Where There Is No Doctor 2011 111
EATING RIGHT TO STAY HEALTHY
The ‘main food’ your family eats usually provides most—but not all—of the
body’s energy and other nutritional needs. By adding helper foods to the main food
you can make low cost nutritious meals. You do not have to eat all the foods listed
here to be healthy. Eat the main foods you are accustomed to, and add whatever
‘helper foods’ are available in your area. Try to include ‘helper foods’ from each
group, as often as possible.
(energy helpers)
Examples:
Fats (vegetable oils, butter, ghee, lard)
Foods rich in fats (coconut, olives, fatty meat)
Nuts* (groundnuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews)
Oil seeds (pumpkin, melon, sesame, sunflower)
Sugars (sugar, honey, molasses,
sugar cane, jaggery)
* Note: Nuts and oil seeds are also
valuable as body-building
helpers.
REMEMBER: Feeding children
enough and feeding them
often (3 to 5 times a day) is
usually more important than the
types of food you feed them.
Examples:
Cereals and grains (wheat, maize, rice, millet, sorghum)
Starchy roots (cassava, potatoes, taro)
Starchy fruits (banana, plantain, breadfruit)
Note: Main foods are cheap
sources of energy. The cereals
also provide some protein, iron,
and vitamins—at low cost.
(proteins or body-building helpers)
Examples:
Legumes (beans, peas, and lentils)
Nuts (groundnuts, walnuts, cashews, and almonds)
Oil seeds (sesame and sunflower)
Animal products (milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, fish,
chicken, meat, small animals such as mice,
and insects)
(vitamins and minerals
or protective helpers)
Examples:
Vegetables (dark green leafy plants,
tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin,
sweet potato, and peppers)
Fruits (mangoes, oranges, papayas)
Note to nutrition workers: This plan for meeting food needs resembles teaching about
‘food groups’, but places more importance on giving enough of the traditional ‘main
food’ and above all, giving frequent feedings with plenty of energy-rich helpers.
This approach is more adaptable to the resources and limitations of poor families.