2. What Is The Basic Four Diet?

The Basic Four Diet was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is formally known as the USDA Four Food Group Plan.

This plan classifies all foods into four basic groups, and recommends a minimum number of servings from each group in order to satisfy the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) of nutrients. The RDAs are a set of recommendations for daily intake of calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals made by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. The amounts recommended by the board will, according to them, "provide for the maintenance of optimum nutrition in healthy persons in the United States."

In the Four Food Group Plan, foods are arranged into four categories:

1. Milk Group
   
2. Meat Group
   
3. Bread and Cereal Group
   
4. Fruit and Vegetable Group

Each group contains foods similar enough in nutrient content to be more or less interchangable, or so the reasoning goes. The table below shows the four food groups, serving sizes for the group, and the alternative selections that may be chosen from when planning on a diet using the Four Food Group Plan:

2.1 Four Food Diet Plan

Food Groups Minimum Servings For Adults

1. Milk Group
   2 servings. (One serving is 8 ounces of milk or yogurt, or 1 slice of cheese.)
2. Meat arid Meat Alternatives
   2 servings. (One serving is 3 ounces of any of the following: lean meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, poultry, cheese with dry beans or dry peas or peanut butter.)
3. Bread and Cereal Group
   4 servings. (One serving is 1 slice of bread or 1 ounce of dry cereal or 2/3 cup of cooked cereal.)
4. Fruit and Vegetable Group
   4 servings. (One serving is 1/2 cup cooked fruit or vegetable, or 1 medium-size raw fruit or vegetable)

2.2 The Reasons for the Four Food Groups Diet Plan

The Four Food Group plan was basically devised to cover the foods predominantly produced by our agricultural and commercial enterprises. Ostensibly, it simplified meal planning, assured us of our nutrient needs, and was an easily understood approach to nutrition.

Here are the major nutrients in the diet that each food group was supposed to supply:

PROTEIN	Meat Group, Milk Group
CALCIUM	Milk Group
IRON	Meat Group
B VITAMINS	Bread and Cereal Group, Milk Group
VITAMIN A	Fruit and Vegetable Group
VITAMIN C	Fruit and Vegetable Group

2.3 The Advantages of the Four Food Group Diet Plan

There are two major advantages in using the Four Food Group plan to develop a diet:

1. The plan is relatively simple to understand. All foods are divided into four easily recognizable groups, and exact serving amounts of each food group are specified. Even those people entirely ignorant of nutrition can use the Four Food Group plan without any additional education.
   
2. Some nonfoods and junk foods such as soft drinks, candy, and other snacks are not included in any of the four categories. (You should notice, however, that many poor foods and processed foods are included in these groups— for example, nitrate-preserved meats, white bread, polished rice, pasteurized milk, etc.).