A look inside the food pyramid

*Making Healthy Choices

Jessica Lykens

Grains

Vegetables

Fruits Milk Meats

Physical Activity

THE

FOOD

PRYAMID

Oils

• Physical activity is simple. It just means movement of the body that uses energy. Physical activity can be anything. Walking, gardening, dancing, climbing the stairs, playing soccer, or briskly pushing a baby stroller are all considered physical activity.

• For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous and add up to at least 30 minutes a day.

Moderate physical activities: •Walking briskly (about 3 ½ miles per hour)•Hiking•Gardening/yard work•Dancing•Golf (walking and carrying clubs)•Bicycling (less than 10 miles per hour)•Weight training (general light workout)

Vigorous physical activities: •Running/jogging (5 miles per hour)•Bicycling (more than 10 miles per hour)•Swimming (freestyle laps)•Aerobics•Walking very fast (4 ½ miles per hour)•Heavy yard work, such as chopping wood•Weight lifting (vigorous effort)•Basketball (competitive)

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TRUE FALSE

*True or False?

*Bicycling 5 miles per hour is considered vigorous physical activity.

*Correct!

*In order to be considered vigorous physical activity, bicycling must be performed at a rate of more than 10 miles per hour.

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*So close!

*In order to be considered vigorous physical activity, bicycling must be performed at a rate of more than 10 miles per hour.

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• Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or any other cereal grain is a grain product.

• Grains are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains.

Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel -- the bran, germ, and endosperm.

Refined grains have been milled, meaning the bran and germ have been removed in order to improve shelf life and give the grain a finer texture. However, this process also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins

Whole grains: •whole-wheat flour•bulgur (cracked wheat)•oatmeal•whole cornmeal•brown rice•Buckwheat•bulgur (cracked wheat)•Oatmeal•popcorn

Refined grains: •white flour•degermed cornmeal•white bread•white rice•Cornbread•corn tortillas•Couscous•Crackers•flour tortillas•Grits•noodles

*True or false?

*White flour is an example of a whole grain.

TRUE FALSE

*Correct!

*White flour is an example of a refined grain.

*Whole wheat flour is an example of a whole grain.

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*Sorry!

*White flour is an example of a refined grain.

*Whole wheat flour is an example of a whole grain.

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• Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the vegetable group.

• Vegetables may be: • raw • cooked • fresh • frozen • canned • dried/dehydrated • whole • cut-up• mashed

Vegetables are organized into 5 subgroups, based on their nutrient content. Some commonly eaten vegetables in each subgroup are:

Dark green vegetables:romaine lettucespinachturnip greens

Orange vegetables:carrotshubbard squashpumpkinsweet potatoes

Dry beans and peas:black beansblack-eyed peasgarbanzo beans kidney beans

Starchy vegetablescorngreen peaslima beans (green)potatoes

Other vegetables:artichokesasparaguscauliflowergreen beansonions

*True or False?

*Carrots are a great example of a starchy vegetable.

TRUE FALSE

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*Sorry!

*Carrots are a great example of an orange vegetable, not a starch.

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*Correct!

*Carrots are a great example of an orange vegetable, not a starch.

• Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group.

• Fruits may be: • Fresh• canned • frozen • Dried • Whole• cut-up• pureed

•Apples•Apricots•Avocado•Bananas•Strawberries•Blueberries•Raspberries•Cherries•Grapefruit•Grapes•Kiwi fruit•Lemons•Limes•Mangoes

•Cantaloupe•Honeydew•watermelon•Nectarines•Oranges•Peaches•Pears•Papaya•Pineapple•Plums•Prunes•Raisins•Tangerines

100% Fruit Juices:

• Orange• Apple• Grape• Grapefruit

Some Common Fruits:

100%

TRUE FALSE

*True or False?

*100% Fruit Juice counts as part of the fruit group

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*Sorry!

*100% Fruit Juice does count as part of the fruit group.

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*Correct!

*100% Fruit Juice does count as part of the fruit group.

• All fluid milk products are part of this food group. Many foods made from milk are also part of this group.

• All foods made from milk must retain their calcium content in order to be a part of this food group.

• Foods made from milk that have little to no calcium (cream cheese, cream, butter) are not.

• It’s important to remember that milk group choices should be low-fat or fat-free.

Milk*All fluid milk:fat-free (skim)low fat (1%)reduced fat (2%)whole milklactose free milks

Yogurt*All yogurtFat-freelow fatreduced fatwhole milk yogurt

Cheese*cheddarmozzarellaSwissparmesanricottacottage cheese

*Choose fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Some commonly eaten choices in the milk, yogurt, and cheese group are:

TRUE FALSE

*True or False?

*It is not necessary for most milk group choices to be fat-free or low-fat.

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*Sorry!

*Most milk group choices should be fat-free or low-fat.

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*Correct!

*Most milk group choices should be fat-free or low-fat.

• Most meat and poultry choices should be lean or low-fat.

• Fish, nuts, and seeds contain healthy oils, so choose these foods frequently instead of meat or poultry.

• All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group.

• Dry beans and peas are part of this group as well as the vegetable group.

Meat:beefhamlambporkveal

Poultry:chickenduckgooseturkey

Find a complete list of meats here

Fish:herringmackerelpollockporgysalmonsea bass

Dry beans and peas:black beansblack-eyed peaschickpeas (garbanzo beans)falafelkidney beans

Nuts & seeds:almondscashewshazelnuts (filberts)mixed nuts

Some commonly eaten meats in the food group:

TRUE

FALSE

*True or False?

*Not all foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group.

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*Sorry!

*All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group.

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*Correct!

*All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group.

*OILS

• Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature.

• Many vegetable oils are used in cooking.

• Oils come from many different plants and from fish.

*OILS

Some common oils are:

• canola oil

• corn oil

• cottonseed oil

• olive oil

• safflower oil

• soybean oil

• sunflower oil

TRUE FALSE

*True or False?

*Some oils come from fish.

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*Sorry!

*Some oils do come from different types of fish.

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*Correct!

*Some oils do come from different types of fish.

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*A-ha’s & Conclusions

*I was unaware until starting this project that 100% fruit & vegetable juices were considered a part of their respective categories.

*I also was not aware that pushing a stroller (something I do quite often) is considered a physical activity.

*I did not know that beans and peas are part of both the vegetable and meat groups.

I believe that as an educator and with the problems our nation is facing with childhood obesity that we should be as educated as possible on nutrition so that we can battle obesity. I think showing children what choices are healthy for them and giving them examples and a site to reference is a great idea.

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*References

*Agriculture, U. D. (2010, August 26). My Pyramid. Retrieved August 30, 2010, from My Pyramid: http://www.mypyramid.gov/

*Janice Thompson, M. M. (2009). MyPyramid: The Food Guide Pyramid. In M. M. Janice Thompson, Nutrition: An Applied Approach (pp. 51-58). San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc.