THE PHARMACIST : Plan your own healthy meal

Do you want to lose weight? Are you a diabetic? Have you been told to stop eating certain types of food and follow a strict diet? If your answer is yes, then you must have tried numerous diet plans.

While some may work, you could find your taste buds getting bored and tired. A number of people don’t follow through with their diet plans because it doesn’t accommodate their favourite foods.

In general, a healthy eating plan should be a long lasting one that not only enables you to enjoy your food but also keep you healthy. The solution for achieving this is making your own healthy eating plan!

A guide to creating your own plan

A good diet simply means eating the healthiest foods in moderate amounts and sticking to regular 3 meal a day routine. It involves having an eating plan that’s naturally rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories.

Key elements are fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The plan not only helps you control your blood sugar but also to manage your weight and control risk factors for heart disease.

Below are foods that should be included in your meal plan:

• Healthy carbohydrates: During digestion, carbohydrates break down into blood glucose. Focus on the healthiest carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and low-fat dairy products.

• Fiber-rich foods: Dietary fiber includes all parts of plant foods that your body can’t digest or absorb. Fiber moderates how your body digests and helps control blood sugar levels. Foods high in fiber include vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), whole-wheat flour and wheat bran.

• Heart-healthy fish: Eat heart-healthy fish at least twice a week. Fish can be a good alternative to high-fat meats. Fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines and bluefish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which promote heart health by lowering blood fats called triglycerides. Avoid fried fish and fish with high levels of mercury, such as tilefish and swordfish.

• “Good” fats: Foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help lower your cholesterol levels. These include avocados, almonds, pecans, walnuts and olives. But don’t overdo it, as all fats are high in calories.

Below are the foods that should be avoided in your meal plan.

• Saturated fats and trans fats: High-fat dairy products and animal proteins such as beef, sausage and bacon and margarine should be avoided.

• Cholesterol: Sources of cholesterol include high-fat dairy products and high-fat animal proteins, egg yolks, liver, and other organ meats. Aim for no more than 200 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol a day.

• Salt: Aim for less than 2,300 mg of sodium a day. However, if you also have hypertension, you should aim for less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day.

There are numerous guides in creating a healthy eating plan, below are two methods that you can adopt.

The plate method:

This method involves preparing your plate for every meal in order to achieve your diet goals. When preparing your plate, fill one-half of it with non-starchy vegetables, such as spinach, okra, carrots and tomatoes.

Fill one-quarter with a protein, such as tuna or chicken. Fill the last quarter with a whole-grain item or starchy food. Add a serving of fruit or dairy and a drink of water or unsweetened tea or coffee.

The exchange lists system:

You may use food exchange lists to help you plan meals and snacks. The lists are organised by categories, such as carbohydrates, protein sources and fats.

One serving in a category is called a “choice.” A food choice has about the same amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat and calories — and the same effect on your blood glucose — as a serving of every other food in that same category.

For example, you could choose to eat half a corn or 1/3 cup of cooked pasta for one starch choice.