Food Groups
What this domain tests
Food groups sort foods by the nutrients they contribute, so that a diet can be checked for completeness. Indian nutrition teaching commonly uses five food groups: cereals and millets; pulses and legumes; milk and meat foods; fruits and vegetables; and fats and sugars. The exam tests group membership, chief nutrients and the consequences of omitting a group.
Core rules
- Cereals and millets are the main energy source and supply B vitamins and some protein; they are not complete proteins.
- Pulses and legumes are the chief plant protein source; when eaten with cereals they improve protein quality by complementing limiting amino acids.
- Milk and meat foods supply good-quality protein, calcium, riboflavin and, from meat, iron and zinc.
- Fruits and vegetables supply vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants; dark green leafy vegetables are especially rich in iron, calcium, carotene and folate.
- Fats and sugars are concentrated energy foods; they should be used sparingly, not as the base of the diet.
Worked example
A menu contains rice, sambar, potato curry and coconut chutney. Reasoning: rice is cereal; sambar supplies pulse and some vegetable; coconut chutney supplies fat. The menu lacks a separate milk or meat food, a fruit, and a dark green leafy vegetable. Potato is a starchy vegetable and is usually counted as a cereal substitute, not as a protective fruit or vegetable. Adding curd, a banana and a GLV preparation would make the menu more complete.
Traps that cost marks
- Classifying potato as a protective vegetable rather than a starchy food.
- Saying pulses are cereals because both are plant foods.
- Forgetting that milk belongs to the milk and meat group and is a major calcium source.
- Treating fats and sugars as a major food group for daily bulk.