Healthy Meal Ideas and Meal Planning Tips from Dr. Ali Ghahary

Eating a well-balanced diet is an important part of your overall health and well-being. When combined with physical activity, healthy eating can provide a wide variety of benefits – including helping with weight loss and reducing the risk of a number of different diseases.

For working adults or for parents who have school-aged children, planning meals isn’t always easy. Certain meals can have long preparation times, while kids may be picky and not always want to eat what’s put on their plate – but meal planning isn’t as hard as you might think. There are many simple, but nevertheless healthy recipes out there to try – and meal planning can actually be a fun family activity that adults and children can participate in together – from choosing what to eat for the week, to cooking together. By planning out your meals, you not only give yourself more time to relax, but will ultimately find that you’re making healthier food choices as a result.

Below, Dr. Ali Ghahary, a family physician from Vancouver, British Columbia, shares some easy-to-make, delicious and healthy recipes.

Breakfast is the most important meal you can eat. Not eating breakfast would be like trying to drive a car that has no fuel. The mornings, however, can also be a busy time for households across Canada – parents are getting ready to go to work, kids are possibly finishing their homework and/or getting ready to go to school – time available to sit down to a meal is limited. The good news is that there are plenty of breakfast options available, requiring little to no preparation at all – and without the use of your stove or oven. Fruit salad, for example, is easy to prepare. Fruits also contain plenty of vitamins and minerals to help keep you feeling energized, and can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and even cancer. The types of fruit you choose to use are entirely up to you. You can also add Greek yogurt for additional texture and flavour. Compared to regular yogurts, Greek yogurt is higher in protein and low in lactose.

Lunch can be challenging. For children and teenagers, many schools offer lunch programs, though sometimes that lunch is also bought from a vending machine. This is neither ideal nor healthy. Instead, try to encourage your child to bring homemade meals with them to school and prepare them the night before. Examples of healthy lunches include: Tuna sandwiches with lettuce on whole-wheat bread, raw baby carrots (or other vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and celery) with low-fat ranch dressing used for dipping, hard boiled eggs, sliced ham or turkey.

Lastly, dinner. If you have a slow cooker, you can often begin dinner preparation first thing in the morning and it will be ready when you arrive home. Things like chicken, beef, soups and stews can all be made in a slow cooker. You can find a variety of slow cooker recipes on Pinterest by clicking here. Other healthy dinner options include hamburgers on whole-wheat buns with oven-cooked yam fries (an alternative to the regular French fry), steak and baked potato with steamed vegetables, and pasta made with egg noodles.

For low-carb meal options or more information on healthy eating in general, follow Dr. Ali Ghahary on Instagram and Twitter.

Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Allergies can come in many different forms. Food and medication allergies, for example, can be severe and sometimes life threatening; while other allergies, such as hay fever, which typically affects individuals in the spring and summer months, can simply be an annoyance. These kinds of allergies can be treated with OTC allergy medications like Benadryl or Reactine. Dr. Ali Ghahary, a family doctor from Vancouver, British Columbia, may also prescribe patients with nasal sprays, and in cases of severe allergies he will also prescribe patients with an epinephrine auto injector. If you suffer from serious allergies it is important to keep your epinephrine auto injector with you at all times – and, in the event that you have to use the epinephrine injector, it is important to remember to call 911.

Unlike food and medication allergies, which can occur within 20 to 30 minutes of exposure to the allergen, another type of allergy known as Allergic Contact Dermatitis (ACD) can take as long as 48 to 72 hours before you will notice any kind of reaction. While food and medication allergies can affect the throat and your ability to breathe, allergies that are a result of Allergic Contact Dermatitis affect the skin – causing irritation, a rash, hives, and even eczema. 

The list of substances that can cause Allergic Contact Dermatitis is long. You can develop it from wearing jewelry (due to nickel), perfumes and other fragrances, from household cleaners, hair dye, and even latex.

Allergic Contact Dermatitis is usually fairly easy to diagnose and is also easy to treat as long as you are aware of what you have been exposed to/what your allergies are, and take extra precautions to avoid exposure to those allergens in the future. Patients will often find relief by using topical creams or topical steroids, and in some cases oral antibiotics may be necessary to prevent or treat secondary infection as a result of ACD. In severe cases, Dr. Ghahary may also prescribe patients with a short course of oral steroids to help reduce inflammation.

Medication Interactions

Ali Ghahary, a family doctor from Vancouver, British Columbia, often prescribes medications to patients in effort to cure or prevent diseases, as well as in effort to ease symptoms of certain illnesses. 

The medications in which a physician will prescribe a patient range in variety. They include (but are not limited to) medications to treat over or under-active thyroid (also known as hypo or hyperactive thyroid), anti-emetics to treat nausea, pain relievers to treat inflammation, as well as inhaled corticosteroids to treat asthma, nasal sprays to treat allergies, and medications to treat heart disease and diabetes.

In order to determine whether or not a medication is appropriate for the patient, Dr. Ali Ghahary will take into account the patient’s medical history as well as any medication allergies. While many medications do come with risks, your doctor has deemed that the benefit of taking the medication is much greater.

Upon filling a prescription, it is crucial to follow the exact dosing instructions as outlined by your physician. Taking too little or too much of a medication can result in the worsening of your medical condition or overdose – and your body may even become immune to some medications if not taken properly.

If you are taking multiple medications, Dr. Ali Ghahary says it is important for patients to be aware of any potential interactions that can occur as a result of taking more than one drug. For example, certain antibiotics can increase levels of the anticonvulsant medication known as Tegretol (Carbamazepine). Warfarin, an anticoagulant (blood thinner) used in conjecture with NSAIDs (Naproxen, Advil), could lead to an increased risk of internal bleeding with serious complications; and anti-depressants used in conjecture with sleeping or allergy medications may lead to increased drowsiness and possible agitation. 

If you are concerned about any potential medication interactions, visit Drugs.com There, you will find their Drug Interactions Checker in addition to finding out more information about the medications in which you have been prescribed. If you have questions about your medications, you can always reach out to a physician or pharmacist. 

Dr. Ali Ghahary is more than happy to answer any questions you might have, and is available to see walk-in patients at Brentwood Medical Clinic every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. For Dr. Ghahary’s walk-in schedule, visit his website at www.alighahary.ca.

Visual Impairment

Visual impairment is a term that is used in the medical industry to describe vision loss. There are over 5 million Canadians that live with an eye disease that either affects their vision or could lead to vision loss in the future – with nearly 65,000 of those individuals being right here in British Columbia, where Dr. Ali Ghahary works as a family physician. 

To be visually impaired means that your eyesight cannot be corrected to what would be deemed as a “normal” level by medical professionals. Vision loss can mean that you are partially sighted or blind, in addition to having a visual field that is narrowed, declined visual acuity, as well as other forms of visual impairment. Certain types of visual impairment are also considered a disability.

In Canada, the number one cause of visual impairment is a condition that is known as age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD, which affects individuals aged 50 and older. It occurs as a result of damage to the macula – the area in the centre of your eye that is responsible for seeing objects that are straight ahead of you. In many cases, age-related macular degeneration advances very slowly and you will only notice symptoms as the condition progresses over time. When the macula is damaged, your vision becomes distorted. A few examples of distorted vision include blurriness or shadowy areas. You are at an increased risk of developing AMD if you are a smoker or if there is history of it in your family. You can help to reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration by avoiding smoking (Dr. Ali Ghahary offers smoking cessation tips here), getting regular exercise, eating healthy and maintaining normal levels of cholesterol and blood pressure.

Glaucoma is another condition that can cause visual impairment. It is a condition that causes increased pressure/fluid build-up within the eye, causing damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve is responsible for transferring visual information to the brain via electrical impulses. Similar to age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma usually does not become bothersome until later in life. If can be treated with eye drops, medication that you take orally, surgery, or a combination of all of these methods. If left untreated, however, glaucoma can lead to permanent loss of vision, so it is important to make an appointment with your physician or with your optometrist at the first sight of symptoms – which include blurred or distorted vision and eye pain.

There are also different types of blindness that an individual can be diagnosed with. These include colour blindness – where the individual is unable to tell the difference between certain colours, night blindness – which occurs in the evening or when in dimmer light and tends to make night-driving difficult, and complete blindness – where the individual has total vision loss.

If you develop sudden visual disturbances or sudden vision loss, this could be a medical emergency. Common medical causes of sudden vision loss include artery occlusion, vitreous hemorrhage, in addition to strokes or brain tumours. Dr. Ali Ghahary urges anyone who experiences sudden disturbances with their vision to seek immediate medical attention.

UV Protection

Nice weather is always a great excuse to get outdoors and be active. However, you should always ensure that you are taking extra precautions to avoid heat-related illness and other health problems associated with overexposure to UV rays. Below is a look at some further insight and recommendations from Dr. Ali Ghahary, a family physician at Brentwood Medical Clinic in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Firstly, it is important to know the difference between the types of UV radiation that exist. While UVC rays are the strongest, they are the least concerning as the ozone layer prevents them from reaching the earth. On the other hand, UVA and UVB rays are the most concerning and should be taken very seriously as they can cause irreparable damage. Whether you are exposed to natural sunlight or artificial ultraviolet rays, you are at risk of developing heat stroke, severe sunburn, skin damage, and even damage to your eyes.

Just as we would wear sunscreen to prevent sunburn, it is also important to protect the eyes; therefore, if you are going to be in an environment that leaves you exposed to ultraviolet rays, it is also recommended that you wear sunglasses. Both natural and artificial UV radiation can cause severe damage to the eyes, including damage to the cornea and the lens, as well as burning the frontal surface of the eyes (similar to a sunburn.) Failure to protect your eyes from UV rays can lead to both short-term as well as long-term, serious health effects, including a higher risk of developing cataracts, irreversible damage to the retina, chronic eye problems, and even skin cancer. 

When looking for a pair of sunglasses that will give your eyes enough protection, you should make sure they are free of any distortion and ensure that they screen out at least 75% (and up to 90%) of visible light, and block 99% of UVA and UVB radiation. Wrap-around frames will also provide you with increased protection.