Chapter 5 of 8

All 8 chapters
  1. 1The skeleton, readunderstood
  2. 2Joints, readunderstood
  3. 3Muscles move bones, readunderstood
  4. 4Teeth, readunderstood
  5. 5Food groups, readunderstood
  6. 6A balanced diet, readunderstood
  7. 7Exercise and rest, readunderstood
  8. 8Keeping food safe, readunderstood

S2.3.5 Chapter 5

Food groups

Why do we need so many different foods?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

  • Name foods rich in starch, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals
  • Sort foods eaten at home into food groups

Your body is always working. It needs food to run, to grow and to mend. Foods fall into groups, and each group does a job.

Starch is food that gives you energy. Rice, maize, cassava, yam, bread, potatoes and millet are rich in starch.

Three foods rich in starch, each with its name under it: a maize cob, a bowl of rice and a yam. The heading is starch, gives energy. Labels: starch: gives energy, maize, rice, yam.starch: gives energymaizericeyam

Protein is food that helps you grow and mend. Beans, lentils, groundnuts, eggs, fish, milk and meat are rich in protein.

Three foods rich in protein, each with its name under it: beans in a pod, a fish and an egg. The heading is protein, helps you grow. Labels: protein: helps you grow, beans, fish, eggs.protein: helps you growbeansfisheggs

Fat is food that stores energy. Oil, butter, nuts and seeds are rich in fat.

Two foods rich in fat, each with its name under it: a bottle of oil and groundnuts in their shells. The heading is fat, stores energy. Labels: fat: stores energy, oil, groundnuts.fat: stores energyoilgroundnuts

Vitamins and minerals keep you healthy. You need only small amounts. Fruit, vegetables, green leaves and milk are rich in them.

Three foods rich in vitamins and minerals, each with its name under it: green leaves, a fruit and a cup of milk. The heading is vitamins and minerals. Labels: vitamins and minerals, greens, fruit, milk.vitamins and mineralsgreensfruitmilk

Draw it first

Draw the food groups

  1. Five boxes in a column, each with a job beside it. The box starch has gives energy beside it. The box protein has helps you grow. The box fat has stores energy. The box vitamins has keeps you healthy. The box minerals has keeps you healthy. Labels: starch, gives energy, protein, helps you grow, fat, stores energy, vitamins, keeps you healthy, minerals.starchgives energy

    1 Draw a box. Write starch in it. Beside it write gives energy.

  2. Five boxes in a column, each with a job beside it. The box starch has gives energy beside it. The box protein has helps you grow. The box fat has stores energy. The box vitamins has keeps you healthy. The box minerals has keeps you healthy. Labels: starch, gives energy, protein, helps you grow, fat, stores energy, vitamins, keeps you healthy, minerals.starchgives energyproteinhelps you grow

    2 Draw a box for protein. Beside it write helps you grow.

  3. Five boxes in a column, each with a job beside it. The box starch has gives energy beside it. The box protein has helps you grow. The box fat has stores energy. The box vitamins has keeps you healthy. The box minerals has keeps you healthy. Labels: starch, gives energy, protein, helps you grow, fat, stores energy, vitamins, keeps you healthy, minerals.starchgives energyproteinhelps you growfatstores energy

    3 Draw a box for fat. Beside it write stores energy.

  4. Five boxes in a column, each with a job beside it. The box starch has gives energy beside it. The box protein has helps you grow. The box fat has stores energy. The box vitamins has keeps you healthy. The box minerals has keeps you healthy. Labels: starch, gives energy, protein, helps you grow, fat, stores energy, vitamins, keeps you healthy, minerals.starchgives energyproteinhelps you growfatstores energyvitaminskeeps you healthymineralskeeps you healthy

    4 Draw two boxes, vitamins and minerals. Beside each write keeps you healthy.

Some foods belong to two groups. Milk gives protein, vitamins and minerals. Groundnuts give protein and fat. Beans give protein and some starch.

Two overlapping rings. The left ring is protein, with beans and fish. The right ring is fat, with oil and butter. In the part where the rings overlap are nuts, which belong to both groups. Labels: protein, fat, beans, fish, oil, butter, nuts.proteinfatbeansfishnutsoilbutter

See it three ways

As a picture

A table with two columns, Group and Some foods. Starch: rice, maize, yam. Protein: beans, fish, eggs. Fat: oil, nuts, seeds. Vitamins: fruit, greens. Minerals: greens, milk. Labels: Group, Some foods, starch, rice, maize, yam, protein, beans, fish, eggs, fat, oil, nuts, seeds, vitamins, fruit, greens, minerals, milk.GroupSome foodsstarchrice, maize, yamproteinbeans, fish, eggsfatoil, nuts, seedsvitaminsfruit, greensmineralsgreens, milk

In words

Look at a meal. Find the starch first. Then find the protein, the fat, and the fruit or greens. A good meal has more than one group.

Try it

Sort a meal into groups

You need: paper and a pencil, or a stick and soft ground, scraps of paper, or flat stones, the meals you ate yesterday.

Be safe: Use food names on paper. Do not use real food, so none is wasted or made dirty.

  1. Think of one meal you ate yesterday. Write each food on a scrap of paper.
  2. Make four patches on a table or the ground. Name them starch, protein, fat and vitamins and minerals.
  3. Put each food on the patch where it fits best.
  4. A food that fits two patches goes on the best one. Write its other group in small letters.
  5. Look at the patches. Which one has the most foods? Is one empty?

What you will see: Every food finds a place. Some foods fit two groups. Many meals have a lot of starch. A meal with an empty patch is missing a job. Add a food from that group to the next meal.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A table with two columns, Food and Group, showing a meal sorted. Rice: starch. Beans: protein. Greens: vitamins, minerals. Oil: fat. Labels: Food, Group, rice, starch, beans, protein, greens, vitamins, minerals, oil, fat.FoodGroupricestarchbeansproteingreensvitamins, mineralsoilfat

A wrong idea many people have

Only meat gives protein.

Why it feels right: Many people name meat first when they think of strong bodies.

The test that breaks it: Find a packet or tin of lentils, beans or groundnuts. Read the label. Look for the word protein and a number. No packet? Ask a health worker. Many families eat little or no meat. They still grow strong on beans, lentils and groundnuts.

What is true: Beans, lentils and groundnuts are rich in protein. So are eggs, fish and milk.

Key words

starch
food that gives you energy, such as rice, maize and yam.
protein
food that helps you grow and mend, such as beans and fish.
fat
food that stores energy, such as oil and nuts.
vitamins and minerals
small amounts of things in food that keep you healthy.

Back to your guess

The answer is A: Each kind of food does a different job.

Each kind of food does a different job. Starch gives energy. Protein helps you grow and mend.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Which food is rich in starch?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Fish is rich in protein. Starch comes from foods such as cassava, rice and yam. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Oil is rich in fat. Starch comes from foods such as cassava, rice and yam. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Spinach is a green leaf. It is rich in vitamins and minerals. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. Cassava is a root full of starch. Starch gives you energy.

    See the answer

    Cassava

    Cassava is a root full of starch. Starch gives you energy.

    • If you chose A: Fish is rich in protein. Starch comes from foods such as cassava, rice and yam.
    • If you chose B: Oil is rich in fat. Starch comes from foods such as cassava, rice and yam.
    • If you chose C: Spinach is a green leaf. It is rich in vitamins and minerals.

  2. Which of these is not meat, but is rich in protein?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Rice is mostly starch. Lentils, beans and groundnuts are the protein foods. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Oil is fat, not protein. Lentils, beans and groundnuts are the protein foods. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. Lentils are rich in protein. Protein does not come only from meat.

    See the answer

    Lentils

    Lentils are rich in protein. Protein does not come only from meat.

    • If you chose A: Rice is mostly starch. Lentils, beans and groundnuts are the protein foods.
    • If you chose B: Oil is fat, not protein. Lentils, beans and groundnuts are the protein foods.

  3. Which food group helps you grow and mend a cut?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Starch gives you energy. It is not the group that helps you grow and mend. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. Protein helps the body grow and mend. Beans, fish and eggs are rich in it.

    3. Not this one. Fat stores energy. It is not the group that helps you grow and mend. Try another.

    See the answer

    Protein

    Protein helps the body grow and mend. Beans, fish and eggs are rich in it.

    • If you chose A: Starch gives you energy. It is not the group that helps you grow and mend.
    • If you chose C: Fat stores energy. It is not the group that helps you grow and mend.

  4. Groundnuts are rich in protein and in fat. What does this tell you?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A food can give more than one thing. Groundnuts give protein and fat. Milk gives protein, vitamins and minerals.

    2. Not this one. They were not sorted wrongly. A food can give more than one thing. Try another.

    3. Not this one. They are not the same. Fat stores energy. Protein helps you grow and mend. Try another.

    See the answer

    Some foods belong to two groups.

    A food can give more than one thing. Groundnuts give protein and fat. Milk gives protein, vitamins and minerals.

    • If you chose B: They were not sorted wrongly. A food can give more than one thing.
    • If you chose C: They are not the same. Fat stores energy. Protein helps you grow and mend.

  5. Sort these foods into groups: cassava, groundnut oil, fish, spinach.

    See the answer

    Cassava: starch. Groundnut oil: fat. Fish: protein. Spinach: vitamins and minerals.

    Cassava is full of starch. Oil is fat. Fish gives protein. Green leaves such as spinach give vitamins and minerals.

  6. From an earlier chapter

    Ana bites a piece off a mango, then chews it. Which teeth grind it small?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Incisors are at the front. They cut and bite. They do not grind. Go to S2.3.4. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Canines are pointed. They grip and tear food. Molars do the grinding. Go to S2.3.4. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. Molars are wide teeth at the back. They grind food small.

    See the answer

    Molars

    Molars are wide teeth at the back. They grind food small.

    • If you chose A: Incisors are at the front. They cut and bite. They do not grind. Go to S2.3.4.
    • If you chose B: Canines are pointed. They grip and tear food. Molars do the grinding. Go to S2.3.4.

  7. Tariq says, "Fat is bad. Nobody should eat it." What is true?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. No food group is bad. Each one does a job, and the body needs some of each. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. No group is bad. Each has its own job. The body needs a little fat too.

    3. Not this one. The body needs every group. Starch, protein, vitamins and minerals do other jobs. Try another.

    See the answer

    Each group does a job. Fat stores energy, and the body needs some.

    No group is bad. Each has its own job. The body needs a little fat too.

    • If you chose A: No food group is bad. Each one does a job, and the body needs some of each.
    • If you chose C: The body needs every group. Starch, protein, vitamins and minerals do other jobs.

  8. Which list has only foods rich in starch?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Only rice is rich in starch. Fish is rich in protein and oil is fat. Try another.

    2. Not this one. These are rich in protein. Starch foods are rice, maize, cassava and yam. Try another.

    3. Not this one. These are rich in fat. Starch foods are rice, maize, cassava and yam. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. Rice, maize and yam are all rich in starch. Starch gives you energy.

    See the answer

    Rice, maize and yam

    Rice, maize and yam are all rich in starch. Starch gives you energy.

    • If you chose A: Only rice is rich in starch. Fish is rich in protein and oil is fat.
    • If you chose B: These are rich in protein. Starch foods are rice, maize, cassava and yam.
    • If you chose C: These are rich in fat. Starch foods are rice, maize, cassava and yam.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Starch gives energy. Protein helps you grow and mend. Fat stores energy. Vitamins and minerals keep you healthy. Beans and lentils give protein, not only meat. Some foods are in two groups.

Draw: Draw four boxes: starch, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Write one food in each.

Reading with a child? A short page for the adult: what this chapter teaches and three questions to ask.

No internet tomorrow? Save the whole book as one file (704 KB). It opens on any phone.