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County of Lambton |
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Home>Health Information>Lambton
Diabetes Prevention>Type 2 Diabetes-Healthy Eating: What's on Your Plate?
Type 2 diabetes has been identified as a significant public health issue and many Lambton County adults over the age of 40 are at risk of developing this disease. The good news is that Type 2 diabetes may be prevented, or delayed mainly by adapting a healthier lifestyle - such as eating better and exercising more.
Portion Control is the Key Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating suggests numbers of servings and serving sizes for four years of age up. Five to twelve servings of whole grains and five to ten servings of vegetables and fruit each day sounds like a lot of food, but if you look at this rainbow, you'll see the serving sizes are not very large. Use the examples in the rainbow to help you picture what one serving looks like. Compare to see how your usual serving measures up. Putting it all together… Practice and develop an eye for healthier portions, and go for smaller first helpings. Remember, over the last several years, portion sizes have become huge. Resist the temptation to "supersize" your portions.The plate pictured here, with lots of vegetables, fruit and whole grains shows a healthy meal. This meal would provide a person with three servings of whole vegetables and fruit, two servings of whole grains, one milk serving and one serving of meat or alternative. Compare this plate to a typical restaurant meal. Generally half the plate is filled with 2 - 3 servings of meat and alternative and most of the other side of the plate is filled with 3 -4 servings of whole grains and the vegetable basically provides colour. So, the next time you pick up a menu, assume that most items are followed by the words "Serves 2". Colour Your Plate with Fruit and Vegetables When choosing vegetables and fruit choose those darker in colour like green dark and dark orange.
Look for grain products with the word "whole grain" at the start of the ingredient list. Avoid breads that are made from white flour with food colouring to make them look like whole grain products. Choose Smaller Meat Portions Limit your serving of cooked meat to a piece of meat the size of a deck a card. Add a meatless meal a week. Plan for some meals like lentil stew, split pea soup, or baked beans. Try chili with a tossed salad full of vegetables like raw turnip, cauliflower or broccoli, a whole wheat roll, a glass of milk and a piece of fruit to make a healthy non-meat meal. Look for lower fat milk and milk products. Opportunities to overeat will always be there to tempt you. So practice defensive eating - watch portion sizes and don’t feel you have to "clean your plate." Remember, eating better is one part of the puzzle toward preventing Type 2 diabetes. Start by making a few simple healthy choices and build from there. Healthy choices are all around you! For questions about healthy eating and diabetes prevention contact the Registered Dietitians at Lambton Community Health Services Department at 519-344-2062, ext. 2039 or 2349. Fact Sheet adapted from Hastings & Prince Edward Counties Health Unit |
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Healthy Choices Are All Around You Healthy Choices for Shiftworkers Physical Activity - Walking Away from Type 2 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes - Change for the Better! Type 2 Diabetes - Defensive Eating Type 2 Diabetes - Healthy Eating: What's on Your Plate? |
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