The portion plate wheel

Kate Bristow, a diabetes nurse educator, simplifies what the portion plate wheel is and how you can make the most of achieving it.

Listen to this article below or wherever you get your podcasts or visit our playlist.

Diabetes is a challenging condition where a one-size-fits-all approach does not necessarily work. Medical nutrition therapy, regular physical activity, and medication are important components in managing the complex condition that is diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that every person with diabetes engages actively in education about the condition. This includes compliance with medication, a suggested applicable regime of exercise, a plan for long-term treatment, and learning how to self-manage the condition.

Medical nutrition therapy

The ADA suggests that medical nutrition therapy has the greatest impact on the condition following diagnosis and the aim should be to provide a balanced meal plan to provide energy, achieve ideal body weight, and to encourage healthy eating. This will help to achieve good blood glucose control and best outcomes.

There are many ways of learning to manage an eating plan, and various recommended dietary approaches, such as carb counting, Intermittent fasting, and the Mediterranean diet to name a few.

The portion plate wheel

To try to simplify dietary approaches and allow for flexibility for the greater population self-managing their diabetes, the plate model or portion plate wheel was devised.

The portion plate wheel is designed to promote healthy eating habits in a simple visual way. It allows you to create a healthy low-carb meal for better blood glucose control. There is no counting, calculating, or weighing food and all that is needed is a 9-inch (23cm) plate to create a healthy balanced meal which includes protein, vegetables, and carbs.

So, how do you achieve the balance required for a healthy yet interesting eating plan in diabetes?

First, fill half the plate with non-starchy vegetables. These are lower in carbs so have little effect on blood glucose and they are high in fibre and vitamins. They are an important part of a healthy diet.

Examples include: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, egg plant, leafy greens (kale and spinach), onions, leeks, green beans, peppers and squash (gems and zucchini).

Second, fill ¼ of your plate with food high in protein, such as fish, chicken, lean beef, cheese, eggs. Soya products, beans, lentils hummus, tofu and edamame are examples of plant-based proteins.

The other ¼ of the plate is for starch or carbohydrate foods.  Keeping the portion of carbs on your plate to this amount can help prevent the rise in blood glucose levels after a meal. Recommended choices would be those carbs that are high in fibre and whole grains.  Remember the bigger the portion of starch on your plate, the higher your blood glucose levels will be.

Examples include: brown rice, bulgur wheat, oats, oatmeal (rolled oats if possible). Any products made with whole grains (low-GI bread or rye bread). Popcorn, quinoa, beans, legumes, lentils, fruit, dried fruit; dairy products, and milk substitutes.

Some vegetables have starch in them too. These include butternut, green peas, potatoes, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. Take this into account when planning your meal.

Tricky dishes

Some meals like curries, soups, and casseroles, as well as my personal favourite pizza, combine the food groups which make getting that balance more difficult. Try to mindfully break the meal down in your head and work towards where each food type fits on the plate and how you could still achieve that balance that you are looking for.

Let’s look at pizza, for example.

Choose what protein you are having as a topping and then choose a thin base to minimise the carb portion. Balance your plate with two slices of pizza and a big green salad on the other half of your plate.  Obviously, something like pizza is still a high-GI carb but if you can manage the portion size and plate balance, you can improve how you do the treat meals.

Finish off your meal with a low kilojoule or kilojoule-free drink.  Water is always first choice, but other options could include an infused water or sparkling water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or diet sodas or diet squash. Remember that fruit juice, although no sugar is added contains natural fruit sugar, so it’s not a great choice.

In between meals, healthy snacks such as popcorn or nuts are good options to keep hunger at bay.  A small handful of nuts is key into getting healthy fats into your eating plan. They are also good sources of magnesium and fibre. Try to go for unsalted options as too much salt is not good.

Zimbabwe Hand Jive

Another way of making sure that you are getting the correct balance along with mindfully setting up your plate is to use your hands as measures. This is called the Zimbabwe Hand Jive and it goes something like this.

• Your palm is the size of the protein you should be eating.
• A closed fist is one portion of carbohydrate (grains and starches) Remember to choose these wisely.
• Your thumb is equal to a tablespoon of fat-heavy foods, such as peanut butter or mayonnaise.
• Cupped hands or two handfuls is the portion of non-starchy vegetables.
• Combining this way of measuring your portion size with the 9-inch portion plate will ensure that you don’t overdo your meal size.

 PHOTO CREDIT: umassmed.edu

References

https://diabetesfoodhub.org/blog/what-diabetes-plate

https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition/food-and-blood-sugar/diabetes-superstar-foods

https://sweetlife.org.za/download-your-free-healthy-eating-portion-plate/

Header image by FreePik