More PC

On Monday I covered fruits and vegetables. Today I’ll cover the remaining food groups.

Grains are starchy carbohydrates.
The grains group includes all foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley etc, such as bread,
pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals. At least half of all grains consumed should be WHOLE grains, so
choose whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice. Generally, 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of ready-to-eat
cereal or ½ cup of cooked cereal, cooked rice or cooked pasta represents 1 portion.
Recommended daily consumption: 6 portions of grains (8 for men)


Meats and beans, nuts and seeds are proteins.
Meat and beans – 30gms lean steak or chicken, 50gms white fish, 1 egg, 1 Tblsp peanut butter,
¼ cup cooked dried beans/lentils or 15gms nuts/seeds equals 1 portion. Limit eggs to 3 per week,
although the cholesterol/egg dispute has more or less been settled in favour of the egg.
Recommended daily consumption: 3 portions of meats and beans (4 – 5 for men)

Milk and milk products are dairy.
The milk group includes all fluid milk products and foods made from milk that retain their calcium
content (yoghurt, cheese). Foods made from milk which do not retain the calcium content – cream,
cream cheese, butter – are NOT part of this group, they are fats. Most choices from this group should be low-fat or (preferably) fat-free. In general, 1 cup of milk or yoghurt, 45gms hard cheese (natural, uncoloured), or 60gms processed cheese (not reccomended) is considered to be 1 portion.
Recommended daily consumption: 3 portions (4 for men)

All fats and oils count as fats.
Oils include fats from many different plants and some fish, these oils are liquid at room temperature,
e.g. canola, olive, sunflower. Some foods are naturally high in oils, like nuts and avocados. Foods that are mainly oils include mayonnaise, some salad dressings and soft margarine. Avoid trans-fats, and try to limit saturated fats (solid at room temperature, of animal source). Mono- and poly- unsaturated fats are the good ones – monounsaturates, in particular, are supposed to help get rid of belly fat.
Recommended daily consumption: Maximum 6 teaspoons (men and women)

I’ve labeled the different food groups as either carbohydrates, proteins, dairy or fats, but obviously there is a bit more to it than that. Carbohydrates can contain some fats and proteins, they definitely contain fibre. Proteins contain fats and, in the case of beans, nuts and seeds, fibre too. Dairy products contain fats. Only fats and oils are purely fats and don’t overlap with any other food group. All food groups contain vitamins and minerals.

That covers the six food groups. Come back Friday for tips on portion control. (434)