By Aieza
Staying healthy and feeling your best is important at any age. As we get older, we experience increasing number of major life changes including career transitions, retirement and physical health challenges. Coping with change is difficult at any age and it’s natural to feel losses you experience.
Sometimes age succeeds and sometimes it fails. Life’s luxuries can only be enjoyed when one is healthy so that depends on your diet only. Your body changes as you get older, but a balanced diet will help you to stay healthy. Here’s what to eat and how to keep healthy as you get older. No matter whatever our age, it’s important to eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Eat Iron rich foods
Iron is important for general health. A lack of iron can make us feel as though we have no energy, so include some iron-rich foods in your diet. Iron plays a vital role in the body. It produces hemoglobin which carries oxygen in the blood from the lungs to the rest of the body.
When you are not consuming enough iron, there’s a limited supply of oxygen to the body tissues. This results in feeling tired and lethargic. Iron deficiency leads to anemia. Iron is also found in legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils), oily fish such as sardines, eggs, bread, green vegetables and breakfast cereals with added vitamins.
Plenty of foods rich in starch
and fiber
Eating foods containing fiber could be good for your digestion. As we get older, our digestive system slows down. The walls of the gastrointestinal tract thicken and the contractions are slower and fewer which may lead to constipation. Foods rich in fiber promote proper digestion by moving food through the digestive tract. These foods have also been known to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Foods rich in fiber include nuts, wholegrain cereal, wholegrain bread and pasta, brown rice, brown bread, fruits, and vegetables. Constipation tends to become more of nuisance as you get older, but fiber-rich foods can prevent constipation and other digestive problems.
Calcium rich foods
Calcium is a key nutrient that many of us overlook in our diets. Almost every cell in the body uses calcium in some way, including the nervous system, muscles, and heart. Your body uses calcium to build healthy bones and teeth, keep them strong as you age, send messages through the nervous system, help your blood clot, your muscles contract, and regulate the heart’s rhythm.
If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, your body will take it from your bones to ensure normal cell function, which can lead to weakened bones or osteoporosis. Calcium deficiency can contribute to mood problems such as irritability, anxiety, depression, and difficulty sleeping. Eating calcium rich foods can help you avoid osteoporosis. Good sources include dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt. Choose lower fat varieties in smaller amounts. Calcium is also found in green leafy vegetables such as Spanish, turnips, broccoli and cabbage and soya beans.
Consume Vitamin A foods
Liver is high in vitamin A. Don’t eat liver or liver products, such as pate, more than once a week, or eat them in smaller portions. If you do eat liver more than once a week, don’t take any supplements containing vitamin A or fish liver oils (which also contain high levels of vitamin A). Be balanced because having too much Vitamin A might increase your risk of bone fracture and taking too much salt can raise your blood pressure, which puts you at increased risk of problems such as heart disease or stroke.
Use less salt:
Too much salt can raise blood pressure, which puts you at increased risk of health problems such as heart disease or a stroke. Most of the salt we eat is already in foods such as cereals, bread, tinned soups and other ready-prepared foods. Check food labels before you buy and choose ones that contain less salt. Don’t add salt to your food when cooking.
Stay Hydrated/ Drink plenty of water. Sometimes, thirst masks itself as hunger. As you get older, you may not be as quick to notice when you’re thirsty. So, drinking more water and drink plenty of fluids every day to stop you getting dehydrated. Aim to drink at least 6 times a day, and more in warmer weather or if you’re exercising. Tea, coffee, mineral water, and reduced fat milk can all count towards your fluid intake during the day, but water is always best. Drinks that contain a lot of caffeine, such as strong tea and coffee, might make your body produce more urine. If you mostly drink strong tea or coffee (or other drinks that contain a lot of caffeine), make sure you also drink some water or other fluids each day that don’t contain caffeine.
Take enough Vitamin D
Vitamin D plays a vital role in human health. Low levels of vitamin D can drastically impact a person’s physical and mental well-being. Vitamin D is most important for bone health and in the maintenance of skeletal health in the prevention of osteoporosis. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to various health problems, including cognitive decline, depression, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. As persons age, the risk for vitamin D deficiency significantly increases. Good dietary sources include eggs, cheese,fatty fish some fortified breakfast cereals are fortified spreads.
Aieza can be reached at darakshan.aiez@gmail.com
