Cancer Nutrition and Recipes For Dummies
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The New American Plate by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is a good example of how to design your meals to help you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight and transition to a more plant-based diet. Quite simply, it encourages you to visualize your plate when you plan and prepare meals.

As you can see from the following illustration, your plate should be two-thirds full with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, or beans. Only one-third of the plate should be animal protein. This is pretty much the opposite of the typical American plate.

[Credit: Illustration courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research]
Credit: Illustration courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has adopted a similar eating guide through MyPlate, shown here. MyPlate has replaced the old Food Guide Pyramid as a means to help encourage a diet made up of grains, vegetables, and fruits, with much smaller amounts of protein.

[Credit: Illustration courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture]
Credit: Illustration courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Maurie Markman, MD, a nationally renowned oncologist, is National Director of Medical Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Carolyn Lammersfeld, RD, board certified in oncology nutrition and nutrition support, is Vice President of Integrative Medicine at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Christina Torster Loguidice is Editorial Director of Clinical Geriatrics and Annals of Long-Term Care: Clinical Care and Aging.

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