What should you REALLY be eating as you go past 50???
I am 56 years old and I have noticed significant changes to both my mind and body as the years have crept on.
Getting old does not have to be a problem, as long as you keep in mind a few unavoidable facts.
Because your getting older, your body requires certain types of foods, vitamins and minerals.
So what happens as you age:
- Loss of muscle mass
- Loss of bone density
- Loss of cognitive skills (the brain)
If our diet is tailored around combating these three things as we go past 50, this will happen:
- You will maintain muscle mass
- Your risk of osteoporosis will drop significantly
- Your brain function will remain at a normal, healthy capacity
- Your risk of succumbing to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases will significantly drop
- Anxiety and depression will drop off your radar, even as you go well into your later years
- Inflammation diseases will be eliminated
However, before we continue, I must stress, diet alone as we age, is not the silver bullet.
You MUST couple a good healthy diet with exercise, the two go hand in hand.
Remember the old motto from previous blogs?
EXERCISE IS KING, DIET IS QUEEN, TOGETHER YOU HAVE YOUR KINGDOM!!
We have dealt with exercise and fitness in previous blogs, so lets concentrate on our diet now shall we?
Your going to roll your eyes, because I'm about to quote another very old saying:
YOU ACTUALLY ARE WHAT YOU EAT!!
What were dealing with here is a thing called LONGEVITY!
We are all trying to live as long as we can, however,
we obviously want to be as fit as we can be in mind and body while we are still alive!
We all want to be HAPPY as we live a long life,
this means we shouldn't be cutting out ALL the bad foods and making ourselves miserable in the process.
As we go through this blog post, I want you to keep this ratio in mind 80/20
In order to stop you going insane by removing everything naughty you enjoy from your diet,
Go 80% good stuff to 20% the naughty stuff.
Living and eating this way helps you to eat far more healthier, while limiting the bad foods and
eating them as a treat, rather than the norm.
80/20 Rule & everyone's a winner?
- You're conscious you're eating a far healthier diet
- You're also looking forward to the naughty foods as a treat, not as "the norm".
Allow me to repeat once more:
YOU ACTUALLY ARE WHAT YOU EAT!!
Case in Point:
As part of the research for this blog post, if you really are what you eat,
I decided to review my previous two days food consumption.
Roughly, as I cant remember every detail, this gives you an idea as to my diet over that time:
- Muesli (no added sugar)
- Greek Yoghurt (full fat)
- Nuts and seeds
- Blueberries
- Green vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, sprouts, kale)
- Mackerel Fillets
- Steak
- Home made chips (cooked in dripping)
- Brown whole wheat pasta
- Beef burger
- Organic full fat milk
- Cottage cheese
- Eggs
- Dark Chocolate
- Home made chicken casserole
- Copious amounts of organic extra virgin olive oil
- Two nights of drinking red wine (at least I'm being honest)
Anyway, you get the idea by now?
So, if you are what you eat, how do I feel after scoffing that lot?
I feel great, I'm sleeping well, lots of energy and I feel alive and enthusiastic about life.
Lets compare this to a conversation I had with a friend and work colleague prior to writing this blog
I asked him the same question and cajoled him into writing down "his list"
- Frosties (They're Gr-r-reat)
- White bread
- Margarine
- Chips (done in vegetable oil in the fat fryer)
- Pizza
- Large hot dog
- Crisps
- Many cans of coca cola
- White pasta
- Soft cheese (out of a tube)
- Biscuits
- Cakes
I wasn't surprised to be honest, but I felt really sorry for him.
Next question I asked him
"How do you actually feel, honestly?"
He said he felt awful, constant full and bloated feeling, lethargic, brain fog episodes,
struggled sleeping, depressed and anxious.
Nuff said really!!
REMEMBER:
Before we crack on, we really must cover some basics, and I'm not apologising for this at all.
The only reason I feel we need to cover the main food types is to clear up the almighty mess
we are in today and the sheer volume of confusion caused by the spread of misinformation.
As always, I will be quick, basic and straight to the point, but it must be done!
Carbohydrates:
These are made up of SUGARS, FIBRE & STARCHES.
NOTE:
Although there are such things as essential fats and proteins, there is no such thing as essential
carbohydrates. They just don't exist: its a completely false term.
You will often here the terms SIMPLE & COMPLEX carbohydrates.
SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES;
- These are MONO (single) SACCHIRIDES which are simple sugars such as GLUCOSE & FRUCTOSE.
- Sugar is toxic to the body
- It spikes insulin production and chronic use leads to insulin resistance (pre diabetes)
- Sugar causes inflammation and feeds cancer
YOU GETTING THE IDEA YET??
COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES;
COMPLEX carbs are known as POLY (many) SACCHIRIDES such as potatoes, grains, rice, wheat & corn.
- The fibre in Complex Carbohydrates decreases the absorption of sugars
- Gluten is the protein found in these carbs
- Complex carbs are harder to digest
- They are not abundantly rich in vitamins and minerals
PROTEIN:
- Proteins are amino acids
- They make up literally EVERYTHING in the body: hair, skin, blood, immune system cells
- Can be used for energy when broken down into glucose
- Best absorption rate proteins include fish, eggs, milk, meat.
- Vegan substitutes, tofu (organic), quinoa, buckwheat, tempeh.
In nature, proteins almost never come as COMPLETE proteins (all the amino acids)
Your body cannot make the 9 essential amino acids, so they MUST come from food.
It is always best to mix and match proteins where you can i.e. eggs and steak etc
FATS:
I love this subject because there are soooooo many myths out there.
Because it can get a little complicated i.e. saturated, unsaturated, trans fats, monounsaturated etc
I am going to simplify it for you and break this into two categories: GOOD FATS & BAD FATS!!
Hence: NOT ALL FATS ARE BAD FOR YOU!!
BAD FATS:
- High in Omega 6 which is inflammatory
- Impairs blood sugar control
- Affects heart health
- Look at ingredients on food labels for "Hydrogenated Oils" & "Partially Hydrogenated Oils"
- Damages inner linings of blood vessels
EXAMPLES:
- Crisps, biscuits, cakes.
- Fried foods
- Margarine
- GMO
- Vegetable Oils
- Canola
- Soy
GOOD FATS:
- These fats are high on Omega 3 (anti inflammatory)
- Good source of essential vitamins and minerals
- Good for heart health
- Good for your brain (its actually brain food)
- Bones require fats for calcium metabolism
- Good for your immune system (palmitic acids)
EXAMPLES:
- Olive oil (aim for extra virgin organic)
- Lard (pig fat)
- Dripping (beef fat)
- Butter (aim for grass fed beef)
- Avocado
- Cod Liver Oil (brain food)
Food Group Summary:
Before we go any further, let me be clear on what sort of diet I'm recommending:
- Low carbs
- High fats
- High protein
Some key points to remember before we continue:
- Your body cannot produce Omega 3 and its best source is good fats
- Glucose (sugar) is NOT the preferred energy source of the body........Fats are!!
- Fats are a cleaner fuel for the body to burn
- Simple sugars are toxic, they cause inflammation, strokes, diabetes and feed cancer
- Simple sugars spike insulin (chronic usage damages the pancreas and leads to diabetes)
- Fibre decreases the absorption of sugar and assists the pancreas (eat fruits not SWEETS)
A lot to take in there I have to admit. But it is very important to understand some basic facts.
Think about sugar like this:
When digesting and burning off foods, sugar is ALWAYS used first by the body.
This is your bodies self defence mechanism kicking in.
It does this deliberately as it knows how toxic and damaging sugar is,
Although sugar is not its favourite food for burning, it gets rid of it as fast as it can.
LETS MOVE ON!
So maybe we should start with what you SHOULDNT be eating once over 50?
After reading the first part of this blog, this should be blatantly obvious to you by now:
- Fried Foods
- Energy Drinks (pop/soda)
- Sugar
- Simple Carbohydrates
- Hydrogenated Fats (cakes, some oils, biscuits, crisps etc etc etc)
- Ready Meals
- Margarine
- GMO foods
Remember what were trying to do here:
- Maintain muscle mass
- Maintain bone density
- Stop inflammation
Avoiding these eight things and replacing them with healthier, more natural substitutes
WILL significantly reduce bone density/muscle loss and stop inflammation.........PERIOD!
Don't forget the "weight bearing" exercise though!!!
Now onto the GOOD STUFF.
So what SHOULD we be eating once past 50????
Maintaining muscle mass:
- Exercise is king = weight bearing exercises (covered in my Fitness blog)
- Good quality, high absorption proteins (see Protein section above)
- Eat proteins WITH good fats, and NOT carbs
- Carbs contain inhibitors which can block protein absorption and digestibility
FOODS TO EAT:
- Eggs
- Milk
- Fish
- Meat
- Tofu
- Quinoa
- Tempeh
Other sources:
- Nuts
- Lentils
- Seafood
- Yoghurt
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Beans
- Green peas
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
Maintaining bone density:
- Exercise is king = weight bearing exercises (covered in my Fitness blog)
- You CANNOT beat weight resistance training for combatting loss of bone density
- Bone density loss = osteoporosis = breaking bones
- Most important vitamins required for bone health, Vitamin D, K2
- Most important minerals required for bone health, Copper, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc
FOODS TO EAT:
- Dark green vegetables
- Meat
- Dairy
- Fish
- Eggs
- Milk
- Dark chocolate (over 75% cocoa)
- Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds
Reducing memory loss:
- Your brain is 60% fat and affects how ALL your major organs function
- It is highly susceptible to inflammation
- Requires high levels of antioxidants
- Reliant on compounds, vitamins and minerals which can cross the blood/brain barrier
- For optimal health, you must boost both Serotonin & Dopamine levels
- Most important minerals, Zinc, Iron, Copper, Magnesium
FOODS TO EAT:
- Turmeric
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Oily Fish
- Avocado
- Dark Chocolate
- Green Tea
- Coffee
BLOG SUMMARY:
So lets recap what I hope we have learned while reading this blog:
- Our bodies AND nutritional requirements change significantly as we get older
- The 3 biggest risks are muscle, bone density and memory loss
- The differences between Carbs, Fats & Proteins
- Good v Bad Fats
- Simple v Complex Carbs
- The evils of SUGAR
- Worst foods to eat and why
- Best foods to eat and why
- The 80/20 Rule
CALL TO ACTION:
- Ditch the bad foods (you know what they are)
- Replace with good substitutes (you know what they are)
- Live by the 80/20 rule
- Don't fully deprive yourself of what you enjoy
- Naughty foods are treats...............NOT "the norm"
- Buy the best you can afford (organic, grass fed, free range etc)
TAKEAWAYS:
- YOU CANNOT OUTRUN AN UNHEALTHLY DIET
- EVERY BITE YOU TAKE, YOUR EITHER FIGHTING OR FEEDING DISEASE
- EXERCISE IS KING, DIET IS QUEEN (YOUR KINGDOM)
- YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
- DO NOT DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF EVERYTHING BAD
