A balanced diet for a person age 40 to 50 consists of a variety of foods. Top foods to include in your diet are whole vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and healthy fats and oils. As people get older their bodies need additional nourishment from food. The body produces less enzymes as people age, but these enzymes can be replaced with supplements and eating the right raw foods like broccoli, carrots and pineapple.
Raw Vegetables, Fruit and Calcium
Eat five to eight servings of raw vegetables per day. Raw vegetables are good food for healthy teeth, bones, brain, skin, and eyes. You get the most benefit from vegetables when you eat them raw, because cooking destroys vital enzymes and vitamins. If you must cook your vegetables, try steaming them and try to do so only at dinner. Steaming is not as good as eating raw food, but steaming does not kill as many nutrients as frying or baking.
Include plenty of green vegetables in your diet like broccoli, cucumber, dark leafy green salads, green peppers, and onions. Other top foods include beets, carrots, tomatoes, and raw potatoes. Raw potatoes are good for you, because they are rich in enzymes and hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is a nutrient made in your skin that helps to prevent breakdown of the skin's collagen and elastin, which slows down the aging process.
Fruit is rich in fiber, which is needed for healthy digestion. If you are not having three bowel movements per day, your digestion is backed up. Over time this can lead to colon cancer or other health problems. Eat one to two pieces of whole fruit per day like an apple and banana. Your colon will thank you.
Avoid drinking pure fruit juice. When the fiber is removed from fruit from the juicing process, this type of fruit is not as beneficial to the body. The sugar is not balanced with fiber, which can cause blood glucose levels to spike. Maintaining healthy blood glucose is vital as people age, because they become more vulnerable to diabetes. Fruit is better for you when eaten whole because the sugars are balanced out by the fiber.
As people reach middle age bone loss begins to happen at a more rapid pace. Women are prone to develop osteoporosis as they get older. According to the Mayo Clinic, calcium and vitamin D are essential nutrients for bone health. Vitamin D strengthens calcium as well as boosting the immune system. Foods that are rich in calcium are milk, carrots, almonds, broccoli, and other green vegetables. Soda should be avoided, especially during middle age and older. The Mayo Clinic also says that caffeine interferes with mineral absorption. If you must have coffee in the morning, stick with just one cup and cut out soda completely.
Lean Meats or Other Protein Sources
Eat lean meats. Include plenty of lean protein sources in your diet like chicken, fish, turkey, and buffalo. Avoid eating fatty protein products like pork because this food contains saturated fats that can clog your arteries. Beef also has some artery-clogging fat, but not as much as pork. If you like beef, only eat this meat once or twice weekly. Mainly focus on eating the leanest sources of meat like turkey, fish and chicken. These meats contain B vitamins and iron. Iron builds red blood cells, which helps to prevent fatigue and improve endurance. B-vitamins improve nervous system health, which helps to increase energy and relieve stress. As people age stress can negatively impact the nervous system.
If you are not able to eat meat, choose vegetable sources of protein like beans, or spirulina. Spirulina is a blue-green sea algae that contains a vast amount of vitamins and minerals like vitamins C, A and E. Spirulina, a source of vegetarian protein, is considered a food because it is a sea vegetable; however, it often is sold as a supplement as well. You can buy this super food in pill or powder form at most health food stores or online.
Healthy Fats and Oils
Eat healthy fat each day. According the American Heart Association, good fat in the diet becomes even more essential as people reach middle age. As people get older inflammation sets in and the arteries can become clogged from triglycerides. The AHA has also stated that omega-3 fatty acids reduce triglycerides. The body needs fat to function properly. Good fat, also called polyunsaturated fat (which includes omega-3 fatty acids) lubricates the joints and prevents inflammation. Monounsaturated fats are also considered to be healthy fats. Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil and peanut oil.
Several different types of omega fats, such as omega-3, 6 and 9, are available; however, omega-3 is most known for its benefits. The body does not make this fat on its own so people must get it from food or supplements. Specifically there are three types of omega-3 fatty acids: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) , and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). DHA and ALA are primarily found in fish, and EPA is found in nuts and flaxseed oil.
These healthy fats can be found in salmon, sunflower seeds, almonds, eggs, and other nuts. You can also take omega-3 supplements like flaxseed oil or cod liver oil. In addition, include plenty of olive and grapeseed oils in your diet.
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