Nutrition Notes

Note: The USDA has long promoted a food pyramid that is currently being challenged from many sides. One compelling alternative model (shown in comparison with the USDA pyramid) can be seen at this Harvard University site: www.intelihealth.com* (Compare the pyramids at the "learn the basics" section.)

As newer nutrition models have yet to be validated, this teaching plan sticks with the USDA pyramid (revised 1996). The food groups in the USDA pyramid include: milk/dairy, meat, vegetable, fruit, grain, and others (fats, oils, and sugars).

USDA Recommended Servings for Children and Nutritional Benefits

1. 4 servings from the milk/dairy group
   The milk/dairy group provides calcium for strong bones and teeth, and helps blood clot.
2. 2 servings from the meat group
   The meat group provides protein for building and repairing muscles, and aids growth.
3. 3 servings from the vegetable group
   The vegetable group provides carbohydrates for energy and vitamin A, which aids vision and promotes healthy skin.
4. 2 servings from the fruit group
   The fruit group provides carbohydrates for energy, and vitamin C, which helps fight infection and promotes the healing of cuts and bruises.
5. 6 servings from the grain group
   The grain group provides carbohydrates for energy, and fiber, which helps in digesting food.
6. Scant amounts of fats and refined sugars
   Fat helps the body absorb vitamins, which regulate calcium absorption for strong bones. Fats help regulate hormone production, aid blood cell formation and clotting, provide energy, and support growth.

Food as Fuel: Calories

A calorie is defined scientifically as the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by exactly one degree Celsius. For nutritional purposes, a calorie is a standard measure of how much energy is delivered in the different foods you eat. When you eat, your body converts food to fuel, and burns it through bodily functions and activity. Vigorous exercise requires a lot of caloric fuel. When at rest your body needs fewer calories, but some energy is needed to keep your bodily systems going—digestion, respiration, and so on. To stay even (and not get too fat or too thin), you should consume the same number of calories you burn. If you consume many calories but aren't active, the energy has nowhere to go, and it is stored as fat. In primitive times, a store of fat was a helpful thing, because food could become scarce at times, and a body could draw on stores of fat to get through lean times. In these plentiful times, storing body fat isn't necessary, and in your diet fat should account for less than 30 percent of all the calories consumed.

USDA Recommended Daily Calories Based on Moderate Activity Levels

Person Age Daily Calories Children 1 to 3 1,300 Children 4 to 6 1,800 Children 7 to 10 2,000 Boys 11 -14 2,500 Boys 15 - 24 2,900 to 3,000 Men 25 - 50 2,000-2,500 Men 51+ 1,800-2,000 Girls & Women 11 - 50 1,700-2,000 Women 51+ 1,600

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