Main Food and Helper food

Main foods, sometimes called staple foods, are types of food eaten in large quantities. This is due to their ease of access or for cultural reasons. It is is a food that available at cheap price because of its abundance. It gives most of a person’s daily food needs. In almost every region globally, people have traditional foods. These foods are based on what is available in abundance locally. All over the world, people eat one inexpensive food at almost every meal.

Food varies depending on the area. Some people use a lot of rice, while others prefer bananas. Some communities use stiff porridge, cassava, or potatoes. In short, every community eats a lot of food available in their environment and makes it a traditional food. Food is culture. The deviation of staple food among societies shows us how diet affects disease risks. It also provides insights on how to improve public health.

It must be noted that the staple food gives the body only what is available in the food in abundance. So, it is not surprising that people of different cultures differ even in the their health and longevity have. For example, people on the shores of lakes and rivers have a lot of Omega-3. In contrast, those who live on bananas have a lot of calcium. Staple foods are rich in carbohydrates hence high in calories. Thus they need a helper foods to supplement some missing nutrients in staple foods.

Helper Foods

It is important to know that staple food can not meet all the body’s needs for good health. There is a need for supplementary or helper food for all groups of people whether children or adults. Helper food is a type of food we can not rely on for strength and growth. Still, it holds nutrients that help the main foods to be used in the body properly. Helper foods will help you to compensate for the nutrients you lack in the main food. Eating different foods will help us meet recommended nutritional requirements.

Foods differ in their natural nutritional packages. For example eggs are rich in protein but its percentages differs from that of legumes and milk. It is this variation in nutritional compositions make it reasonable for a person to eat different foods.

To achieve the goals and purposes of food in the body, we can consider the following:

• Eat balanced diet regularly: It is highly recommended to eat three meals a day. Even if they eat two balanced diets, it is enough. The thing to consider here is that you should eat meals that are loaded with enough nutrients. For a small child, he should eat small snacks after meals. He is like a chicken, he should pick and eat regularly but make sure there are varieties.
• Use complementary foods that give the body strength and protection. Foods like sugar, vegetable oils like nuts, cashews, sesame are important not to be missing in your diet. Give the child boiled rice or round potatoes with some fat to make the child strong.

When fortified foods are added to the main diet, they help the body to generate enough energy. You must have body-building foods like protein from eggs, milk, fish or plant-based foods.

In food groups, there are also protective foods. This gives the body protection by increasing the level of vitamins and minerals in the body. Fruits and vegetables, especially green ones, are important to add to the main diet. The staple food we have, is not enough to give our bodies everything it needs. You can’t get all the food you need. But, do as much as possible to get complementary foods in your environment.

We can not get all the food we need because its types depend on geographical distribution. But it is a clear fact that we can find substitutes for everything we don’t have in our environment. If you don’t get sugar, then there is honey as a substitute. If you can’t afford meat, you can use abundant legumes. Thus, we can eat our traditional foods but it is healthy to add complementary foods found in our environment. These will help us get enough vitamins and minerals that are missing from our staple foods.

Use the following foods as substitutes for foods you can not find:

• If you are allergic to milk and its products like butter and cheese, substitute them with almond milk. You can also use soy milk, coconut milk, or rice milk.
• If you are allergic to mushrooms and their products- Use eggplant, seitan, tofu and tempeh.
• If you are allergic to honey, you can use raw sugar, maple syrup, or molasses. Agave syrup, corn syrup, barley malt syrup, or date paste are also alternatives.
• If you are allergic to fish and their products – use tofu, banana blossom, and jackfruit.
• If you are allergic to eggs- follow this link for more insight https://www.ecarf.org/en/help-i-have-an-egg-intolerance-what-now-how-can-i-replace-eggs/