Experts explain specifically the meaning of the nutrition pyramid for adults
Currently, the most popular model for providing information about suitable nutrition for humans is the nutrition pyramid. Using the nutrition pyramid helps us to build a healthy and healthy diet.
What is the pyramid of nutrition?
The nutrient pyramid is also known as the nutrient pyramid or the food pyramid . This is an eating model created by nutritionists to provide information about foods and quantities to be consumed in accordance with each person’s nutritional needs.
The nutrient pyramid is divided into different food groups with decreasing amounts from bottom to top. Thus, the food at the bottom of the pyramid is preferred to be used more and the food at the top of the pyramid should be minimized in daily meals.
Nutrition pyramid explanation
Depending on the representation, the nutrition pyramid can be divided into 5 or 7 floors, including groups such as foods, vegetables, protein foods, oils, fats, sugars, and salts.
Food group
The food group, also known as the carbohydrate group, provides a lot of energy, vitamins, minerals and fiber. This group is generally low in fat and cholesterol.
In Vietnam, rice is the staple food. The food group also includes whole grains, pasta, breads and unprocessed or refined cereals. It should be noted, however, that cakes that are buttered or prepared with a lot of fat are not included in this heading. Quantitatively, people need to provide enough 12kg of food per month.
Fruit and vegetable group
On the second floor of the nutrition tower , we can see on the left of this floor are vegetables and tubers, on the right are fruits,… This is a source of many vitamins, minerals, fiber and nutrients. Antioxidant for the body.
In this floor, on the left side, there are many different types of vegetables and fruits, from green vegetables rich in vitamins A and C to dark yellow vegetables with abundant carotene and vegetables high in protein and starch. , fiber, … Most vegetables do not contain fat and cholesterol.
However, while cooking, it is important to pay attention to the amount of fat, butter or meat added to these vegetables because this is not taken into account while classifying the nutrient pyramid. The group of vegetables and fruits is the second priority after food, so use a lot.
On the right is the group of fruits. It is recommended to eat fruit about 2-3 times a day with a moderate amount. Many people do not like or do not have the habit of eating a lot of fruit during the day, but fruit is a rich source of nutrients from nature and is easy to digest without processing. This heading covers only natural fruits, canned or processed fruits with a high content of added sugar, which do not fall in this heading.
Protein food group
The third floor of the daily nutrition pyramid is foods that contain a lot of protein or protein. From left to right we can see milk and dairy products, then meats, fish and eggs,…
Group of milk and products such as butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream, … are the best sources of calcium and vitamin B2 for the body. It is also a rich source of protein, vitamin A and vitamin D. Milk should be included in daily meals especially for children of growing age.
In natural milk contains a lot of fat, so people often process milk into low-fat dairy products, skim milk to balance the nutrition in milk. Children should use whole milk for complete nutrition.
Adults and the elderly should use reduced-fat milk because we also use many other foods, not just milk. However, some people have a lack of lactase enzyme in the body, so they can’t digest the lactose in milk, so they can’t drink regular milk or have to drink lactose-free milk or yogurt.
On the right of the third floor is the protein group from meat, fish, eggs, legumes, … In this group we usually think only of meat, fish or eggs, but in fact, in nuts such as soybeans, Green beans also contain a large amount of protein with better quality than animal protein.
Using plant protein group helps the body to be healthier, limit disease and it can completely replace meat in daily meals. In healthy diets, we can see protein from meat, fish, eggs, milk being completely replaced by nuts. Protein-containing foods should be used in moderation, especially in the group of meats because in addition to protein, it also provides a large amount of saturated fat and cholesterol. Each day we should only use a maximum of 150g to 210g of meat.
Grease group
The higher you go, the lower the level of use of foods. Near the top of the pyramid is the food group that uses as little as possible, which is the fat group. This group includes healthy fats that are good for the body. However, the body only needs a small amount of this group of substances to support the heart and brain.
Fats are also a source of solvents for fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Salt and sugar group
This is the group that is restricted as much as possible in terms of diet. When used for seasoning, we must also control the amount of added sugar and salt to avoid exceeding the limit, causing harm to the body. Sugar only provides energy and has absolutely no nutrition, so using too much will be detrimental to the body.
According to the nutrition pyramid of the Institute of Nutrition , each month we should only use a maximum of 500g of sugar to avoid diabetes , overweight and obesity. Salt provides a small amount of minerals, and especially iodine, for the body, but too much salt should not be used because it can cause some kidney diseases.
The meaning of the nutrition pyramid
Regardless of age, we should maintain a healthy and nutritious diet. The nutrition pyramid is the place to provide information about foods that should or should not be used much in daily meals.
If you want to build a healthy diet but don’t know where to start, you can refer to the balanced nutrition pyramid to guide your body’s nutritional needs.
Each person at different ages, different health will have a diet with different amounts, but in general, the priority for foods is still based on the nutritional pyramid, except for cases of eating according to the diet. special.
Using the nutrition pyramid will help you have a healthy eating habit, remind users about what foods should or should not be eaten too much, so that they can easily choose foods for meals. next.
The Nutrition Pyramid is a very simple and easy to use tool that gives great results to the user. You can rely on the nutrition pyramid to adjust your own diet.
