Right servings in your hands

HOW much should you eat? According to a dietician, the answer lies in your hands.

“Most people don’t know what an appropriate portion should be,” Sian Porter (波特), a consultant dietician and spokesman for the British Dietetic Association (英國營養學會), told the Daily Mail (每日郵報).

“Even healthy food contains calories. You can make really healthy choices and still eat too much.”

According to Porter, a palm-sized piece of red meat or a whole hand of fish will make a healthy meal. You should also add in two double handfuls of fresh vegetables, a clenched fist of broccoli or two cupped hands of small fruits.

British guidelines recommend people have five 80-gram servings of fruit and vegetables a day, but the problem is no one seems to have an idea how big a serving would be.

In a picture series, Porter showed that a serving of red meat should be the size of the palm of your hand (excluding fingers).

A steak with the thickness of a deck of cards that fills the palm weighs about 100g.

“You should spread protein throughout the day as we process it better in smaller, regular amounts,” Porter said.

“But don’t have more than 500g of red meat in a week. Choose other proteins, such as fish, beans or pulses.”

For white fish, which is low in fat, the right portion would be the size of your hand, including fingers.

Carbohydrates should constitute a quarter of your plate, protein another quarter and the rest, vegetables.

An appropriate portion would be a clenched fist of potatoes or uncooked pasta.

Hong Kong-registered dietician Leslie Chan Kwok-pan (陳國賓) said Hongkongers should cut the portion size by 30 percent because people are generally smaller than their British counterparts.

(This article is published on The Student Standard on 27 November 2015)

Recommended Daily Servings for Each of the Food Groups Eat Smart!
www.livestrong.com/article/83899-recommended-daily-servings-groups

Follow the Healthy Eating Food Pyramid
www.cheu.gov.hk/files/her/exn_nutp_025B_e.pdf