My Healthy Plate What is a healthy plate? The My Healthy Plate is a visual guide, designed by the Health Promotion Board. It helps you adopt healthier eating habits, which in turn help to ward off diet related diseases later on in life. By using My Healthy Plate, we are adopting healthy eating habits such as choosing water over sweetened beverages which are a source of empty calories or, in other words, calories with little nutritive value. Choose foods prepared with healthier oils such as peanut oil, corn oil that are lower in saturated fats. Who is it for? It is for the general public and those wanting to be more fit. When do you use the My Healthy Plate? When you are eating and want to have a healthy and balanced intake of food. How do I plan a healthy plate? Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables. Then, fill quarter of your plate with wholegrains and the last quarter with meat and tofu. My Healthy Plate emphasises the healthy habits of: • Filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables • Filling a quarter of your plate with wholegrains • Filling a quarter of your plate with meat & others • Using healthier oils • Choosing water over sugary drinks What are the different food groups found on the My Healthy Plate? Wholegrains, Fruit and Vegetables, Meat and Others. ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… Variety of dishes sold in the school canteen How do we eat healthily in school? We can ask for lesser portions of unhealthy foodstuffs (e.g. oil, gravy and opt for healthier cooking methods such as stir-frying instead of frying or deep-frying.) Why do we need to eat healthily? A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition. It protects you against many chronic health related diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. What is the definition of healthy and nutritious food? A balanced diet must consist of - Starchy foods such as bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. - Fruit and vegetables. - Milk and dairy foods. Can I easily find healthier alternatives for these unhealthy ingredients easily? Yes. They are easily found in local supermarkets and shops. How do we ensure that the food we eat is healthy? We can align with the My Healthy Plate to see if it meets the requirements of a healthy and balanced diet. In order for it to be heathy, it must have these components: - Half a plate of fruits/vegetables - Quarter plate of meat and others `Quarter plate of wholegrains ………………………………………………………… ……………………………… Healthy Cooking Methods How do we prepare healthy and nutritious food? Ensure it is in line with the my healthy plate below. How am I going to make the dish? I can include as many healthy ingredients as possible, swap out the unhealthy ingredients for the healthy ones, use healthier cooking methods such as stir frying, steaming or boiling instead of deep frying. What are some other healthy cooking methods? If you need to use oil, try cooking sprays or apply a small amount of oil with a pastry brush. ● Cook in liquids instead of oil. ● Use low-fat yoghurt, low-fat milk, evaporated skim milk or cornstarch instead of cream in sauces or soups. ● Use pesto, salsas, chutneys and vinegars in place of sour creams, butter and creamy sauces. Cutting down on salt Salt is a common flavour enhancer, but research suggests that a high salt diet could contribute to a range of health problems including high blood pressure. ● Choose fresh or frozen vegetables, since canned and pickled vegetables tend to be packaged with salt. ● Choose reduced salt bread and breakfast cereals and bread with the Healthy Pyramid logo on it.. Breads and cereals are a major source of salt in the diet. ● Avoid salty foods, such as canned or dehydrated soup mixes, chips and salted nuts. ● Margarine and butter contain a lot of salt but ‘no added salt’ varieties are available. ● Most cheeses are very high in salt so limit your intake or choose lower salt varieties. ● Reduce your use of soy sauce and tomato sauce. A thyme flower. You could also consider adding herbs to your dish for flavouring in a much healthier way than adding artificial flavouring present in unhealthy foods. Herbs are delicately flavoured, so add them to your cooking in the last few minutes. ● Dried herbs are more strongly flavoured than fresh. As a general rule, one teaspoon of dried herbs equals four teaspoons of fresh. ● Apart from boosting meat dishes, herbs can be added to soups, breads, mustards, salad dressings, vinegars, desserts and drinks. ● Herbs such as coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli and lemongrass are especially complimentary in vegetable-based stir-fry recipes. What can I do to make my dish look more appealing and attractive? I can add more leafy, colourful vegetables or fruits. It’s a win-win: Your dish looks nice, and it is healthy too. ………………………………………………………… ……………………………… Choosing healthier versions of food ingredients What are the alternate healthy ingredients for some common unhealthy ones? We can swap out white bread for wholemeal bread. And as the healthy plate suggests, we can replace sweet drinks for plain water. You can also replace refined white sugar and flour with healthier alternatives. A balanced diet. ………………………………………………………… ………………………….. Diet related diseases What are diet related diseases? They are nutritional diseases. They may include deficiencies or excesses in the diet, obesity and eating disorders, and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes. What kind of diets are vulnerable to such diseases? Diets lacking sources of Iron, Iodine, Calcium and Fluoride are at risk of diet related diseases. t What happens when a diet related disease is left untreated? Hypertension is one of the many diet related diseases. It is caused when a diet high in salt, fat, and/or cholesterol is consumed on a daily basis. A substance called plaque starts to build up in the bool vessels and veins, causing vessel disruption. Chronic conditions such as kidney and hormone problems, diabetes, and high cholesterol could be the cause too. Another reason is family history, especially if your parents or other close relatives have high blood pressure. Hypertension is a hereditary disease most of the time. What happens if these kind of diseases are left untreated? It is estimated that 40 to 50% of the adults in the United States are “at risk” of developing high blood pressure. Untreated hypertension can lead to: ● stroke. ● kidney failure. ● heart attack. ● heart failure. Why do people get these kind of diseases? Due to unhealthy eating habits and unbalanced diets, people are at higher risks of developing diet related diseases. Diet related diseases are usually formed as a result of consumption of unhealthy foods and unhealthy eating habits cultivated from a young age. If the general public is exposed to such eating habits, there will be a rise in the number of diet related diseases as more and more people will think that such a diet is okay to consume on a daily basis and will thus do so. As a result, many more people will have diet related diseases.
