Food Chemistry and Diet
The Food Pyramid
All the energy for all the activities we do, even breathing, come from the food and drink that we ingest. In order to do things, we, as people, must obey the law of conservation of energy. This means, in order to do things that require energy (breathing, lifting a book, writing, walking, etc.), we must first take in energy to do this. The energy of movement (kinetic energy) that we do comes from chemical potential energy stored in the food and drink we take in. The chemical potential energy gets converted in the body and the muscles perform their function voluntarily or in the case of a heart beat and breathing, involuntarily.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed a food pyramid to inform the American public of proper nutrition. The pyramid has gone through several alterations over the past 50 years. Some older pyramids and the most current pyramid look like this:
All the energy for all the activities we do, even breathing, come from the food and drink that we ingest. In order to do things, we, as people, must obey the law of conservation of energy. This means, in order to do things that require energy (breathing, lifting a book, writing, walking, etc.), we must first take in energy to do this. The energy of movement (kinetic energy) that we do comes from chemical potential energy stored in the food and drink we take in. The chemical potential energy gets converted in the body and the muscles perform their function voluntarily or in the case of a heart beat and breathing, involuntarily.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed a food pyramid to inform the American public of proper nutrition. The pyramid has gone through several alterations over the past 50 years. Some older pyramids and the most current pyramid look like this:
In each of these permutations of the food pyramid, the idea is to provide an American with a guideline of what a balanced diet is. The food pyramid tells what types of foods are needed on a daily basis to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The USDA has studied various diets and has found that the types and proportions of these foods are shown as a general guideline for all Americans. Older pyramids have numbers of fruits and grains, etc, per day. However, the newest pyramid does not give serving suggestions and amounts. Wider bands are more important, and thinner bands are less important. Ultimately, the USDA wants you to go to their website, type in your statistics (age, weight, height, etc.) and the USDA will give you an outline. This is because we have found that not every person in the US has the same nutritional needs. Teenagers and 40-year-old men do not require the same foods. The newest pyramid is not actually a pyramid at all. It's a plate that shows proportions of the main categories of food, but again does not show how much since all people are different. Rather, the newest plate is a clickable search that again allows you to type in your vitals in order to determine the right proportions of food.
The food pyramid is divided into several categories, based on the type of foods you eat:
Grains – bread, pasta, cereal, rice, etc.
Vegetables
Fruits
Milk – milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.
Meat and Beans – including eggs and nuts
Oils – oils, salad dressings, mayonaisse
Discretionary – sweets, sodas, extra of any of the above
What is your diet like? Download the activity Diet and Nutrition and begin taking an inventory of the foods and drinks you take in. From this we will determine the calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats and compare it to the USDA website.
The food pyramid is divided into several categories, based on the type of foods you eat:
Grains – bread, pasta, cereal, rice, etc.
Vegetables
Fruits
Milk – milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.
Meat and Beans – including eggs and nuts
Oils – oils, salad dressings, mayonaisse
Discretionary – sweets, sodas, extra of any of the above
What is your diet like? Download the activity Diet and Nutrition and begin taking an inventory of the foods and drinks you take in. From this we will determine the calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats and compare it to the USDA website.