The Fab 5 of Food Groups

What you eat not only affects your oral health, but you overall health as well. It is important to be conscious of the food you are consuming. So before you eat think about what should be on your plate.

Whether it’s a quick snack or a full course meal, you should be mindful of your food choices. By making the choice to be mindful of what you are eating you are making the decision to include foods in your diet that are good your overall health. Tooth decay, periodontal disease and other health issues can be prevented by having a well-balanced diet. If you wondering how you can make it simple to eat better, it’s easy. All starts with choosing the right foods. The best way to do this is by choosing foods from the five food groups known as the building blocks for healthy dieting. Those food groups are: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy.

What’s in each group?

Fruits:
Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the Fruit Group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed.
See the Fruit Group food gallery for examples.












Veggies:
Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed.

Vegetable Group food gallery for examples.

Grains:

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of grain products.

See the Grains Group food gallery for examples.

Protein: All foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts, and seeds are considered part of the Protein Foods Group. Beans and peas are also part of the Vegetable Group.
For more information on beans and peas, see Beans and Peas Are Unique Foods.









Dairy: All fluid milk products and many foods made from milk are considered part of this food group. Most Dairy Group choices should be See the Dairy Group food gallery for examples. fat-free or low-fat. Foods made from milk that retain their calcium content are part of the group. Foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not. Calcium-fortified soymilk (soy beverage) is also part of the Dairy Group.

At Wentz Orthodontics we care about the health of all of our patients. In addition to your health, while under orthodontic treatment being mindful of what you eat also means eating foods that are safe for your orthodontic appliance. There are certain dietary habits that are known to cause breakage of orthodontic appliances. Our aim is to achieve the treatment goals with as few disturbances as possible due to appliance breakage, and to minimize the side effects of poor diet choices. Remember, teeth move best in a healthy environment and in individuals with excellent overall health. Be sure you have a well-balanced diet.