... about Canada's Food Guide and healthy eating

By Anna Byk

Nancy Petersen is looking to make a drastic change. Her weight has always been an issue but now that she's hit 30, she's turned over a new leaf and is looking to drop the excess weight she'd gained throughout her 20s. There's one problem though: Nancy doesn't know which diet to choose.

The late-night diet infomercials and all the hype on various 'proven' regimes have left her indecisive. The promise of fast, hassle-free weight loss is definitely attractive but seems too good to be true. And there's no consensus, even in the medical profession, about the South Beach, Atkins or glycemic index diets. In reality, she's not sure whether they could be scams. So she turns to her GP for a little healthy eating advice. Like any good Canadian doc, her physician pulls out a copy of Canada's Food Guide on Healthy Eating.

"Canada's Food Guide reflects the Canadian idea of the middle of the road diet," says Dr David Jenkins, a Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Toronto. "It also tries to reflect what a balanced diet should be."

But that middle of the road view also means that the diet is hard to adapt to fit an individual's needs � even for doctors. Taking that into account, here are a few tips on what to tell your patients about Canada's Food Guide and how they can adopt healthier eating habits.

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• Making the change The first thing that patients need to know is that making dietary modifications is easy � it doesn't have to be a slash and trash ordeal. Tell your patients that they need to identify the strong and weak points in their current diet. Are they getting enough calcium? Are they eating whole grains? Are they stopping at McDonald's a little too often? Once they've established their weakness they can start making small changes as opposed to going cold turkey. Cutting down on the visits to the food court and adding a portion of low-fat yogurt to their meals is a good start.

•Food groups It may seem redundant, but a recap of the different food groups can help patients who are unsure of what items they should choose to eat. Talk to your patients about making educated choices when it comes to their daily diet. Dr Jenkins stresses the importance of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes � quite the opposite of the controversial Atkins diet. "People also underestimate the value of nuts and nut seed oil for getting 'good' fat into their diet," he says. He also says that soy products and meat and dairy substitutes aren't being emphasized enough. Tell your patients that tofu and soymilk are good alternatives to meat and milk and have a high nutritional value.

•Nutritional information Tell your patients that they should take the time to look at food labels and keep an eye out for the fat content. "The food guide doesn't address the issue of transfat," says Dr Jenkins. "The Canadian Academy of Sciences has yet to put a limit on how much transfatty acids people can eat." So, it's up to you to talk to your patients about saturated fats and transfat in food. Patients should also look for foods with whole wheat as opposed to enriched flour to make sure they are getting the most from their food.

• Portion size "People don't really know what a portion is," says Dr Jenkins. "The serving size concept isn't easily understood, even by those making the guidelines." That said, it's important to talk to your patients about the amount of food they eat. Many people believe that a serving size is what they get at a fast food restaurant, explains Dr Jenkins, but in reality it's a lot smaller. Tell your patients that portion also varies from food to food � "a portion of chocolate won't be the same as a portion of cauliflower." The food guide specifies in actual quantities the amount of food equal to one serving. Dr Jenkins also suggests telling patients who are looking to lose weight to cut back on their serving sizes. This alone can make a big difference.