Main Foods and Helper Foods

---

HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Chapter 11: Eating for Good Health > Main Foods and Helper Foods

---

In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

Good nutrition means eating enough food and the right kind of food for the body to grow, be healthy, and fight off disease.

In much of the world, most people eat one main low-cost food with almost every meal. Depending on the region, this may be rice, maize, millet, wheat, cassava, potato, breadfruit, or plantain. This main food usually provides most of the body’s daily food needs.

By itself, however, the main food is not enough to keep a person healthy. Other “helper” foods are needed to provide protein (which helps build the body), vitamins and minerals (which help protect and repair the body), and fats and sugars (which give energy).

A healthy diet has a variety of foods, including some foods with protein and fat, plus fruits and vegetables that contain fiber and are rich in vitamins and minerals. Try to add only small amounts of sugars and fats during cooking.

We do not need to eat all the foods listed here to be healthy. We can eat the main foods we are accustomed to, and add as many helper foods as are available around us.

Helper Foods

beans, rich in protein

while not a food, clean water is necessary for good health

vegetables, rich in vitamins and minerals

fruits, rich in vitamins and minerals

sugars

fats

nuts, a good source of protein

meat, eggs, and fish, rich in protein

milk products, rich in protein

Main Foods

Important vitamins and minerals

Our bodies need these 5 vitamins and minerals, especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding: iron, folic acid (folate), calcium, iodine, and vitamin A.

Iron

Iron is needed to make blood healthy and to help prevent anemia. This is especially important during the years when you are menstruating and during pregnancy.

It is possible to get even more iron if you:

It is best to eat iron foods along with citrus fruits or tomatoes. These contain vitamin C, which helps your body use more of the iron in the food.

• Cook food in iron pots. If you add tomatoes, lime juice, or lemon juice (which are high in vitamin C) to the food while it is cooking, more iron from the pots will go into the food.

• Add a clean piece of iron—like an iron nail or a horseshoe—to the cooking pot. These should be made of pure iron, not a mixture of iron and other metals.
• Put a clean piece of pure iron, like an iron nail, in a little lemon juice for a few hours. Then make lemonade with the juice and drink it.

Folic acid (folate)

Avoid cooking food for a long time. This destroys folic acid and other vitamins.

The body needs folic acid to make healthy red blood cells. Lack of folic acid can lead to anemia in adults and severe problems in developing babies. So getting enough folic acid is especially important for people who want to become pregnant.

Calcium

Everyone needs calcium to make their bones and teeth strong, especially during childhood when they are growing and developing. Calcium is also important:

• during pregnancy. A pregnant person needs enough calcium to help the baby’s bones grow, as well as keeping their own bones and teeth strong.
• during breastfeeding. Calcium is needed to make breast milk.
• during mid-life and old age. Calcium prevents weak bones (osteoporosis).

Sunshine helps you use calcium better. Try to be in the sun at least 15 minutes every day. Remember, it is not enough to just be outdoors. The sun’s rays must touch the skin.

To increase the amount of
calcium you get from food:

• Soak bones or egg shells in vinegar or lemon juice for a few hours, and then use the liquid in soup or other food.
• Add a little lemon juice, vinegar, or tomato when cooking bones for soup.
• Grind up egg shells into a powder and mix with food.
• Soak maize (corn) in lime (carbon ash).

Iodine

Iodine in the diet helps prevent a swelling on the throat called goiter and other problems. If someone does not get enough iodine during pregnancy, their child may be be born with cognitive delays. These problems are most common in areas where there is little natural iodine in the soil, water, or food.

goiter

The easiest way to get enough iodine is to use iodized salt instead of regular salt.

If iodized salt or these foods are hard to get or if there is goiter or many people with cognitive delay in your area, check with the local ministry of health to see if they can give iodized oil capsules by mouth. If not, you can make an iodine solution at home with polyvidone iodine (an antiseptic that is often available at a local pharmacy).

To make an iodine solution to drink:

1. Pour 4 glasses of clean drinking water into a jug or jar.	2. Add one drop of polyvidone iodine.
Store iodine at room temperature and in dark containers to protect it from light.	Everyone over 7 years old should drink one glass of this iodine solution every week of their life. This is especially important for children and people who are pregnant.

Vitamin A

Dark yellow and green leafy vegetables, and some orange fruits, are rich in vitamin A.

Vitamin A prevents night blindness and helps fight off some infections. Many people have problems with night blindness during pregnancy, which probably means their diet lacked vitamin A before they got pregnant. The problem shows up when pregnancy places extra demands on the body.

Lack of vitamin A also causes blindness in children. Eating foods rich in vitamin A during and after pregnancy can increase the amount of vitamin A a baby will get in breast milk.

This page was updated:22 Jan 2024