A balanced diet is vital for a healthy weight

Many people gain weight because their meals are not balanced. How particular are you in ensuring that your meals are balanced?

According to The 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing, by Patrick Holford and Jerome Burne, picturing your dinner on a plate, is the simplest method of getting the balance of your main meals correct.

They suggest:

1. Half of your plate should be filled with very low GL (glycemic load) vegetables.

Low GL vegetables are non-starchy: These include asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, garlic, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, peas, spinach, tomatoes and peppers.

What is glycemic load (GL)? The GL of a food can be calculated by multiplying the quality and the quantity of the food. It is the best way of telling you whether you will gain weight by choosing a particular food. Examples of low GL fruits are a small apple (100g) or 10 grapes.

2. Half of your plate should be divided into two equal portions, of protein based foods and starchy vegetables.

Protein sources: Your protein could come from lean meat, fish, chicken, tofu, *beans, *lentils.

Starchy vegetables: Starchy vegetables include pumpkins, carrots, beetroot, pasta, rice, broad beans, sweet potato, boiled or baked potato.

*Beans and lentils as both protein and carb sources

Beans and lentils contain both protein and carbohydrate. If you include them in your meal, you can be generous, as you are getting both nutrients from the same food. If, however, you are eating these foods as a source of protein, combine them with only half of a starchy vegetable serving, rather than an equal one.

For example, if you are preparing a bean and rice dish, you would use a cup of uncooked beans and half a cup of uncooked brown rice. This applies if no other starchy vegetables are included.

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