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Your body is bound to change as the years of your life pass by and accordingly it is very important to make the necessary changes in your diet too. You are what you eat.
For women over 50 years of age, incorporating the right foods into your meal becomes more and more important with time to avoid the risk of any health issues.
The nutritional value of your meal becomes more crucial after your age crosses 50 and the aim behind maintaining a healthy diet is to maintain a healthy body which is the most important factor affecting diet changes in women over 50.
Fast food, inactivity, and too much alcohol consumption cannot be withstood by the body around these years and their side-effects are imminent. As you age, you lose your muscle mass about 10 percent each decade after the age of 45. While you’re losing muscle, you’re more likely to gain bodyweight and require fewer calories overall. The reason behind this that muscle burns more calories than body fat.
Diet changes women over 50 should make right now:
- Providing enough Calcium to maintain bone health
Every one in three women over 50 is at risk of a broken bone caused by osteoporosis. Most older women have high risks of developing this bone disease. As women get older, their capability to absorb calcium reduces along with the ability to tolerate dairy.
To compensate for the lacking calcium in your body, dark leafy greens, calcium-fortified orange juice, and fatty fishes can help in diet changes in women over 50. 1200 milligrams of calcium are required by a woman’s body over 50. Use the nutritional facts found on the packaging of the products to keep track of your intake.
- Providing Protein to maintain healthy muscle mass
As women get older, they tend to spend more time sitting and exercising less. A natural aging process called sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle compounds to this. By the age of 80 years, a woman is believed to have lost as much as half of their muscle-skeletal mass. If you provide enough proteins to your body, you may be able to reduce the impact of this muscle wasting.
If you make the right choices, healthy plant-based diets excluding meat can also prove out to be a major source of protein for the body.Soy, quinoa, eggs, nuts, seeds, prunes and beans are some of the most important diet changes women over 50 should add. The protein requirement of your body depends on your weight. For women over 50, 1-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of weight is recommended by the professionals.
- Providing enough Vitamin B-12 for brain function
As women age, their capability to absorb nutrients from the food keeps on reducing. One vital nutrient required by the body which may not be absorbed enough is Vitamin B-12. It is very essential for maintaining a healthy brain function and Red Blood Cells.
The best sources available for Vitamin B-12 are milk, fish, lean meats, cereals, grains, and eggs. Vegans, in particular, need to pick more fortified foods and even elderly people eating all foods can have difficulty absorbing enough Vitamin B-12. The recommended daily intake of Vitamin B-12 is 2.4 micrograms a day and in case you think you need a supplement; you should consult your doctor.
- Limit added sugars
If you do not know this yet and have a sugar rush now and then, it is time I break the ice for you; sugar is your worst enemy. The intake of added sugar should be limited by all people and it becomes more important as you get older. Added sugar like table sugar and brown sugar should make up no more than 10% of your total calorie intake.
This breaks down to a 2000 calorie daily diet comprising about 12 teaspoons of added sugar. Even while consuming added sugar you can make the right choices. Pure maple syrup can be a very good option since it boasts 60-plus health helping polyphenols and help to maintain manganese and Vitamin B Riboflavin.
- Don’t eat trans-fats
Even though we all have been struggling to avoid such fats for a long time, it becomes more important to do so as you get older. Before a woman’s menopause, estrogen is what offers a shield against heart diseases but after menopause, women face a heightened risk for several heart diseases.
Trans fats can worsen such a scenario.
They can raise your ‘bad’ LDL cholesterols and lower your‘good’HDL cholesterols, therefore hiking the risk of heart disease. Make sure to read all ingredient labels to ensure that hydrogenated oil is not in any way a part of what you’re about to consume.
The most important diet change in women over 50 is for them to make an appointment with their food and stick to it.Create concrete plans laying out how you exactly planned to get your key nutrients.
Write the plan on a calendar since simply making an appointment for that apple will make it easier for you to consume it or Consult a doctor. Also, drink before you’re thirsty since the way your body detects thirst changes with age.
