Do you know that your food can impact your age and look? According to Healthline, healthy eating becomes especially essential as we age. This is undoubted because age is linked to numerous changes, and these include poorer quality of life, deficiencies, and poor health outcomes. Fortunately, there are things to do to stop the defects and other changes that are age-related.
If you’re starting to worry about getting and looking old because of the food you eat, read first before feeling anything that causes your discomfort. It is essential that you know, first and foremost, that eating nutritious foods and taking the right supplements to help keep you feel and look healthy even as you age.
How Your Age Impacts the Nutrition You Need
Aging is frequently associated with different body changes, which include reduced stomach acid, thinner skin, and muscle loss. Some of these changes can make you susceptible to nutrient shortages, while the other changes can impact both your quality of life and your senses. Research studies have approximated that about 20% of older adults suffer from atrophic gastritis. This is a condition where chronic inflammation is damaging the cells which produce the stomach acid.
If you have low stomach acid, it can impact the absorption of nutrients in your bodies, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamin B12. One possible challenge you’ll face as you age is the less need for calories. Regrettably, this challenge results in a nutritional dilemma. In relation to this, it is essential to know that the elderlies should get adequate nutrients as they eat foods with fewer calories.
Whether we like it or not, we will reach old age. But this should not bother you. If you eat different whole foods and take the proper supplement, you will be able to meet all the nutrients you need. Another possible challenge you’ll experience as you get older is the reduction in the ability of your body to acknowledge essential senses such as thirst and hunger.
These deficiencies can make you susceptible to unintended weight loss and dehydration. If you don’t give these insufficiencies proper attention, as you age, the harsher the possible consequences there will be.
Fewer Calories but More Nutrients Needed
Your daily calorie needs to rely on your weight, height, muscle mass, activity level, and many other factors. Seniors may require fewer calories so they can maintain a certain weight as they tend to exercise and move less. They tend to carry less muscle, too. If you continue eating the same amount of calories each day just as how you ate when you were much younger, causing weight gain becomes easier, particularly around the belly area.
Eat More Proteins as It Has a Lot of Benefits
It is usual to lose strength and muscle as you get older. As we age, our body as average adults, lose between 3 and 8% of our muscle mass every 10 years after reaching the age of 30. If you eat more protein, your body can maintain the muscle you need to have the strength. Essentially, the combination of resistance exercise and protein-rich diet is the most effective way of fighting sarcopenia, a significant cause of poor health and weakness among the elderly.
Fiber-Rich Food Can Impact Your Age
One of the nutrients that can impact your age is fiber. If you eat fiber-rich foods, it can possibly delay aging as constipation is a common health issue among the seniors more than 65 years of age. More so, it is also 2 or 3 times more common among women. Eating fruits and vegetables help ease constipation.
The More Vitamin D and Calcium You Take, the Better for Your Health
Vitamin D and calcium are among the most vital nutrients to keep the bone’s health favorable. You won’t have to worry anymore if you take a lot of calcium. The vitamin D you’re taking on the other hand, absorbs the calcium that helps avoid bone loss. There are times when you don’t have to spend to ensure you have sufficient Vitamin D.
Indeed, your body can produce Vitamin D from the cholesterol in your skin during its exposure to sunlight. Nevertheless, as you age, your skin becomes thinner. And as you get older, your ability to reduce Vitamin D reduces, too. Also, the elderly following a vegan diet is likely to eat foods rich in sources of vitamin B12 as it is ampler in animal foods like meat, dairy, eggs, and fish.
The Foods You Never Thought Can Make You Look Older
Do you know why your skin suddenly feels a bit off after attending a series of parties during the holidays? Indeed, the food you eat impacts your skin, be it for the better or worse. According to dermatologists, while some indulgences don’t age a person overnight, a consistently poor diet can increase your skin’s (and even teeth’s) aging process over time. Below are some of the foods to avoid for you not to feel and look old:
- Sweets
- Alcohol
- Spicy food
- Processed Meats
- Lemonade
- Coffee
- Trans fats
- Black tea
- Anything caffeinated
- Salty foods
More than Just the Food
- Eating right and healthy is not the only solution to delay aging. The pleasure of eating and sharing the meal matter a lot, too. Having companions is as important as having good eating habits, also. More so, a social ambiance can stimulate your mind, make your meals more fun, and can help you retain that healthy diet.
- Even if you are alone, you can still delay aging and make your healthy meals quite more of a pleasure. You can again do some things to avoid illnesses such as high blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease. Here are some activities you can make to keep that youthful feeling
- Shopping with a companion – Going to the mall or shopping center with a companion helps. Shop for healthy foods with a friend. His or her suggestion can also contribute to your battle against aging.
- Cook with a loved one – Ask a friend or loved one to come to your place and cook age-delaying foods together. Don’t forget to use olive oil when cooking healthy with a loved one.
- Consider mealtimes your socialization – By merely talking to a friend or a loved one over lunch or dinner can also be a stress reliever and a mood booster.
Takeaway
Aging is frequently associated with changes that can make you susceptible to deficiencies in Vitamins D and B12, iron, calcium, magnesium, and many other essential nutrients. Likewise, aging may also lessen your ability to acknowledge sensations such as thirst and hunger. But don’t worry. You are fortunate enough to have come across this article that there are several actions as mentioned above, which you can take to fight the deficiencies.
