A lot of the time, being healthy has to do with keeping at a healthy weight. To do that, here are some tips that you can follow.
- Understand the caloric ratio for your lifestyle. Compared to 20 years ago, your metabolism has greatly slowed down. If you don’t happen to be very active, your body can sustain proper functionality with about 1,700 calories daily. For those who are moderately active 1,800 – 1900 calories might be good. If you are very active, stay with about 2,000 – 2,300 calories.
- Get enough calcium. Bones get brittle as they age. If you drink cow’s milk, your body will actually take calcium from your bones to regulate healthy pH levels, so aim for around 1,200 mg of calcium daily.
- Eat lots of protein. Protein is good for so many things. It assists in regulating body functions and is necessary for building blood, skin, muscles and bones as well as aiding in regulating body weight. Foods such as wild salmon, nuts, eggs, kidney beans, nonfat yogurt and soybeans are loaded with protein. Other food sources high in protein include:
- Chicken and turkey breasts
- Lean beef
- Venison
- Veal
- Ham
- Cottage cheese
- Protein bars
- Eat more often. At this age, you need to be eating 5 or 6 small meals a day instead of the recommended 3. You could even try 3 meals and 2 – 3 snacks a day. Each time you eat, your metabolism gets a boost, which is great for weight and fat loss.
- Limit white flour, refined sugar, and salt. Regardless of your age, these 3 foods can have a negative impact on your health and should be avoided. Remember that eating fats isn’t what makes people fat but eating sugar does.
- Getting a lot of anti aging antioxidants. Antioxidants are what fight those dangerous free radicals in your body to protect them from causing damage on a cellular level to your organs. Things like vegetables and fruits have antioxidants such as selenium and beta – carotene. Philanthropist Jason Hope suggest to think bananas, kale, apples, romaine lettuce and other of the darker leafy greens here.
- Soluble fibers. Doctors believe that when it comes to disease, 70% of them begin in your gut and digestive system. Getting enough soluble fiber means that you are improving your digestion and that you are enabling yourself to properly process your food, while flushing those unhealthy chemicals and dangerous toxins out of your body. Look for this in foods such as lentils, cucumbers, nuts, beans, berries, oats, vegetables, fruits, and grains.
- Eat raw food. After a lifetime of food that is cooked, packaged, and processed, this might be difficult. However, eating raw food is absolutely necessary. You won’t be ingesting preservatives, nitrates and additives and you will be getting those additional enzymes that are critical for your important physiological processes.
- Make sure you get all of your vitamins. Small diets of unprocessed vegetables and fruits, whole grains and whole foods can give you all that your body needs in order to properly function and deliver you a life that is both long and healthy. That being said, all of us do not eat properly in order to get all of the nutrients and vitamins that we need in our diets. In 2008, in the Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly, a study was published that said that adults over 50 frequently showed deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12.
- Check food labels. If you see the word ‘natural’ on a food label, beware. Consumer Reports (https://www.facebook.com/ConsumerReports) has done quite a bit of research on labels for food that say natural on them and in turns out that the FDA in the US doesn’t have a definition for that word. This means that anything can have the word ‘natural’ on the label whether it is or isn’t.
By keeping these things in mind and using them to structure your diet, you will be setting yourself up to be as healthy as possible regardless of your age.
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