Foods can be classified on the basis of different properties like its origin, chemical composition, function and nutritive value.

1. Classification of Foods
Anup Muni BAjrAchAryA

2. Classification of foods
• Food can be classified in accordance to their
• Origin,
• Chemical composition,
• Function and
• Nutritive value.
A.B

3. According to its origin
• Depending upon the origin of
food it has been classified as
➢Animal food sources and
➢Plant food sources.
A.B

4. Classification by origin
Foods of animal origin: milk,
egg, fish, meat.
Foods of plant origin: vegetables,
fruits, cereals, pulses.
A.B

5. According to the chemical composition/ nature
➢Carbohydrates
➢Proteins
➢Fats
➢Vitamins
➢Minerals
A.B

6. Classification by chemical composition
Carbohydrate:
➢main sources of energy for doing work.
➢50-70% of energy provided by carbohydrates
➢stored as glycogen, the reserved form of energy.
➢Eg starch, cane sugar, glucose, fructose and lactose.
A.B

7. Protein:
➢ for growth in children and maintenance of body weight
in adults.
➢ Provides energy
➢ constitute about 20% of the body weight.
➢ Eg- Casein from milk, albumin in egg, globulins in
legumes
Classification by chemical composition
A.B

8. Fat:
➢mainly as the source of energy
➢they contain some essential
nutrients like essential fatty acids
and fat soluble vitamins.
➢Eg- Oils found in seeds, butter from
milk, lard from meat
Classification by chemical composition
A.B

9. Vitamins:
➢ organic compounds in minute quantity help in the
normal function and maintenance of good health
➢ Neither provide energy nor build the body.
➢ Two types viz fat soluble vitamins (vitamin A,D, E, K)
and water soluble vitamins ( Vitamin B complex and
Vitamin C)
➢ Eg- Leafy vegetables and fruits are good sources of
vitamins.
Classification by chemical composition
A.B

10. Minerals:
➢ required for growth, repair and regulation of all vital
functions of the body.
➢ Minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, iodine, sodium,
potassium and others are found in various foods like milk,
vegetables, cereals, fruits etc. in combination with organic
and inorganic compounds.
Classification by chemical composition
A.B

11. According to their function in the body
• Body building foods
• Energy giving foods
• Protective foods
A.B

12. Classification by pre-dominant function
Body building foods
– Foods rich in proteins are called body building foods.
– E.g. milk, meat, fish, eggs etc.
– Different parts of human body like muscles, bone and organs are built upon
and maintained by the proteins.
– The foods in this group are primarily sources of protein, though cereals also
furnish proteins.
– Legumes, grains, peas, beans, groundnuts, cashewnuts, almonds, coconut,
milk, curd, butter-milk, paneer, khuwa, eggs, fish, mutton, chicken, pork and
other flesh foods make up this group.
– It provides protein both from the vegetable and animal food group.
A.B

13. Energy giving foods
– Foods rich in carbohydrates and fats
– E.g. cereals (rice, wheat, millet, barley), sugarcane, roots and
tubers, fats, oils etc.
– The body needs energy for all voluntary and involuntary
activities, 50-70% of energy value is provided by carbohydrates.
– All the foods belonging to this group help to supply energy or
calories.
Classification by pre-dominant function
A.B

14. • Protective foods
• Foods rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals are called protective foods
• E.g. vegetables, fruits milk, eggs etc.
• Protective foods are broadly classified into two groups;
• a) food rich in vitamins minerals and protein of high biological value eg-
milk, eggs, and liver and
• b) foods rich in certain vitamins and minerals only. Eg- green leafy
vegetables and fruits.
Classification by pre-dominant function
A.B

15. According to its nutritive value
➢ Cereals
➢ Pulses
➢ Nuts and oil seeds
➢ Vegetables
➢ Green leafy vegetables
➢ Roots and tubers
➢ Other vegetables
➢ Fruits
➢ Milk and milk products
➢ Animal foods—Meat, Fish and poultry, egg etc
➢ Fats and oils
➢ Sugar and Confectionary
➢ Spices and condiments
A.B

16. Classification by nutritive value:
– Cereals constitute by far the most important group of
food stuffs as they form the staple food of a large
majority of the population throughout the world.
– As cereals are consumed in large quantities they
contribute 70 to 80% of the total energy intake.
– Wheat, rice, maize, ragi, barley etc are cereals.
– Rice is the chief dietary staple for almost half of the
world's population. The main cereals consumed in
Nepal are rice, wheat and millets.
– They are the cheapest sources of calories.
Cereals:
A.B

17. • Cereals are rich in carbohydrates but poor in proteins.
• Inferior quality of the protein in cereal grains
• Lacking essenial amino acids.
• Lysine is an amino acid which is deficient in wheat, rice
and corn, while tryptophan and threonine are also
present in very small amounts in corn and rice
respectively.
Cereals:
A.B

18. • includes dals and grams.
• rich in proteins, contain about 20-25% protein and are good
sources of vitamin A, D, B12 and C.
• Pulses are very important in the Nepali diet as sources of
proteins because animal foods are consumed only in small
amounts.
Pulses:
A.B

19. • It has been realised that the pulse proteins, are of relatively low biological value
because of the deficiency of an essential amino acid, methionine.
• Red gram is also deficient in tryptophan. However, the pulse proteins are rich in
lysine and they are, therefore, of good supplementary value to cereal diets. The
deficiency of lysine in cereals is compensated by the lysine present in pulses and
thus the overall biological importance of the cereal pulse diet is improved.
• Pulses cannot be considered rich sources of minerals but they are rich in vitamins
of B group especially thiamine and folic acid.
• Dried peas do not contain Vitamin C in significant amounts, but when they are
sprouted they become rich sources of Vitamin C.
Pulses:
A.B

20. • Nuts and oil seeds (except
coconut) are rich sources of
proteins containing about 18 to
40%.
• Soyabean → richest in proteins
containing about 40%, also rich
in fat and many B vitamins,
vitamin E and some minerals like
phosphorus and iron.
• Nuts include ground nut or
peanut, cashewnut (kaju),
walnut, almond and pistachio.
• Oil seeds include mustard seeds,
sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
and cotton seeds etc from which
cooking oils are extracted.
Nuts and oil seeds:
A.B

21. Vegetables are protective foods as they contain a large amount of vitamins
and minerals.
also contain large amount of water.
poor in protein and energy content but some vegetables like peas and beans
are good sources of protein and energy.
Vegetables:
A.B

22. Green leafy vegetables:
• very rich in carotene (provitamin)
• good sources of calcium, riboflavin, folic acid and vitamin C.
• are the cheapest among the protective foods.
• include many items like spinach (palak), amaranth (Chaulaz), colocassia
leaves (arvi), drumstick leaves, mustard leaves and fenugreek (methi).
• essential for growth and the maintenance of normal health.
A.B

23. Roots and tubers:
• are the reserve nutrients for the use of plant itself.
• Root vegetables include radish, turnip, carrot and beet root
• tubers include potatoes, sweet potatoes, colocasia, onion and garlic.
• Vary widely in composition, some are good sources of carbohydrates such as
potatoes and sweet potatoes etc.
• are poor in protein and fat, minerals and vitamins.
• Carrots are exceptionally high in beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A.
A.B

24. Other Vegetables:
• This group includes a large number of vegetables like tomatoes, cauliflowers,
brinjal, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, pumpkin, lady’s finger and jack fruit etc.
• They provide the variety to the diet and many of them contain a large amount
of minerals, vitamins and fibers.
A.B

25. ➢ are protective foods.
➢ are good sources of vitamins and minerals
➢ they can be eaten raw and fresh that makes the vitamins and minerals
present in the fruit easily available.
➢ Fruits contain vitamin in large quantity. Most fruits contain significant
amount of vitamin C or ascorbic acid.
➢ The orange, guava and amala are particularly rich in ascorbic acid.
➢ The papaya and mango are richest sources of carotene.
➢ Fruits are also a good source of minerals especially sodium, potassium,
iron and magnesium. The deep yellow vegetables and fruits are
outstanding for their carotene content. Eg- papaya, mango, carrots,
pumpkin, tomatoes.
➢ Fruits like amla, lemon, orange and cashew fruits contain vitamin C.
➢ They are also a rich source of sugars, vitamins B1 and B2. Bananas,
besides being rich in starch, contain some vitamin C.
Fruits
A.B

26. ➢ Milk is the best and most complete of all foods.
➢ contains all the nutrients necessary for the growth and development of
the young ones.
➢ is the good source of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and
minerals. Protein→ 3.5% protein of total weight of milk, particularly
casein, lactoglobulin, lactalbumin.
➢ Carbohydrate →milk sugar is lactose
➢ Fat → 4.4% in cow’s milk, 8.8% in buffaloes and 3.4% in human.
➢ good source of all vitamins except vitamin C and E.
➢ Almost all known minerals are present in milk however it is poor in iron
and rich in calcium.
➢ Milk serves as the sole food of the young during the most crucial phase
of growth and development.
➢ Milk products include cheese, khuwa and curd.
Milk and milk products
A.B

27. Eggs are considered to be excellent sources of all nutrients especially proteins, except
vitamin C and carbohydrates.
Hen’s egg contains about 13% proteins of very high biological value and 13% fat.
It is a rich source of vitamin A and some B-vitamins. It is a fair source of Vitamin D.
Important minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and other trace elements
are present in the egg.
Cholesterol is found in egg yolk which is about 250 mg per egg, may cause fear of the
risk of coronary heart disease so reduction in intake of eggs is advised for those who
are at the risk of coronary heart disease.
Eggs:
A.B

28. • Meat is applied to the flesh of animals
like cattle, sheep, goat etc.
• Rich in proteins 18-22% of high biological
value.
• Proteins of meat are myosin, muscle
albumin and myoglobin that consists of
essential aminoacids.
• Fair sources of B-vitamins.
• Doesnot contain vitamins A, C or D.
• Contains fat and the energy provided by
meat depends on its fat content.
• is the principal source of cholesterol in
the diet. This lipid is not uniformly
present in all flesh foods; brain and shell-
fish are the excellent sources.
• The mineral element of special
importance in the meat group is iron.
Meats are also rich in phosphorus,
sulphur and potassium
Meat:
A.B

29. • Fish is rich in proteins 18-22% of high
biological value.
• It is a fair sources of B-vitamins.
• Fatty fish contain some vitamins A and D.
• Large fishes are rich in phosphorus but are
deficient in calcium.
• Small fishes eaten with bones are good
sources of calcium.
• Salt-water fish contain an appreciable
amount of iodine.
• Fish is also said to contain poly-unsaturated
fatty acids which are known to protect
against cardio-vascular disease.
• Poultry is a rich source of niacin. Vitamin B12
which is contained only in foods of animal
origin and not the plant foods, is supplied
well by organ meat and muscle meats.
Generally, the flesh foods are not good
sources of vitamin A, but liver is an excellent
source of Vitamin A. Other organ meats such
as kidney contain some vitamin A.
Fish and poultry:
A.B

30. • Fats and oils are used in cooking
foods.
• They serve mainly as sources of
energy and provide the essential
fatty acids.
• Butter, ghee and vanaspathi are
good sources of vitamin A.
• The common vegetable oils and fats
do not contain carotene or vitamin A.
• Many of them are good sources of
vitamin E.
• The visible fats that are commonly
consumed in Nepal are butter, ghee,
hydrogenated oils and various
vegetable oils like groundnut oils,
sunflower oil, and coconut oil, etc.
• All the fats are concentrated sources
of energy and provide 9 kcal/1 gram.
• Butter, margarine, and hydrogenated
fats contain higher proportions of
saturated fatty acids than do the
vegetable oils..
Fats and oils:
A.B

31. • Sugar and confectionary are the
carbohydrate foods like jaggery,
glucose, honey, syrup etc.
• Sugar is produced from sugarcane in
Nepal.
• They serve mainly as a source of
energy.
• Honey and jaggery contain small
amount of minerals and vitamins.
• Sugar and jaggery are used as the
sweetening agents in cold and hot
beverages and other foods to increase
the palatability and acceptability of
foods.
• They are purely carbohydrates and are
mainly the sources of energy.
• Jaggery is a good source of iron.
• Honey, a good source of sugars, is also
rich in iron.
Sugar and confectionary:
A.B

32. • Spices and condiments are not important
sources of nutrients in average diet but are
used mainly for enhancing the palatability of
diet.
• The flavor principles present in them help to
improve the flavor and acceptability of food
preparations.
• So these are the accessary food stuffs mainly
used tor flavouring food preparations.
• Some of the condiments like chillies and
coriander are good sources of carotene.
Green chillies supply vitamin C and turmeric
and tamarind are fair sources of iron.
• It is important to know that because of the
small amounts in which many of the
condiments and spices are used they do not
add substantially to the nutritive value of
the diet.
• Certain spices like garlic are believed to
contain active principles which inhibits the
growth of certain bacteria in the gastro-
intestinal tract.
Spices and condiments:
A.B

33. ANY QUERIES ???