Healthy Tips for the Over Fifties

By Juliette Crane


As your body ages, it undergoes a number of changes such as slowed metabolism and a greater tendency to gain weight. Your taste and smell deteriorate slightly, making it easier to eat foods you may once have disliked. Your ability to digest food is also affected because less stomach acid and saliva is produced as we age. This can affect your body's ability to absorb nutrients and vitamin and mineral deficiency can result. The body's ability to produce enzymes and coenzymes also declines as we age. Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to improve or maintain your good health.

You know that it is essential to eat a healthy and balanced breakfast but it is easy to forget to look after yourself the way you have looked after others. A light healthy breakfast including fresh fruit, whole grain cereal such as oatmeal, toast and juice (or a cup of tea or coffee) can give you a healthy and enjoyable start to the day.

Create a fruit kabob made with a halved strawberry, small slices of cheese, and grapes as a snack for later in the morning. One of the keys to healthy living is the consumption of smaller more frequent meals. Since the digestive system slows, the smaller meal allows the food to be processed more easily. The more frequently you eat small meals, the more your blood sugar levels out and reduces the hunger pangs.

As well as a good breakfast and a healthy morning snack, a light lunch is important to keep you feeling well. Healthy wraps, salads and soups are good choices for your midday meal. However, it is a good idea to avoid creamed soups and other foods containing dairy. The body produces the enzyme lactase which is necessary to break down lactose or milk sugar. As you age, your body produces less lactase and consequently it becomes more difficult to digest milk products. Cheese which has been aged for more than sixty days contains a minimal amount of lactose and is usually fine.

As you age, if you begin to show signs of food allergies that you never had before, they may not be food allergies at all. If your body is not able to properly digest certain foods, the symptoms can mimic those of some allergies. For example, gluten intolerance can cause real health problems that can often go undetected unless a physician asks the right questions. Wheat and many grain products contain gluten.

Supplement your diet with additional vitamins and minerals. Several companies produce vitamins created specifically for seniors. Try capsule forms for easier absorption. There are abundant amounts of coenzymes and enzymes that are available for purchase. One particularly interesting coenzyme is CoQ10. The Co stands for coenzyme. This is normally produced by the body but the production diminishes as you age. Many studies found this beneficial to those on cholesterol lowering drugs and people with beginning Alzheimer's or heart damage. Even though there has been no harmful side effects reported, it is always best to consult your doctor, particularly if taking other medications.

Youth can often provide a grace period during which we don't suffer the full consequences of bad eating. However, as we age, our bodies can seem to turn on us and we don't get away with nearly as much. Processed sugar is a serious health hazard which you need to minimize increasingly as you age. Sugar should only be eaten in the form of fruit. Along with some daily exercise, a healthy diet will leave you feeling healthier and more energetic.

More than anything, it is important to be positive, happy and enjoy life. Maintain an active life and stay interested in people and life in general. By simply changing your approach to eating, you can develop a new outlook to life. You can learn new healthier recipes, create interesting healthy menus and begin to enjoy food in a different way. Your generation changed the way youth was viewed and experienced. Are you ready to change the future of aging?




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