It seems each time you switch on the TV or look in a magazine you see a story about the problem of worldwide obesity. People are getting more unhealthily overweight every day to the point of it becoming life threatening. In the past, there have always been a small number of people who ate unhealthy foods, but now that number is quickly growing. We need to carefully consider how our unhealthy diet affects us.
Eating the wrong types of food can cause us to feel lethargic and sluggish. We’re getting the wrong kinds of nutrients from all this junk food we consume. It’s important to consider the quality of the food we eat, especially if you are a senior. As we age, our metabolism slows down quite a bit. We can’t burn the calories at the same rate as when we were kids. This is what makes older people put on weight more easily and makes it harder to take off too. Gaining weight may affect seniors in a negative way, more so than younger people. Being overweight can put a lot of stress on your joints and can accelerate the problems of osteoporosis and arthritis. It can also contribute to other illnesses and muscle disorders. Being overweight can bring on diabetes, which is very common to seniors.
Everyone should treat themselves to something they really like to eat, now and then, but one shouldn’t over do it. It’s important to maintain a balanced diet. A good diet for seniors could consist of: Up to ten servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. Up to ten servings of complex carbohydrates like pasta, bread, rice and cereals. Three servings of calcium containing products, such as cheese, yoghurt and milk (low fat is best). Two servings of fish, poultry or meat for protein. A large helping of fiber, such as fruit, vegetables and cereals. This diet will not only provide good health, but will also fulfill all of your nutritional needs. All of us, especially seniors should avoid salt and saturated fats. Salt is really bad for high blood pressure. If you do use salt, just use a tiny amount. Most foods naturally contain some salt, so we really don’t need to add any. Try not to use too much salt while baking and preparing food. Don’t keep the salt shaker on the table while eating either. This will help break you of the habit of salting your food. Besides laying off the salt, stay far away from saturated fat. The body just isn’t meant to handle it. Saturated fat is hard for your body to break down. It just sits around, clogging your arteries.
This is one of the main causes of obesity, cancer and gallbladder disease in our society today. Just as a well balanced diet can improve you health, a bad diet can cause it to deteriorate. This is especially dangerous for seniors. Seniors usually aren’t as active as young people and have a harder time working off the extra calories. If you can keep your weight down, you’ll improve your mobility and be able to burn more calories. It’s important for seniors to enjoy life. If you eat a sensible diet and maintain a proper weight, you’ll be around to enjoy your life a lot longer. You only get one chance at life. Make the most of it. Improve you diet today and you’ll be rewarded with good health and long life.