Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

Identifying Important Foods

In this activity, you will:

 Look at the different food groups and discuss why they are important

Facilitator’s notes:

In this activity, you will discuss nutrition in relation to the main food groups.

Activity 2

Energy-giving foods:

Carbohydrates - The main source of carbohydrates in the diet is from staples and sugars.

 Staples or starchesmake up the biggest part of any meal for the majority of the population.

They include maize, matooke, Irish, potatoes, sweet

potatoes, cassava, sorghum, millet, yams, rice and

bread. Staples need to be eaten in combination

with other foods to provide enough nutrients.

 Sugarsare also rich sources of energy.

However, sugary foods are not very nutritious.

 Fats and oilsare rich sources of energy,

but people only need fats in small quantities.

Vegetable oils and fats are obtained from corn, simsim, sunflower,

cottonseed, shea butter, palm oil and margarine. Animal sources of oils and fats

include lard, butter (including ghee), cheese, fatty meat and fish (including fish oil).

Body-building foods:

Proteinsare body-building foods. They are essential for cell growth.

Proteins support the functioning and formation of the general

structure of all tissues, including muscles, bones, teeth, skin

and nails. There are two main types of proteins:

 Plant proteinsinclude beans and peas of different

varieties, green grams, groundnuts, soybeans and

simsim.

 Animal proteinsare meat, milk (including products

like cheese, yoghurt and fermented milk) and eggs.

Protective Foods:

These foods keep the body working properly and

protect against disease. Fruits and vegetablesare

known as protective foods because they provide vitamins

and minerals that strengthen the immune system.

Fruits and vegetables supply vitamins and minerals,

which are substances required by the body in small

amounts for its normal physiological functions.

(^226) Unit 2, Module 3 Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children