Nutrition
Eating a balanced diet is important to maintain good health and prevent chronic diseases, such as diabetes. Good nutrition provides our bodies with minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients to live and grow. Navigate these nutrition and healthy eating pages with your health coach to learn how you can start keeping a balanced diet.
Please click the hyperlink to find Canada’s food guide in various languages.
Nutrition Basics and Important Terms
The following vocabulary list will help you understand some of the words or phrases you may come across in the ADAPT-M program. If you do not fully understand any terms in this list or any other words in the ADAPT-M program, please discuss them with your ADAPT-M Health Coach. The terms are listed below in alphabetical order.
Health Canada’s guidelines and considerations on healthy eating based on scientific evidence.
A dietary component needed in larger quantities that provide our bodies with energy for the proper growth and development of the human body. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are all macronutrients.
Part of the foods we eat that are mostly vitamins and minerals are micronutrients and make up a small part of our diet.
The amount of food you put on your plate and plan on eating in one sitting.
A way to visually portion food onto your plate to support healthy eating. This replaces the idea of “food groups”. It suggests half your plate be filled with non-starchy vegetables and fruit, one quarter be filled with protein foods, and the remaining quarter be filles with whole grains and starchy vegetables.
A reference amount of food as defined by Health Canada; typically used on the nutrition facts table of a food to suggest the amount of food consumed in one eating occasion and the nutritional value of that serving.
Low Glycemic Index
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a scale out of 100 that ranks a carbohydrate-containing food or drink by how much it raises your blood sugar levels after it is consumed. In general, the more highly processed a food is, or the quicker it is digested, the higher the GI.
A low GI diet can help you:
– Decrease your risk of type 2 diabetes and its complications
– Decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke
– Feel full faster and longer
– Manage your weight
Meal Planning Ideas
Here are some meal planning ideas to lower the overall GI of a meal:
1. Cook pasta ‘al dente’ (firm). Since al dente pasta requires more work from the body during digestion, the digestion rate is slower and, therefore, the GI is lower. Check your pasta package instructions for cooking time.
2. Make fruits and milk part of your meal. These foods often have a low GI.
3. Try lower GI grains, such as quinoa, barley and bulgur.
4. Pulses (e.g., dried beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas) are considered part of two categories: starchy foods and protein foods. Swap half of your higher GI starch food serving with beans, lentils or chickpeas.
For example: Instead of having 1 cup of cooked rice, have 1⁄2 cup of cooked rice mixed with 1⁄2 cup of black beans.
5. Cool red or white potatoes after boiling or baking and enjoy them cold, such as in a potato salad. This increases resistant starch which has a lower effect on blood sugar.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals and Your Nutrition
S.M.A.R.T. goals are goals you can reach with success. They are:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Relevant
T = Timely
Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Goals focusing on Nutrition:
- I want to increase my vegetable intake so I will try 1 new vegetable per week that I also introduce to my baby. I want to be healthy for myself and my family and this will also set an example for my child.
- When I go back to work in 2 months, I won’t have the time to cook myself lunch. When my mother-in-law comes to visit on Sunday mornings, I will cook extra food to freeze for two of my lunches during the work week.
- I want to increase my weekly vegetable intake, therefore I will ask my best friend to join a vegetarian cooking class with me for 2 months at the local supermarket.
Eating For Your Health
Heart Health
There are different kinds of fat in the foods we eat. Fats are important to give your body energy and to support cell growth. Fats also help you absorb some nutrients and produce hormones. Unsaturated fats can improve your heart health. When possible, choose to eat and cook with unsaturated fats more often and limit saturated and trans fats.
Strength and Fueling Your Body
Exercise is very beneficial in the postpartum period. To support your exercise routine, try to hydrate throughout the day and during your workout by drinking water. Eating balanced meals and snacks before and after a workout will support your energy levels and post-workout recovery.
Protein is an essential macro-nutrient to keep your body working well. Proteins are made up of amino acids (building blocks). Amino acids are part of many body cells. Protein is needed to build hormones and enzymes and build and repair muscle, tissue, skin, nails and hair. Foods that are high in protein include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, and legumes. Nuts, nut butters, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, soy beverages and yogurt are good sources of protein too. Whole grain breads, rice, pasta, quinoa, and barley contain small amounts of protein.
Promoting Gut Health
You may experience changes in your digestive health postpartum. This is normal as your hormone levels adjust after having a baby. Eating meals and snacks regularly that include fiber, drinking lots of water, exercising, and getting enough sleep can support your digestive system. If you notice certain foods upset your stomach, talk to your health coach.
Culturally Tailored Resources
