A promise to eat more healthily is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions across the world. This hasn’t been the best of times though, and a lot of resolutions have already been left by the wayside. While it’s tougher to eat healthy food during such worrying times, it’s absolutely essential. Especially increasing your intake of foods known to boost the immune system. The following guide to food groups and the snacks that you should be eating to help to keep you healthy. Most importantly, it will make eating easier as we navigate our way through winter and the pandemic. This summary of the food groups will help you to understand what a food groups chart doesn’t tell you.
Our daily bread
The things that we eat are divided into sections known as food groups. These are:
- Cereals, bread, rice, pasta, noodles and grains
- Vegetables and legumes
- Fruit
- Milk, Yoghurt and cheese
- Meat, fish, poultry, eggs and nuts
Packing in protein
As you can see, the main food groups include meat, fish, poultry and eggs, which are not suitable for vegetarians and vegans. These items contain proteins that are the body’s essential building blocks. So those who don’t eat meat, fish and eggs will either need to take a protein supplement or boost their diet with protein rich items such as lentils, tofu and green peas.
Leave it to Mother Nature
As the world tries to make its way out of the clutches of the pandemic, keeping our immune systems healthy is more important than ever. It’s recommended that people, particularly those in vulnerable categories, stock up on Vitamin D supplements in order to give their immune system a boost. It’s also a good idea to fill the pantry with some of Mother Nature’s own immune system helpers including spinach, citrus fruits, almonds, garlic and ginger.
Food groups can be a starchy subject
One of the most important food groups is carbohydrates, which is made up of bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. You have no doubt seen people on TV and on social media saying that carbohydrates are bad. This is based on the fact that some athletes tend to ditch the carbs for a few weeks and then ramp them up before a big event. For ordinary people, carbohydrates are essential for our health and wellbeing and should never be removed from the diet completely.
Learning to incorporate all of the food groups into our diets can be tricky. At times, it can seem like a lot of work. However, it is essential for fueling our bodies and boosting our immune systems. This way, we’re healthy enough to do all of the things that make up our lives.
In short, eating healthy is important and will make you feel good. So keeping your main food groups in mind each time you prepare a meal is a great way to make sure you don’t miss anything. Avoid candy, soda, and junk food as much as possible and make sure you get plenty of greens!
