Nutritional requirements

• The main purpose of any nutrition care plan is to address the specific nutritional requirements. If you are a vegan bodybuilder, your plan will be very different from a sedentary office worker with diabetes and hypertension. Each person requires a tailor-made plan.
  The female vegan athlete will need to have at least 50 percent of her body weight in protein from legumes, nuts, sprouts and whole grains. She probably will need additional supplementation for vitamin B12, as that is normally found only in red meat (or spirulina, a type of bluegreen algae).
  
  

Design

• In each case, the design of the nutrition plan must include foods that will address the person's particular health issues. Using the same examples from above, a woman who is diabetic and hypertensive might have a plan of mainly low-glycemic vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, low-fat proteins and omega 3 oils healthy for the heart from fish, flax seed oil and hemp seeds. Her daily calories will be lower than the vegan athlete so that she does not gain weight---a common risk for diabetics. To prevent cardiovascular disease, her plan will be very low in saturated fats.
  
  

Resources

• In order to create your own nutrition care plan, consult your physician, nutritionist or go online to reputable sources such as the U.S. RDA Food Pyramid. There is more than one food pyramid. There are versions for young children, adults, those with health issues, dieters, vegans and vegetarians. If you have any serious health issues such as diabetes, hypertension or you take any prescription medication, see your doctor.