Eating Well as You Age
By Madhusudhan Tammisetti
Eating healthy is important at any stage of life, but it becomes even more so as you reach old age. While keeping your body healthy, eating good food may improve your overall outlook and help you stay emotionally balanced. Staying fit doesn't mean you've to cut down on food intake and stop enjoying your favorite food. Instead, you should enjoy food filled with wholesome grains, fruits, and vegetables that are tasty and healthy, and you can eat with your loved ones.
Regardless of your age or past dietary habits, you can change your diet and improve your thinking and feeling. Changing your dietary habits may help you in many ways.
Positive Effects of Healthy Diet
Nutritious food may help you increase your body's ability to fight diseases, keep weight under control, lower the chances of getting cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, bone loss, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. It also may help you fight illness-causing toxins. A balanced diet with physical activity may contribute to developing a healthy outlook.
People who eat fruits, vegetables, and fish and nuts containing omega-3 fatty acids may be able to decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease and improve focus. If you drink antioxidant-rich green tea, it may help enhance your mental alertness and improve memory.
A healthy diet may provide you with more energy and help you look better, which improves your state of mind and confidence. When your body feels better, you may feel more joyful and happy throughout the day.
Diet
The natural color of fruits and vegetables is an indication of them being rich in antioxidants and vitamins. Red raspberries, blueberries, and cherries are ideal fruits, and leafy vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, and kale contain antioxidants and nutrients that may help control blood pressure levels and decrease the chances of getting heart disease.
Dairy products form an important food group for older adults. Dairy products are rich in calcium, and the need for calcium rich food remains high, and no other food contains that much calcium as dairy.
Milk, for instance, may give you all the calcium you require in three 8-ounce servings. It also contains Vitamin D, essential for healthy bones. Most people don't get the required amount of Vitamin D, and with age, the body may not be able to make the required amount of it from sunlight.
You can get protein from meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, beans, nuts, and dairy products.
In case you want to consume meat, make it lean because it may contain saturated fat, which is associated with bad cholesterol.
Don't eat too much or too less, and always try to consume your food in moderation. A balanced diet in association with regular exercise may do a world of good to your health.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Lakewood, Colo.