The Foundation of Health:Diet

One of the biggest obstacles to developing a proper diet is that there is so much information out there. I feel that we are often in a situation where we can’t see the forest for the trees. We add many different foods or supplements to our diet to improve it but do nothing to improve the overall quality of our diet. This article focuses on the big picture of diet, which is meal planning and portions.

I believe that the biggest health issue in relation to diet in the United States is the amount of food we eat and the large portions of starch, fats and meat that we consume at every meal. Even for the person who is careful about their diet, it is difficult to control what you eat, because most restaurants cater to a heavy starch, fat and meat diet. To illustrate this point I have chosen to draw out two meal plans. The first plan is actually an illustration of the recommended diabetic meal plan, that can be found on the create your plate page of the American Diabetic Associations website. The second meal is one of my favorite dishes at a local restaurant; lamb chops with garlic mashers and green beans, a glass of wine, bread and butter. Just a note here; the diabetic meal has a high proportion of non-starchy vegetables; broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, green beans, etc. A complete list is given at the link above.

Why illustrate these two meals? I believe that they give us a good idea of portions and how that affects our health. This is a classic example of what we are is what we eat. If more of your meals are close to the diabetic meal plan you will be leaner and healthier. If more of your meals are similar to my favorite restaurant meal then you will be fatter and less healthy. I hope that this point is obvious to everyone. So the real question is why don’t we all eat the diabetic meal plan all the time, it is a well-balanced meal right? You don’t have to be a vegetarian or a vegan, so everyone could eat this kind of meal. All this meal does is change the portions of what we normally eat a little, which is why I have chosen it. The diabetic meal plan is actually what we all should be eating, just about every day. My example of a favorite restaurant dinner is closer to what most of us eat. I know from many years of counseling people about their eating habits that shifting the amount of vegetables and fruits we eat in our diet is really quite difficult for most people. So how do we make this shift?

I have 3 simple ideas that can change the amount of fruits and vegetable you eat forever and make you a healthier person. Here they are;

1. Snack – take several pieces of fruit with you each day and snack on them between meals. You can also steam vegetables (10 minutes) and toss them with soy, sesame oil, or crushed garlic and olive oil to give them some zest. Put stem in a container and take that to work as a snack. Try different vegetable/fruit combinations to get a well rounded source of nutrients.
2. Find restaurants in your area that have vegetable heavy dishes. This one is always a good idea because we all must eat out sometimes. Usually, Asian and Indian restaurants are the best bet. Again, you don’t always have to eat at these restaurants but the more often you can eat a healthier meal the better.
   
3. Eat more organics. True, organic vegetables and fruits are more expensive, but they are also richer in nutrients. They also taste better. One easy way to work organics into your diet is to join a delivery service. In the Seattle area we have Spud. There is also a national service called Diamond Organics.

For those interested in losing weight we will go into portions more at a later date. There is some evidence that eating higher quality fruits and vegetables in the right portions can reduce the overall caloric intake. This will, of course, reduce weight over time.

One final note, if you have never had a high portion of fruit and vegetable in your diet, you may experience some minor digestive complaints when you make the changes above. Just as our muscles have to adjust when we start a new exercise, so too must our digestive system adjust to the additional fiber and more complex nutrients in our diet. However, the benefits greatly outweigh the downside. You will not only be healthier, but will open yourself to experiencing a more varied and satisfying diet. Bon Appetit!