The library is quiet today.
Second floor. A pen, a bottle of water, and a diary, that is all on my desk. Outside, cars honk at the main road like they are arguing with each other. Up here, the world feels slower.
It is past noon. No food yet.
That is when a thought surfaces, the one that had been sitting at the back of my mind all morning, dressed in a white coat, waiting to be noticed.
Lunch.
Three weeks ago, a woman sat across from me in the clinic.
Mid-forties. Tired eyes. The kind of tired that sleep does not fix. She had come in for a routine checkblood pressure slightly high, blood sugar normal, energy low. Nothing she had taken seriously yet.
My standard question followed.
"Walk me through what you ate yesterday."
She smiled, the way people smile when they think the answer is obvious.
"Doctor, I ate well. Ugali, some meat, and a little mchicha."
"Show me the portions," was the next instruction, and a blank piece of paper slid across the desk.
She drew without hesitating.
A mountain of ugali consumed three quarters of the page. A small circle of meat sat at the edge. The mchicha? Three little lines, squeezed into a corner, like an afterthought.
She looked at her drawing, then looked up.
"That is… a lot of ugali."
"It looks like the Kilimanjaro mountain," I told her. "And your protein and vegetables are the small fish at the bottom of the pond."
She laughed. We laughed. Then stopped laughing.
That drawing was not unique to me. Millions eat this way, packed with carbohydrates, light on protein, and almost empty of vegetables. Cooked with love. Eaten with effort. And each meal building the conditions for high blood pressure, diabetes, raised blood fats, and stomach ulcers, not because the food is wrong, but because the portions are.
Next, I took a fresh piece of paper, and drew the way it should look.
The Plate Rule:
- One handful of carbohydrates.
- One handful of protein.
- Two handfuls of vegetables and fruits.
Then came the question every patient asks.
"But what exactly should I eat, doctor?"
I told her what I will tell you now, eat what is already in your kitchen.
Carbohydrates: pick what is accessible: Ugali, rice, sweet potatoes, arrow roots, whole grain bread, cassava, or sorghum porridge.
Protein: pick what you can afford: Eggs, fish (tilapia or sardines), chicken, beef, beans, lentils, or groundnuts.
Vegetables: the more, the better: mchicha, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, amaranth, or cowpea leaves.
Fruits: eat what is in season: Mangoes, bananas, oranges, pawpaw, pineapple, or watermelon.
She folded that paper and put it in her handbag and said, "Thank you Doctor"
That is all good health communication needs to be.
Clear. Simple. Something you can fold up and take home.
Now, I should probably go eat something.
A handful of carbohydrates. A handful of protein. Two handfuls of vegetables.
Even doctors need the reminder.
Until next week!
Dr. Siti Haider.
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