Faculty of Education - Windsor

Nutrition Web Page        

Jason Henderson            Anthony Ziccarelli                Saverio  Sciacca

     People who eat wholesome foods as part of a balanced complete diet have more energy and suffer less illness.  They also look and feel healthier and as a result lead happier lives.

People need to eat foods from the four basic food groups every day.  These groups can be found on a table known as the Food Guide Pyramid.

Foods in the meat group include:                    

 All of these foods provide proteins and essential amino acids which the body needs in order to grow and rebuild tissue.  Meat, fish and eggs all contain complete proteins.  Combinations of other foods can form complete proteins  eg.  grains (rice) and legumes (beans).

Some people may choose to follow vegetarian diets.  There are various reasons to follow a vegetarian diet.  These include the fact that meat is an expensive, red meats are generally high in fat and hard to digest properly and the fact that raising livestock for meat consumption uses more protein than it produces.  People should be aware that there are many vegetarian alternatives to meat which will provide the vegetarian with the protein that they require.

          The milk group includes milk and any other foods that are made from milk. These include:

It is important for people to eat foods from this source because milk is a valuable source of calcium.  In the growing years, when teeth and bones are forming it is important for children to get a great deal of calcium in their diet.  Milk products are also a very usable source of protein.

    Breads and cereals are the energy foods.  They contain sugars and starches to give the body energy to work and play actively.  Foods in this group include:

Foods that can also be included in this group are tuberous roots such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips and beets.

Lastly,  fruits and vegetables are sometimes known as protective foods. They contain vitamins and minerals to protect the body against:

Foods in this group include :                                                 

Vegetables and fruits in their raw states contain the greatest amount of nutrients.

They are also an excellent source of fiber which aid in digestion and help maintain a healthy and efficient digestive system.

                    People who intend to lead a healthy lifestyle should eats foods from all of these groups every day and maintain good eating habits.  In today's modern, hectic society fast foods are often consumed in excess.  When eating fast foods keep in mind that within the fast food choices there are commonly choices that are healthier than others.

When shopping for foods to be prepared at home the healthy eater can use the new, nutritionally informative food labels found on most prepared and packaged foods.

Eating healthy does not involve just eating the proper, healthy foods.  It also involves eating the proper amounts of foods.  People need to ingest an adequate amount of food energy or calories each day to give their bodies enough energy to get through an active day.  By the same token, eating excessive amounts of calories each day (ie more than one actually burns) can cause people to become overweight and unhealthy.

    Maintaining a healthy lifestyle does not involve just eating properly.  One must also be sure to drink enough water every day and also be involved in some form of physical exercise on a regular basis.  If one follows these few, easy guidelines, maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle should be very simple.