If good health is something that most of us have been lucky enough to have had during our adult lives, as we approach our latter years, can we expect it to continue? Are the aches & pains and pills often associated with old age to be accepted as part of the process?
I don’t think so.
I think that by overhauling our diet, changing old habits for new and eating the best quality food available to us, we can not only maintain our health but maybe even improve it. Making a few changes can make a huge difference, but how and where do you start?
By the time you get to our age (mid sixties), most of us are pretty set in our ways, we know what we like to eat and our budget for it. We have favourite dishes we eat regularly with family and friends, there are foods that comfort us and some we would never eat. I am not suggesting that you give up all the foods that you enjoy, just look at the overall picture and see how you can improve it.
My suggestions are-
- Eliminate as much sugar and salt as you can
- Cut out as many processed foods as possible, cook from scratch
- Unless you are extremely active, reduce the size of all portions
- If possible eat your main meal at lunchtime
- Only a light meal in the evening, the earlier the better
- Eat fruit as it comes, that is, whole as opposed to juiced
- Eat organic fruit and vegetables in season
- If you are a meat eater, have at least one meat free day per week
- Avoid processed meats
- Eat plenty of oats, nuts, grains, legumes and unprocessed cereals
- Reduce dairy products, there are plenty of alternatives.
Those are a few ideas to get started, you will soon feel the benefits. In the next few weeks I will be posting recipes and more about healthy eating and what we can all do to feel and look healthier.
