Food Families

This group includes bread, rice, bulgur, pasta, tortillas, hot or cold cereal, made of corn, millet, barley, sorghum, buckwheat, spelt, oat, quinoa, rice, teff, kamut, wheat. Grains are rich in fibres and other complex carbohydrates, as well as protein, B vitamins, iron and zinc. It is suggested a consumption of 5 or more servings a day, provided that they are whole, not refined cereals.

They provide vitamin C, beta-carotene, riboflavin, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, fibre, and a lot of bioactive compounds. Dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard, turnip greens, chicory, or bok choy are especially good sources of these important nutrients. Dark yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes and pumpkin also provide beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and other important phytochemicals.

This group includes a wide variety of products, starting from milk, which can be provided by cows, goats and sheep, fermented milk, such as kefir, yogurth, which are the best for our health, and several types of cheese, going from fresh and soft to hard and matured ones, such as parmesan. They all provide good quality proteins, calcium, vitamin D, but also sodium, saturated fats and cholesterol, so do not exceed in dairy consumption. It is suggested a consumption of 1 or 2 servings a day, provided that they are low fat, fermented, organic, low in salt and without added sugars.

They are good sources of protein, iron, zinc, copper, phosphorus, sodium, and cholesterol, except fish, which provides good fats (see Section 2) and iodine, as well as protein, iron and vitamin D. If animals are “free range” or their feed is vitamin B12 added, also vitamin B12 is present in their meat. Meat is classified as red or white, the latter being more recommended as healthier, provided that is lean and from organic farms. Edible fish can come from sea or freshwater, providing good fats when living in cold waters and iodine if from marine origin. It is suggested a consumption of 3 or 4 servings a week for this food family.

Nuts and seeds are complete foods, which can help us meeting the nutrient daily requirements as they can supply energy, protein, good fats, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous and precious bioactive components, as well as vitamin E, fibre, and folate. Nuts include almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts (actually they are legumes), cashew, brasilian and macadamia nuts, while seeds are pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, hemp, flaxseed, poppy, and chia. Oils are pure fats, obtained from olives, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, hemp, flaxseed), palm or coconut, and even legumes like soy or cereals like corn. Among animal fatty food, there are butter, cream, lard, while solid vegetable fats can be sold as margarine, which may not be too healthy if it contains hydrogenated fats.

Drinking water and other beverages contribute about 70 to 80% of our liquid requirements, and water in foods accounts for the remaining.

Drinks and beverages can be alcoholic or not, with added sugar or not, based on plant-extracts or artificial flavours. It is very important to choose carefully what to drink apart from water, as alcohol and free sugars should be avoided.