Nutrition and Healthy Eating For Older Adults
While exercise and avoidance of harmful substances such as alcohol and drugs are important aspects of caring for both the body and mind, a set of well-balanced eating habits are the true key to a healthy physical and mental state.
When a person does not participate in healthy dieting and exchanges heart and mind-healthy eating options for sugar and fat-heavy foods which offer little nutritional value, the body suffers drastically and the mind follows suit. This is especially true for older adults and retirees, as while exercise can sometimes become difficult and even impossible later in life, all people of all ages possess the ability to eat healthily, monitor caloric intake and tailor their diet to their body’s needs.
Luckily for those who wish to live a healthier lifestyle as far as their eating and drinking habits are concerned, the right knowledge of the do’s and don'ts to dieting and nutrition, and the dedication to put said knowledge into practice, is all it takes to start making improvements.
PRIORITIZE NUTRITION
When it comes to introducing nutritional foods that help, rather than hinder the body and gradually edging out less-healthy eating options and replacing them with more beneficial alternatives, the process can be quite easy so long as there is first a firm grasp on which dietary fixtures are safe to keep and which do little overall in service to the body.
Taking an itinerary of the foods already part of one’s current diet is a great first step towards better, more nutritional eating habits. When this is done, it opens up the opportunity to research the nutritional content of the foods that are recurrent in their diet and determining which ones contain the necessary amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (fats which come from plants and fish), sugars, vitamins, minerals and proteins, and which contain harmful amounts of processed sugars and trans fats (fats found in vegetable oils and red meat that are high in cholesterol).
In the event that said itinerary shows that there are more nutritional, body-healthy foods in one’s diet than not, then from there it’s a matter of slowly, not dramatically cutting out less-healthy food options. Eating changes which involve drastic alterations to a person’s eating habits are rarely beneficial, as whatever changes they do cause in the body are rarely long-lasting and can oftentimes have dangerous effects such as a lack of nutritional intake and dehydration.
On the contrary, in the event that the itinerary shows that one’s diet consists of more unhealthy foods than healthy ones, it is again important to avoid drastically altering eating habits for the same reason listed above. Though the food dominant in these kinds of diets is unhealthy, it is still food and poor nourishment is better than no nourishment. In a scenario such as this, it is advised to begin not omitting, but replacing detrimental foods with alternatives that are similar in content but more beneficial in terms of health. For example, red beef, which causes heart problems and weight gain, can be replaced with lean chicken, which is heavy in protein and low in fat.
COUNTING CALORIES
While the standard daily recommended caloric intake for United States citizens is 2,500 calories for men and 2,000 for women, how many calories it takes to sustain one person depends on a variety of factors including sex, height, weight and lifestyle. On average, health scientists suggest those trying to better their eating habits and live a healthier lifestyle burn more calories through physical activity than they consume by eating food.
The process of measuring calories consumed relative to calories burned in a day can be completed in two steps. First is using either the nutritional information block on the packaging of all Food and Drug Administration-approved items or an online caloric calculator such as this one here to tally up the amount of calories contained in whatever foods may be consumed on a daily basis and then finally combining all of those totals. The second step is using a fitness aid such as a FitBit or an exercise calculator such as this one here to determine how many calories are being burned daily through regular activity or exercise.
Once these two things are done, it is then only a matter of determining where areas of positive change can and need to be made, whether such changes concern daily caloric intake or amount of activity, and then sticking to this new wellness plan.
TAILORING DIET TO BODILY NEEDS
In many cases, certain foods have proven to be useful to the functionality and health of different parts of the body. Knowing this, when determining the ideal diet for a person, particularly an older adult’s nutritional wellness, it is important to consider what parts of the body are not operating to their peak efficiency and researching which foods have proven beneficial to said parts.
For example:
Foods high in calcium and vitamin D promote healthier, stronger bones.
People who suffer from inflammation, pain, and other medical issues pertaining to their eyes would benefit from adding spinach, broccoli and other greens to their diet as the lutein and zeaxanthin present within them are beneficial to eye tissue.
And those who struggle with digestion and other intestinal matters can use a plant-based diet with plenty of fiber to combat such concerns.