LAURA LEWIS MANTELL MD

Nutrition

• Optimal Nutrition and Exercise Keep the brain young:

• People who eat just two vegetable servings a day have mental fitness scores resembling people 5 years their junior.

• Among the lifestyle factors leading to the three most common causes of death in the United States: heart disease, stroke and cancer, poor diet and physical inactivity are second only to smoking.

• Large studies make it clear that people who eat large amounts of foods containing lycopenes, a natural disease fighters in plants, have reduced risks for prostate, lung and colon cancers.

Balancing Your Plate:

One of the main reasons the American diet is so unhealthy and high in calories is that most meals are centered on a large piece of meat. By choosing meats as the center of the diet, Americans create an unbalanced meal that is not only high in saturated fat and calories, but also low in the nutrients needed to prevent heart disease and other chronic diseases, including some cancers.

Changing how you set up the food on your plate can make a big difference in your health. The recommendation is to place vegetables on your dinner plate first and have them fill up half of the plate. The starch or grain for the meal can make up about one quarter of the plate and the protein portion can be about one quarter of the plate. When it’s done it looks something like this (V = vegetables; P = protein; S = starch):

Setting up your plate this way:

1. Reduces the total calories of your meal since vegetables have 1/3 the calories of protein and starch foods.

2. Increases intake of nutrients for heart health and cancer prevention like antioxidants, B vitamins, phytochemicals and fiber.

3. Reduces saturated fat and total carbohydrate intake, which is beneficial for patients with heart disease or diabetes.

4. Keeps you satisfied, with a full plate of food.

If you feel it is impossible to change your plate to half vegetables (note: starchy veggies like potatoes, corn, peas, winter squash and sweet potatoes count as starches), any increase in the size of your vegetable portions and reduction of the protein and starch portions is beneficial. Many people find this tool to be helpful as they begin to choose a healthier diet. It is a skill you can use every day for the rest of your life and you can use it when eating outside of your home as well.

Courtesy: Mind Body Medical Institute