Low Fat Dietary Guide To Aid In The Management Of Skin Cancer

Step Four: Determining The Grams Of Fat You Should Consume

Thus far we have presented the same steps and advice that the dietitians used with the skin  cancer patients  in  the  low-fat dietary intervention study described  in Why Diet.  You have been able to assess your general calorie needs based on information obtained from Appendix I and II.  From this information the number of grams of fat you need to reach your goal of 20% of calories from fat is provided in Appendix III.  Tips regarding selection and preparation of low-fat foods have been pro- vided with fat content and food nutrient data in Appendix IV and V.  Now all that remains is for you to begin and maintain your low-fat diet. An important tool that you will  find  an  invaluable  aid  in  doing  so  is  the  Food Diary. You may wish to pattern your food diary after the blank example in Appendix VI.  The  low-fat  diet  that  you  will  adopt  for  management  and  prevention  of  skin cancer requires that you count only the  grams  of  fat,  based  upon  the  foods  and  amounts,  eaten  each  day.  As  it  is  an  easy  task,  you  may  find  it  informative  to  count  calories as well, although it is not necessary  when adopting the low-fat diet.

Let’s take a look at how you go about selecting foods to meet your fat gram goal.  Again, we will use the 5’9” man of medium frame and light physical activity as an example. From Appendix I and III we have determined his need of 2300 calories and a fat gram goal of 51. Using the fat gram values from Appendix  V  and food labels, our  5’9”  man  consumed  a  breakfast  of  orange juice, bran flakes, milk, wheat toast, margarine and jam which provided 8 grams of fat  toward   his   goal.   Lunch   consisted   of   a  grilled  chicken  breast  sandwich  on  Kaiser  roll with mayonnaise, lettuce, and  tomato,   dill  pickle spear,  baked  beans, and watermelon cubes. This provided 16 grams of fat.  Dinner consisted of grilled salmon, rice pilaf, steamed broccoli, fresh fruit salad, wheat roll with margarine, and low-fat frozen yogurt.  This meal provided 20 grams of fat. Our 5’9” male   example   then   consumed   an   evening snack of light microwave popcorn and apple cider.  The snack provided 7 grams of fat.  Over the course of the day he consumed 2321 calories and 51 grams of fat, the latter meeting his fat gram goal.

One should notice that the low-fat diet given  in  the  example  (Appendix  VI)  is  not  “all  grass and twigs”, but rather represents a well- balanced  and  appealing  menu.  The  information  provided  in  this  booklet  allows  you  to  learn  fat  reduction  strategies  to  complement  your  individual  food  preferences  and  life- style. If followed, this practical dietary advice  with  respect  to  reduction  in  percentage  of  calories  from  fat  could  make  an  important  contribution  to  the  management  and  prevention of skin cancer, as well as conveying additional health benefits.