THE FOOD WHEEL

The food wheel is a wheel shaped guide of healthy foods divided into sections to show the recommended intake for each food group.

• The wheel is divided into food groups. You need to eat foods from all the groups, but eat more foods from the groups in the bigger sections.
• There are smaller pictures of foods in some groups. You shouldn't eat too many of these foods.
• In the centre, there are two very important things to remember: drink a lot of water and do a lot of exercise.

FIBRE

Fibre is the part of fruit and vegetables we do not use.
Our bodies eliminate fibre in our faeces.
Fibre is very important to help our digestive system to function correctly.
Fruit and vegetables, cereals, pulses and nuts contain fibre.
Wholegrain foods also contain fibre.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS

We need vitamins and minerals to be healthy and to prevent illnesses.
We find them in many different foods, but especially in fruit and vegetables.
Calcium is a very important mineral because it make up our bones.
Calcium is found in dairy products such as milk and cheese.

PROTEINS

Proteins form part of our muscles and organs.
We need them to grow.
Proteins are found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and pulses.

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates give us energy, but less than fats.
Some carbohydrates are sweet: sugar, honey and fruit.
Other carbohydrates are not sweet: bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and pulses.

NUTRIENTS

The food we eat contain nutrients.
The main nutrients are fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The digestive system is a long tube that starts in the mouth and ends in the anus.

• Digestion begins when we chew food in our mouth and mix it with saliva.
• This mixture goes down the oesophagus to the stomach.
• In the stomach, it mixes with gastric juices.
• Next, the mixture passes into the small intestine. Nutrients are absorbed and pass into the blood.
• Undigested food and waste continue on to the large intestine, where water is absorbed and faeces are formed.
• Faeces are excreted through the anus.

THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Click on the image to practice and learn.

THE DIGESTIVE PROCESS

We need to take in food for our body to function.
Food travels through the different organs of the digestive system.
It is broken down into small parts called nutrients that our body can absorb.
Digestion is the process that enables us to obtain nutrients from the food we eat: nutrients pass into the blood.
Waste and undigested food are excreted from the body as faeces.

Food. From Wikipedia