servings per day from this group. As for vegetable group, the servings include ½ cup of chopped or raw vegetables, or 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables. Children should eat at least 3 servings from here. Next, fruit group servings include 1 piece of fruit or melon wedge or ¾ cup of 100% fruit juice and at least 2 servings must be taken from this group. Milk group servings include 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 2 ounces of cheese and kids should have 2 servings from here. Lastly, meat group servings include 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish, ½ cup of cooked dry beans. 2 serving are recommended from this group.

The intake of fats, oil and sweet should be not more than 30% of your children diet. The type of fat that your kids eat is also important. Saturated fats in foods such as meats, dairy products, coconut, palm and palm kernal oil, all these foods can raise cholesterol level compared to unsaturated fats, such as what found in olive, peanut, and canola oils, or polyunsaturated fats in flaxseed, sunflower, corn and soy beans oil. Parents should limit the intake of saturated fats to not more than 10% of daily diet of their children. In addition, sugars provide a huge amount of calories, with little or no nutritional value. For example, white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, honey and molasses and foods such as candy, soft drinks, jams, and jellies and most of the children like that. All these should be limited because it will cause harm to children’s body if they take in too much. Everything should be taken in moderation.