America is becoming increasingly overweight especially it’s youth. The best way to combat this is with diet and exercise. We have heard this for years and some may say that it hasn’t worked for them. However out of all of these people who have tried diet and exorcise how many can say that they monitor their portions as well as eating from the six food groups?

For those who don’t remember what the food groups are or the servings per day one should consume here is a refresher. At the bottom of the pyramid is the food group we should have the most of on a daily basis. This is your breads and grains, the reason this is so important for our diets is because if you’re eating the correct food for this group it will provide you with your daily dose of fiber. Fiber helps our digestive system by keeping things moving so you don’t end up becoming constipated. Breads and grains have a serving size of 5-11 servings a day.

The next layer up is consisting of fruits and vegetables. Both fruits and vegetables help the body by replenishing vitamins, minerals and acids needed for the body to stay healthy. For these 2 food groups you need a daily serving of 5-9. After your fruits and vegetables we find milk and other dairy products on 1 side and meats and proteins on the other. We all know that milk helps us build strong teeth and bones.

Not everybody understands the importance of protein though. Protein helps the body by helping to build and repair tissues as well as carry nutrients through the body, helping muscles contract, and is an excellent source for producing stamina to battle fatigue. For the dairy and protein food groups you should have a serving size of 2-3 daily.

Finally at the top of the pyramid and what should be consumed the least is one of American’s favorite food groups. This is the fats and oils group where you would find most of your junk food snacks and fast foods. This food group should be monitored closely and not consumed so liberally. The body has a hard time breaking down a lot of the ingredients found in food that would fall under the title junk food. For this food group you should consume as infrequently as possible and use oils as sparingly as you can.

If you like this article, click here to share: