A plate model to plan your meal

A plate model for meal planning is widely used all over the world. The food plate model illustrates the types of food we need for a healthy diet and the proportions we should eat every day.

It was first described in 1970 in the Swedish magazine "Var Naring" ("Our Nourishment"). In the early 1980's, Swedish nutritionists Margit Eliasson, Brita Karlstrom, and Birgitta Melin; and Bengt Vessby, MD, wrote "Mat Vid Diabetes och Hjartkarlssjukdom: Bra Mat for Alla". It means "Food for People with Diabetes and Heart Disease: Good Food for Everyone", which was a patient booklet to help clients more easily select healthful meals with acceptable food proportions, without measuring.

The plate model is a simple way for people who have diabetes to plan meals. With the plate model, a nine-inch plate serves as a guide for the amounts (serving sizes) and kinds of food that you should choose. Using this model can help you to eat the right amount of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates naturally raise your blood sugar after eating. However, eating too much carbohydrate at one time can raise your blood sugar to a very high level.

Using the plate model may help you keep your blood sugar levels under control. Keeping your blood sugar within a normal range without large increases and decreases lowers your risk for developing certain long-term health problems. These include heart, kidney, eye, or nerve problems. Having been invented first for people having diabetes, this theory gained trust of people, who'd like to control their weight and level of carbohydrates, taking in.

First of all, let's view the proportions of food types we need to have every day.

Thus, we see that the biggest part of our daily meal consists of 33% carbohydrates (bread, rice, noodles, oats, breakfast cereals, chapattis, pasta, sweet potatoes, yams, beans, lentils and dishes made from maize, millet and cornmeal) and fresh fruit and vegetables - 33% as well. Vegetables are included in any diet. They contains vitamins, mineral substances, organic acids, dietary fibers and other ingredients. There is much carotene in a carrot, a tomato, parsley. White cabbage is rich in vitamin U. The largest amount of vitamin C is contained in a red sweet pepper. But in winter and early spring it is better to eat spring onions and cabbage to get enough vitamin C.

Fruit and berries are a well of digestible acids, volatiles and dietary fibers. Apples are rich in potassium salt, lemon and other organic acids, citrus plants - in vitamins C, P, carotene, mountain cranberries are full of organic acids (oxalic, benzoic, citric), raspberries - of salicylic acid and etc.

15% of your daily meal is milk and dairy food. Milk is a weak agent for gastric secretion, that's why it is recommended for people who has gastric problems or an ulcer. Milk and dairy products bring full protein into our organism and it is not less valuable that protein contained in fish and meat. Cheese is widely used in dietotherapy, but you must decline some sorts of cheese if you have problems with your health. Thus, hot cheese is not recommended to people suffering from colitis, gastritis, high blood-pressure, heart and kidney diseases.

12% is meat, fish, eggs and alternatives. For most people a healthy diet means eating only moderate amounts of meat, fish and alternatives such as lentils, nuts, beans and eggs, and choosing lower fat versions when you can. Trim visible fat from meat, choose lean cuts wherever possible and remove skin from chicken before cooking. Meat such as bacon and salami, and meat products such as sausages, beefburgers and pate are all relatively high fat choices, so try to keep these to a minimum.

The last category is fatty and sugary foods. Minimise them to 7% of your daily meal. A healthy diet means eating and drinking less of these types of food. Eat foods containing fat sparingly and look out for the low fat alternatives. Foods and drinks containing sugar should not be eaten too often as they can contribute to tooth decay. This group includes margarine and butter, cooking oils and sugar, so it means fewer fried foods, crisps, biscuits, pastries, cakes and sugary drinks and less mayonnaise, cream, chocolate and other confectionery.

No let's get back to a plate model. Look at the picture below.

A 9-inch plate is divided into 4 equal sectors. Two of them are vegetables and/or fruit. 1/4 is protein which is contained in meat, eggs, fish, etc. 1/4 is carbs, which is cereals, flakes, bread, etc.

That's how your meal should be balanced. Only strict self-control guarantees you success, improvement of your state of health, the way you feel and live.

Note: Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.