Health officials make use of different tools to guide populations towards a healthy diet. These recommendations aim to  the development of skills, habits, and practices directed towards a right diet based on economic, geographical and cultural circumstances. 

In Mexico, the Official Mexican Standard (NOM, by its acronym in Spanish) NOM-043 on dietary education and promotion by the Secretary of Health along with the dietary and physical activity guidelines by the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico provide teaching resources and recommendations to contribute to the prevention of dietary deficiencies as well as nutritional excess of the population. 

NOM-043 points out foods are grouped in three categories:

1. Fruits and Vegetables
2. Cereals and Tuber Plants
3. Legumes and Animal Origin Foods

In the cereal group we can find corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, amaranth, rice and their byproducts: tortillas and nixtamal products, bread, breakfast cereals, cookies and doughs. It is recommended to prefer foods made with whole grains and with no added sugar. This food group is the main source of nutrients such as carbohydrates, which provide energy and fiber.

The Eatwell Plate suggests combining cereals with legumes to improve the quality of proteins and glycemic index. 

Recommended Portions for the Cereal Group

The key to have a healthy diet and maintain or lose weight is to know what to eat, what to drink and how much of each to consume. Recommended food portions are established individually taking into consideration a person’s needs, their age and their physiological circumstances. 

The best way to know how much of something a person is eating or the right size of a portion is to use cups and tablespoons as reference, or a food scale, but hands can also be used as a guide.

On our Facebook page and Instagram account you can find a guide on this.

The dietary and physical activity guidelines by the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico suggest the following portions according to age for people who have a light or moderate physical activity. 

As set forth in dietary guidelines, intake of whole grain cereals is associated with a risk reduction of cardiovascular diseases and body weight, as well as potentially reducing the chances of suffering type 2 diabetes mellitus. 

Consequently, it is recommended that at least half the cereals eaten a day are whole grain

References

Norma Oficial Mexicana. NOM-043-SSA2-2012. Servicios Básicos de salud. Promoción y educación para la salud en materia alimentaria. Criterios para brindar orientación.

Ana Cecilia Fernández-Gaxiola, Anabel Bonvecchio Arenas, Maite Plazas Belausteguigoitia, Kaufer-Horwitz, M., Ana Bertha Pérez-Lizaur, Juan Rivera Dommarco, & Academia Nacional De Medicina (México. (2015). Guías alimentarias y de actividad física: en contexto de sobrepeso y obesidad en la población mexicana: documento de postura. Intersistemas.