Thursday, June 14, 2012

WHAT FOOD GROUP IS COFFEE IN?

If coffee comes from a bean does that make it a vegetable? What food group are beans part of? Where would coffee fit on a myplate.gov food guide?

Well, there are lots of questions when it comes to these particular matters. Hopefully this can clear up some of your questions. Coffee does come from a bean, but are all beans a vegetable? Well, it is true that some beans are in the vegetable group such as the green bean,  lima bean, and shell beans. Others are part of the protein group such as edamame. When it comes to the coffee bean though it does not have the nutritional value of either one of those groups. It is an other or oil.

Let's put it in these terms. When you pick an olive you can easily take it apart and see that it has reproductive seeds on the inside. These seeds make it a fruit although they usually are used in a manner that is consistent with vegetables. Then, someone might take it and compress it in order to make it into extra virgin olive oil. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a very good antioxidant (in some cases it can replace Miralax). Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is very good for the digestive system. It really does wonders when considering immunity. Extra Virgin olive oil is an other or oil.

Well, when you take the vision of an olive and translate it into a coffee bean it is much the same. Although, a coffee bean might not have the nutritional value of either a vegetable, fruit, or protein it might have more nutritional value than that of coffee. The coffee bean is made into coffee which puts it into the same group as Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This is the other or oil group. Coffee is the leading antioxidant in many Americans today.

This case is very similar to that of tea. The new USDA guidelines note "While tea, coffee and other beverages aren’t specifically mentioned in the new diagram, the updated guidelines allow for 260 “extra” calories per day, for solid fats, added sugars and alcohol, and tea may or may not be included in this category. The USDA’s interactive MyFood-a-pedia allows the user to look up the calorie content of a specific food, including ones that aren’t easily placed in one of the food categories depicted in the new diagram (USDA, 2012)." Therefore, you put these types of things in a separate cup marked "Other" beside the dairy cup and only fill it up occasionally during the day.

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