Remaining Healthy Over 50 Requires Careful Attention to Nutrition

In order to be as healthy over 50 as you were in your 20s and 30s, special attention must be given to nutrition, a healthy weight, and exercise. As we age, our bodies grow less efficient in the way it operates. There are also hormonal differences which effect libido, lean body mass, fat storage, etc.

The standard American diet (SAD) affects our being healthy over 50. More and more of the world's food is becoming refined and less raw and whole. This has the affect of compromising the body's ability to fight disease and toxins.

Menu for Healthy Over 50

The food we do eat is not prepared and raised the way it was in our grandparents days. It is now subjected to hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), along with artificial preservatives, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners (high fructose corn syrup, saccharine, ect.), and artificial flavors (such as monosodium glutamate.)

The chemicals in our food create health-destroying free radicals in the body. These scavengers prevent you from being healthy over 50. And because we are not receiving the nutrients in our diet to combat free radicals, we age prematurely and suffer all types of chronic and debilitating illnesses.

You see, the foods we eat create free radicals. And since the majority of our diet is composed of refined foods, we don't eat the whole foods which contain the only substance that can nullify free radicals-antioxidants.

The ideal nutrition plan should be low-salt (sodium), low fat, and include plenty of fiber. Fat should come from fish (good source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids), nuts (polyunsaturated fats), extra-virgin olive oil (monounsaturated fat), extra-virgin coconut oil, and conjugated linoleic acid.

Don't be afraid of eating a reasonable amount of saturated fat. Your body needs it (Read...)

Being healthy over 50 includes increasing protein intake to compensate for the natural decline in muscle and increase in body fat. Good, low-fat sources of protein include fish, lean and organic beef, chicken, and turkey, and fermented soy products such as tofu.

The foods which should make up the bulk of our diets to remain healthy over 50 are fruits and vegetables-plenty of fruits and vegetables! Fruit and vegetables are loaded with phytochemicals (phyto means 'plant'.) Many of these phytochemicals are antioxidants. They along with beta carotene (a form of vitamin A), C, and E are enemies of free radicals.

As we age, our bodies have trouble absorbing certain nutrients from foods. One such nutrient is vitamin B-12. With each passing decade after the age of 50, atrophic gastritis becomes problematic. This condition disrupts digestion, allowing certain bacteria to flourish and thereby interfering with the absorption of vitamin B-12.

Seniors also may experience low levels of vitamin B-6, interfering with being healthy over 50. This nutrient is important in the manufacture of red blood cells. B-6 also improves the efficiency of enzymes responsible for the digestion of food (protein, carbs, fat.)

Not only is absorption a problem for people over 50, we also begin to lose essential substances. Women begin losing calcium from their bones at the age of 30. It accelerates after the age of 50. Women's calcium requirements increase from 1,000 milligrams (mg) from ages 19 through 50 to 1,200 mg after 50 (Read...)

What most people seem not to realize is that energy requirements drop after the age of 30. This is true for men and women. By that time usually our careers are in full swing, and we may even have started a family. Unless you are a professional athlete, or dedicated fitness buff (like yours truly), the only exercise you get is chasing your kids or running to catch the bus.

With food that has been compromised with deadly chemicals, supplementation is a MUST, especially to those who want to be healthy over 50. I recommend a good multivitamin/multimineral vitamin. I also recommend one that has been formulated with the healthy over 50 plus generation in mind.

That being said, how do you go about choosing the right supplement from the dozens available? I would eliminate the supplements that are store brands. Although they may be cheaper, you will ultimately lose because you are not getting the nutrients you need.

According to Dr. David Williams, a proponent of alternative health, "...not all multivitamins contain the specific vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy and feel young-especially if you're over 50. In fact, most of today's popular multivitamins provide just the bare bones of what you need."

Make sure that your supplement choice is not synthetic. Your body doesn't process and assimilate synthetic vitamins the way it does vitamins made from natural ingredients. Synthetics are a cheap and ineffective alternative to natural supplements.

Check the ingredient list and make sure your multivitamin/mineral contains the following nutrients in the form given (for instance, vitamin A as beta carotene, retinyl palmitate:

Research was conducted on 80 adults between the ages of 50 and 87 who were already eating a nutrient-dense diet. The study was double-blind, placebo controlled which lasted 8 weeks.

Researchers concluded that supplementation with a multivitamin formulated at about 100% Daily Value (DV) can increase vitamin status in older adults. They also concluded that it can improve older adults' micronutrient status levels associated with reduced risk for several chronic diseases.

To remain healthy over 50, special attention has to be paid to general fitness and health. Together with adequate nutrition and supplementation you are guaranteed a quality life.

A quality life is a life without significant health concerns. You are not dependent on prescription medication or a nursing home. Neither are you dependent on a caregiver. You remain independent. (See...)

"...Of those who reach age 65, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and Americans for Long-Term Care Security, 40% will spend time in a nursing home and 5% will require long-term care at some point..." (The Truth About Money [Emphasis mine]; pg. 12.)

Of course you do not have to be a part of that statistic. You can be healthy over 50. People today seem to be under the misconception that it's all downhill after reaching the golden age of 50. Nothing could be further from the truth. And it's a mistake for anyone reaching that age to abandon all fitness-related physical activity.

I am currently 56 years old and I lift weights 4 days a week at Diamond Gym in Maplewood, New Jersey. One of my training partners is 68 years old. There is also a member at Diamond Gym who is 80 years old! He has been weight training for over 50 years! So much for the 'I am a senior citizen so now I can lay down and die' attitude. We can all be healthy over 50.

Remaining healthy over 50 cannot be accomplished without exercise. Exercise strengthens your body's immune system and makes you INSULIN SENSITIVE. Insulin sensitivity is a factor towards minimizing the risk of developing diabetes, certain forms of cancer, obesity, heart disease, etc.

A strength training study was done with 54 women ages 30 through 50 to determine its effect on several risk factors which can lead to breast and colon cancer. The study lasted 9 months and measured changes in body fat percentage, waist size, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). There was no nutritional diet associated with this study. The women used weights to strength train only twice a week.

This strength training regimen produced an increase in lean body mass (muscle), and reductions in body fat percentage and fasting insulin and glucose levels. Amazingly, it only took 15 weeks to achieve these measurable results. A strength training program can also be implemented to help prevent a recurrence of breast and colon cancer, and to remain healthy over 50.

One of the primary effects of exercise is that it pushes insulin levels down. There have been several studies undertaken throughout the world to determine why centenarians live as long as they do. The study subjects varied in lifestyles. Some smoked, others didn’t. Some exercised while others didn’t. Some also drank, others didn’t. The only common denominator between all centenarians studied was that they all had low insulin levels for their age.

At one time it was thought that the only purpose of insulin was to lower the body’s blood sugar levels. It is now known that the primary purpose of insulin is to store excess nutrients such as carbohydrates and magnesium.

Centenarian studies have shown that insulin sensitivity is the major indicator for lifespan. If a person’s cells are not sensitive, insulin levels skyrocket. Hence we have the term insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the cause of the disease of aging. The symptoms of this disease of aging are what the medical profession looks upon as the disease itself—cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc.

Whenever the body’s cells are exposed to insulin, they become more resistant. This is normal and cannot be stopped. The rate however can be controlled. When insulin resistance increases, we age. Remember from the centenarian study that all participants had low insulin levels. It is believed that we can push the boundaries of life even further than 100 or 110. Centenarians should be able to live to 120, 130, or even 140 years!

Esophageal cancer is one the rise for people ages 55 to 85 years old. One of its risk factors is obesity. (See...)

The human body absorbs only about one-fourth of the L-carnitine from the food that we eat (predominately from meat, chicken, fish, and dairy products.) And as we age, the body produces less and less L-carnitine.

Researchers from the University of Catania in Italy conducted a study of L-carnitine on 66 participants who were at least 100 years old. They were divided into two groups. One group received a placebo while the second group received two grams of L-carnitine for six months.

The group which had the L-carnitine experienced significantly less physical fatigue after exercise. Also mental fatigue was less, total muscle mass was significantly higher while total fat mass was significantly lower.

The L-carnitine study results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Depression

Approximately 6 million Americans over the age of 65 suffer from depression. It lasts longer among the elderly than it does among our youth. Depression is also linked more to suicide among the elderly. They make up 12% of the population but account for 16% of the suicides.

Whites have rates of major depression much higher than Hispanics or blacks. After age 85, the suicide incidence among whites jumps to 350% higher than at age 65.

Falls

More and more vitamin D is looking like the proverbial cure-all. Researchers at the School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Australia conducted a study on the effects of vitamin D on falls. They recruited and tracked 302 women, ages 70 to 90. Each woman experienced a fall within the last year.

One group of women was given 1,000 IUs of vitamin D while the control group was given a placebo. Both groups were given 1,000 mg of calcium citrate daily. The group which was given vitamin D had a 19 percent lower rate of falls than the control group. It is known that vitamin D contributes to stronger muscles.Depression Dementia Muscle Mass Arthritis Falls

Blood Pressure Cholesterol Age-related Macular Degeneration

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