You can always tell it’s time for Easter when you see supermarket shelves decorated with several Easter buns and cheese. The treats, along with fish, are a crucial part of the holiday’s celebrations.

However, while many of us can freely enjoy the season by eating as many buns as we see fit, others have to be more cautious given their dietary restrictions.

Speaking with OBSERVER ONLINE this week, Nutritionist Donovan Grant stressed that diabetic patients, individuals with high cholesterol and elders, in particular, have to be a little more careful when considering Easter treats.

“Easter is normally a time for merry-making and so on, it’s almost just like Christmas so people are eating bun and cheese and, in some situations, the bun might be a little sweet so persons who are diabetic can run into problems,” Grant said, adding that during the period a lot of regular meals are replaced with bun and cheese including lunch and dinner.

Easter buns are usually made of flour, milk, yeast, sugar and butter. Most Easter buns contain nuts and small fruits such as raisins. Some of these ingredients can complicate the diet of individuals with chronic conditions.

One such condition is diabetes.

Noting that calories and sugar levels can easily increase during the season, Grant warned diabetic people to watch out for their sugar intake.

“If you know you’re going to eat bun and cheese then what you can do is to create a space for it. So, let us say you have some persons who might eat a big breakfast with yam and dumpling and banana and at 11 o’clock, 12 o’clock they eat four slices of bun with big chumps of cheese, then that can get them into some trouble.

“Let us say you had some fruits for breakfast or some yogurt — you have a light breakfast so you keep a little slot where you could have the bun and cheese but you don’t necessarily have to have that amount instead of all at once,” the nutritionist advised.

And with all the sweetness and the carbs that buns provide, Grant said individuals with high cholesterol and those who are overweight may also get into trouble.

“You’re eating the bun with the cheese for those persons who have high cholesterol and that may be a concern as well. Out of habit, you may even have some persons eating bun and cheese and drinking milk so that could be a challenge, and I know there’s a lot of cheese around in Easter time for some persons, so even without the bun, some persons will just grab a piece of cheese and snack on it so that may be another concern for persons with lifestyle diseases,” he continued.

But Grant, a merrymaker himself, is not discouraging people with chronic conditions from enjoying the season. Instead, he encouraged individuals to be more aware of their calorie and sugar intake.

“To be fair to the bun people cause it’s just the season, then sometimes what you can do, you can look at the label to see which one has a little bit less calories…for persons who are diabetic, then maybe what you can do is check some recipes and maybe do a homemade bun instead and instead of sweetening it with sugar, then you could probably sweeten it with fruit and so on.

“But the thing is: if you want bun, you want bun…but what you could also do is to do a smaller amount. So instead of big stocks of it, you can be conscious about the amount that you’re eating,” he explained.

As it relates to healthier substitutes during the season, the nutritionist shared that homemade buns and steamed fish are the best options.

“Fish is a good protein, especially steamed fish. I mean, of course, it’s getting a little worse now that the harbours and the sea are getting a little more polluted so you might end up eating a sea fish that turns up from plastic and mask so on. In addition to that you may have pond fish and the pond fish, depending on what they’re feeding them on and such, they may turn up with some hormones and such but overall fish is a go to protein,” Grant shared with OBSERVER ONLINE.

However, despite steamed fish being the healthier option, the extravagant way in which Jamaicans prepare it can also be problematic. The nutritionist noted several fish preparation methods that he would discourage.

“One would have to watch out for the steamed (fish) that have a lot of oil and stuff, so sometimes you can see the fish and instead of it swimming in regular water, now it is swimming in oil so one would have to be careful,” Grant said.

In such a case, Grant said baked fish may be the best option, however, it all comes down to being mindful of your calorie intake.

“Be mindful of what you’re doing, that’s just the case because some persons are baking but let’s say they’re doing it in foil paper, so in some case, they’re going to grease the foil paper with butter and so in that case now, a lot of the butter is going to seep into the fish. So, one has to be a little bit careful.”

When it comes to fry fish, the nutritionist also discouraged using this preparation method, especially for overweight individuals who have high mucus levels in their system.

“Fish is a healthy protein but based on what you do with it and what you eat it with, the whole thing can fall apart because supposed you’re having baked fish but you’re having it with fried bammy, or you’re having fish with fries and you reach the stage where you’re having fried fish with fries then you can throw off the whole thing — or you’re having fish with corn that has been soaked in deep butter,” he said.

But essentially, Grant said people should just be conscious of what they’re eating and the amount.

“Allow the space to remain but reduce the portion,” Granted explained, “Some persons like to have big amount of proteins like fish — one big snapper. So instead of one whole one, you could cut it in half. That would be helpful as well,” he said.

“Just be aware of the stuff that you’re putting in your mouth.”