Rations and frequency of consumption of food groups

Frequency of consumption of each food group

Recommendations on food consumption

Experts in nutrition and dietetics establish general recommendations for the consumption of food groups. For people to understand what they should eat, nutritional guidelines of food groups and their frequency of consumption are established . One of the best known guides is the food pyramid.

ejemplo piramide alimenticia explicada para niños

Visual outline on how to draw a food pyramid and examples of foods that may appear.

Once we have the defined food groups and the examples that we will draw, we have to see the recommended frequency in each food group.

The order of food in the pyramid is a recommendation on the number of times that each food group has to be consumed. For example, you have to eat vegetables every day, but very little red meat per month. Do you want to know how these amounts are decided? And how many grams are a serving of vegetables?

How to calculate the food frequency of the pyramid?

There is a set of numbers between nutritional schemes on the recommended frequency of food, and grams that is considered a food ration.

  • The truth is that, scientifically, there is not a certain “exact” ration for each group of foods, each diet is personal.

Food groups of the pyramid

Each pyramid can have slightly different food rations. Approximately, the figures should be around the following values:

Food groupRations amountExamples of foods and rations
Foods rich in carbohydrates

bread

From 4 to 6 rations a day
  • 6080g. (raw) rice, millet, oats, rye, corn or pasta
  • 40 70g. of brown bread
  • 3045g. of oatmeal or muesli
  • One or two potatoes or sweet potatoes (200250g.)
Vegetables

dibujo

At least 2 rations a day
  • A good salad plate
  • A cream of vegetables
  • One or two tomatoes or carrots
  • A dish of boiled vegetables (200g of cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkin, spinach, Swiss chard, green beans, cauliflower, lettuce, etc.)
Fruits

apple

Minimum 3 servings per day

Better fresh fruit than juices

  • A piece of large fruit or two or three small ones: apple, grapefruit, tangerine, banana, orange, kiwi, pineapple, melon, watermelon, etc.
  • Bowl of fruit salad, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, etc.
Legumes

lentils

2 to 4 rations a week
  • 60-80g. (raw and without soaking) of legumes: peas, beans, chickpeas, lentils.
Dairy products

leche

From 2 to 4 rations a day
  • A glass of milk (150200 ml)
  • One or two yogurts or kefir
  • 1 serving of fresh cheese (5075g)
  • 24 slices of cheese (4060g)
Fish and seafood

fish and sea food

From 3 to 4 rations a week
  • Fish: monkfish, hake, sea bass, cod, sole, sardines, mackerel, fresh salmon, etc. (125 – 150g approximately)
  • Seafood: octopus, cuttlefish, squid, mussels, clams, etc.
Eggs

huevo

From 3 to 4 rations a week
  • One or two eggs: Spanish omelette, etc.
White meat

chicken

  • From 3 to 4 rations a week
  • Chicken, turkey, rabbit (100 – 125g approximately)
Red meat

red meat

Maximun 1 ration a week– Beef, lamb, horse, etc. (Approximately 100g)
Olive virgin oil

oil

From 3 to 6 rations a day– A serving is considered to be 10g., That is, a tablespoon. It is the amount that can be used in a dressing or sauce.
Nuts and oilseeds

almonds

From 3 to 6 rations a week– 30g or a handful of nuts: Nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, etc.

Characteristics of a food pyramid

Characteristics of nutrients

punto rojo More information on nutrition.

This article was endorsed by Elisenda Carballido - Dietitian nutritionist. Postgraduate in Phytotherapy and master in Nutrition and Metabolism.
Editorial
Written by Editorial Botanical-online team in charge of content writing

22 April, 2019

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