It is of great importance that one understands where or what their source of food is.
A balanced diet is a necessity if one wants to lead a healthy life. This balanced diet involves different carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, fats and so on. So, how does one ensure that a balanced diet is maintained?
The first step is to know where do they come from so that we can understand the different nutrients provided by that particular item of food. Let’s have a glimpse of food sources and plant and animal products we consume.
Food Sources
Plant and Animal Products
The sources of food are broadly classified into two groups, plants and animals and their related products.
Food From Plants
Plants are a source of a wide variety of nutrients required to keep the human body in perfect working condition. Humans consume everything from fruits, flowers, even the stem of some plants, leaves and stem-like lettuce, celery, roots of some plants like carrots, beetroot, and seeds like wheat, rice, etc.
All food comes from plants, even animals depend on plants. Hence, we obtain food from plants directly or indirectly. The reason one is advised to consume fruits and vegetables on a daily basis is that it is a source of rich nutrients.
Plants provide us with vegetables, coffee, cereals, pulses, fruits, sugar, spices, oil, etc. Different parts of the plants provide different food materials. Let us have a look at some of the food obtained from different parts of the plant.
Vegetables
Vegetables are obtained from the plants. Some nutrient-rich vegetables such as beetroot, turnip, spinach, cauliflower, etc. are obtained from plants. Roots, leaves, and stem of some plants are edible.
Roots
Radish, turnip, carrot, beetroot are some of the roots that are eaten as vegetables.
Stem
Potato and ginger are the stems that are eaten as vegetables.
Leaves
Spinach, cabbage, lettuce are the leaves eaten as vegetables.
Flowers
Broccoli and cauliflower are the flowers eaten in the form of vegetables.
Fruits
Fruits are a healthy source of food from plants. Orange, mango, apple, grapes are some of the fruits consumed by humans.
Cereals
Cereals include rice, wheat, maize, jowar, barley, etc. These are a rich source of nutrients provided by the plants.
Tea, Coffee
Coffee and tea are widely grown in the southern parts of India. These are also obtained from the plants. Not just these, sugar is also obtained from the plants. It is processed from the sugarcane plant.
Oil
Oil can be extracted from the seeds and leaves of the plants. Some of the plants producing oil are castor, mustard, and sunflower.
Spices
Cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, clove, cumin seeds, and ginger are obtained from the plants and used for cooking purposes.
Food From Animals
Animal products are used as food directly or indirectly. Milk, eggs and meat are important examples of food from animals.
Animal products too are a rich source of nutrients. The food chain is composed of exactly these animals starting with organisms that use the energy of the sun to the apex at which the organisms are predators and rely on producers.
Let us have a look at some of the food obtained from animals:
Milk
Cows, buffaloes, sheep, goat, and camels are a great source of milk. Milk is also called as an ideal food. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
Eggs
Chickens, ducks, geese, and quails are raised for eggs and meat. The egg is a rich source of protein and vitamin. The yolk of the egg is mostly made up of egg. It also contains vitamins, phosphorus, calcium and iron.
Meat
Meat is of two types- red meat and white meat.
The meat of cow, goat, sheep and pigs has a lot of fat and is called red meat. White meat contains less fat and is obtained from chicken and fish. White meat is healthier and can be easily digested as compared to the red meat.
Meat is rich in proteins, vitamins, zinc, phosphorus and iron.
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