Stay healthy as you get older
We discover after we reach fifty that there are a number of life changes for both men and women. While menopause is something women have to experience, losing bone mass, increased risk of heart disease and cancer occur for both men and women. It’s important to stay healthy and work to keep the aging process from accelerating. Fortunately, there are ways of assessing your wellness after the age of fifty.
Eating right after 50
Adequate nutrition plays an important role as we get older, while healthy eating is always best for all ages it becomes even more important as we age. It means eating a low fat, low salt diet containing as many fruits, good fiber, and vegetables as possible.
Correct nutrition can reduce the risk of age related disease, such as stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart disease, among other age-related health issues are high blood pressure and cholesterol etc.
You can use your diet to monitor your wellness, the healthier your diet, the healthier and more well you likely to be!
Pick your protein
A healthy diet after 50 means taking in more protein as it’s necessary for helping to improve muscle mass and maintaining the muscle mass you already have. Choose quality proteins that are low in fat which includes eggs, fish, poultry, nuts, lean meats, and dairy and products.
Choose the best carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are necessary as part of a healthy diet for the over 50s. What you need to consume are complex carbohydrates that you can get from eating grains and whole vegetables. Complex carbs are way better for you than simple carbs as they contain healthy fiber, vitamins, and minerals that you need for cellular fuel. All carbs are broken down into glucose eventually.
Healthy Fats
Have enough energy is really important and this is what healthy fats provides you with. Healthy fats are found in salmon, walnuts, almonds, coconut, olives, flax seed, avocados, and olive oil.
The kinds of fat you want to avoid are the saturated fats, often found in cheeses, shortening, butter, pork, and beef. Eat these types of foods should be eaten less often and should be eaten in small servings, trimming off the visible fats from meats.
Lower Caloric Intake
Remember that, because of the aging process you’ll probably find you need less food so portions often become smaller. You don’t need as many calories as you did in your younger days. Due to hormonal changes you’ll probably notice that your body also has changed you may discover there’s more fat around your middle and your waist and there’s less lean muscle mass. If you eat a healthy diet, it can help your bones as you can increase their mineral content, also lessen the risk of diabetes, and decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Drink Water
Water is more important than most people realize. You need water to hydrate your tissues and flush out your kidneys. Water will help keep wrinkles from forming on your skin and will help keep that youthful glow. Remember that you need water rather than tea, coffee, and other caffeinated beverages that actually dehydrate you.
Gauging Exercise after 50
Many older individuals aren’t active enough. They don’t get enough physical fitness. A good indicator of not aging well is If you never exercise, and this can most definitely affect your health and wellbeing.
There are lots of good reasons, why you should take in more exercise.
Here are just a few:
- Exercise can help you feel physically and emotionally better. Regardless of your age or the shape you’re in there are ways to be more physically active even yoga moves while sitting or laying if that’s the way it has to be.
- Decreased physical activity along with poor eating habits are contributors to the second highest cause of death, behind smoking, in developed countries.
- Exercising on regular basis can delay or prevent age-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. It can also help prevent anxiety and depression.
- Staying active can help keep you stay independent and be able to maintain your daily
You can monitor your fitness levels by seeing how many blocks you can walk without being out of breath or suffering leg cramps which result from poor circulation to the legs. Your fitness level is generally considered to be reasonably good if you are able to walk several blocks without difficulty.
Be strong and healthy past your 50s
To build or maintain muscle mass so you can be strong and healthy well past your fifties you should be doing some weight training. Weights can be used a couple of times per week when you are not doing other exercises such as walking, swimming, or cycling.
If you’re not already doing what your body needs from you the sooner you start to make positive change the better your health will be.
