Foods are any material consumed to supply nutrients to organisms, which is used to help with growth, reproduction or repair. Foods can be animal, vegetable, fungi, mineral or chemical in nature. The amount of the nutrient in a food is directly related to its level of consumption by an organism or the concentration of that nutrient in a food. Most of the food that we eat is rich in calories; calories are units of mass that is needed to carry body weight.
Most of the calories that we consume are derived from the five main food groups, which include sugars, starches, oil, dairy products and protein. Food groups have different properties when it comes to the nutrients they contain such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, unsaturated fatty acids, and polysaccharides. Most foods are high in calories because of the presence of refined starches such as white flour and refined sugar as well as unsaturated fatty acids found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and fish. Unrefined fiber is important because it absorbs more water and carries nutrients in the form of partially digested starch molecules that can be utilized by the body for energy production.
Fats are another type of nutrient that is not only found in lean meats, poultry and fish but also in nuts, seeds, oils and crackers. The proportion of fats to the total mass of any food is called its saturated fat content and the proportion of unsaturated fats to the total mass of any food is called its trans fat content. You can eat foods with high amounts of saturated fats and unsaturated fats without sacrificing your health because there are foods that are low in both of these types of fats. For example, oatmeal has less calories than cakes made with refined flour. Eat oatmeal for breakfast and you will be able to control your cholesterol levels since it has oats.