What are the main food groups? - BBC Bitesize (2024)

The five main food groups are:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Dairy
• Fats and oils

We need variety and balance in our diets. We should enjoy foods from each of the five food groups to stay healthy.

Every meal we eat does not need to be perfectly balanced. However, over the course of a day or a week, we should be consuming the recommended amounts for good health.

Here is a chart showing the five food groups and some examples of foods in each group.

Each of the five food groups serve a different purpose in helping our bodies with the functions it needs to keep working.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables provide fibre which we need to help digestion. They are also packed with vitamins and minerals to support a healthy immune system. For example:

• vitamin A supports good eyesight and can be found in spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and red peppers.
• vitamin C is great for skin repair. Good sources of vitamin C include oranges, strawberries and blackcurrants.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide us with all the energy we need for everyday activity and bodily functions.

Proteins

Foods that contain protein help our bodies grow, repair and make new cells. Eating from this food group will give you healthy muscles.

Dairy and dairy-free alternatives

These foods are great for the health of our bones. We get calcium from dairy and many dairy-free alternatives have calcium added to them. Calcium gives us strong bones and is good for our teeth.

Fats and oils

Fats and oils give us an energy store and essential fatty acids. This allows our bodies to absorb vitamins we get from other food groups.

Current health guidelines from the NHS encourage us to eat:

• at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
• three servings of dairy like milk, yoghurt or cheese
• three to five servings of carbohydrates. These should ideally be high fibre options, such as wholemeal brown bread and wholemeal pasta
• two to three servings of protein rich foods per day. Make sure over the week you are having some protein, such as oily fish or beans, like kidney beans
• a small amount of oils and spreads

• Dietary fibre is plant material that cannot be digested by the body.
• Dietary fibre helps the digestive system to move the food we eat through the intestines and push the waste material out of the body.
• Foods that are rich in fibre include beans, pulses, and vegetables, such as broccoli and carrots.

Learn more about our digestive system here: How do humans digest food?

Foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat, like crisps and cakes, are not included in the five food groups. These are foods that we should eat less of as occasional treats because they do not provide our bodies with any nutrients.

Too much sugar and fat can make us gain excess weight and too much salt is bad for our blood pressure.

Along with eating a healthy balanced diet we should be drinking lots of water. Our bodies are made up of over 60% water, some of which is lost through breathing, sweating and going to the toilet. We need to replace it for our bodies to function properly and keep us hydrated.

Find out more about why drinking water is an important part of our health and wellbeing: Why do we need water?

Create a healthy balanced meal that includes all the five food groups.

Remember to include something from the five food groups:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Dairy
• Fats and oils

You might want to think about a main meal, such as lunch or dinner, and a healthy snack/dessert.

For example:

• A sandwich made with brown bread (carbohydrates) filled with ham (protein), cheese (dairy) and salad (fruit and vegetables) followed by a piece of fruit as a snack.