Food Servings

Food portions are important, but do we know how many servings to keep us healthy?

The New Food Pyramid to the right shows us how many servings of each food group to eat to remain healthy.** The groups to really pay attention to are vegetables, whole grains, fruits, protein, and water.

When we eat a well rounded diet, it will make sure that we are getting all the carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals that are needed for life. Carbohydrates are what the body uses right away to keep us moving. Proteins help to build muscle and are needed in the digestive processes. Fats are needed mainly for brain function, but also for lubrication of joints. Water is also very important for not only lubrication, but for digestion of food and removing waste products from the body. Vitamins and minerals do not give us energy, but are the particles that keep us functioning well.

**Please note: Servings for adults and children are a bit different. For Additional Information on serving sizes for age groups, please take a look at these websites:

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2000/document/build.htm

http://www.mypyramid.gov/