Ageing Gracefully – Dietitian’s Nutrition Tips To Healthy Ageing

Dietitian’s Nutrition Tips To Healthy Ageing: What we eat makes what we are. If we pick and eat correct then we can cut down the risk of developing chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, obesity that makes us old before our time. There are a plenty of scientific evidence that shows how important food is for healthy ageing.

Our health has got numerous out-ways to showcase our inner-self like radiant skin and hair, level of physical activity that we can perform with ease, positive mindset and happy and calm face at the end of the day. All of which effectively prove of our being healthy or not. Any minute change in these can be taken as a clue to get a health check-up done.

Well said so, being happy cannot stop us from ageing but the process however takes its easy step and we stay as young as our true age. Today anti-ageing is a rage, with products from overnight creams to foods flooding in a supermarket shelf that claims to reduce our age or at least decrease the visible signs. Anti-ageing is a vague beauty term, which is not just about the way we look but how much old we are at the cellular level, might just not be in number of years.

In today’s time with less physical activity and more processed food, 50 is the new 40 meaning to say that we age faster as in our cells and tissues wear out faster. Yes but the good news is that we still can hope to stay healthy and hearty for long if we choose to stay so. Determination to pick healthy nutrient dense food and an active lifestyle will do wonders what even the most expensive face cream will not be able to do.

The simple strategy will involve:

• Choosing plenty of colorful, fresh, and seasonal fruits and vegetables for daily diet.
• Choosing lean protein both plant and animal over the fatty options. Fish, egg, chicken without the skin, grams & pulses, cottage cheese, yogurt and soy products would be the preferred choices.
• Including the heart healthy unsaturated fat like we get from nuts (almonds, walnut), seeds (sesame, flax, sunflower and chia) and cooking oil like olive and coconut.
• Whole-some whole grains to get plenty of fiber.
• Low-fat dairy products
• Limiting the use of salt, sugar, processed and packaged foods
• Intake of water up to 3 litres per day to stay hydrated and to help the metabolic activities to gear up.

Apart from the above recommendations there are some specialist foods that can be included in our plate daily to enhance the anti-ageing process. Ageing process speeds up when the free-radicals (scavengers) attack our healthy cells. These free radicals are kept in control or overpowered by the antioxidants that we get from our food. So again food has a role to play. Antioxidants scavenge the free radicals to stop oxidation of cells and boost up the immunity keeping ourselves healthy for long.

Include these super-foods regularly or daily and they’ll boost your intake of essential nutrients like protein, calcium, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids along with the value-added antioxidants. You’ll see and feel the difference inside out.

1. Brussels sprouts: Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage are loaded with antioxidants and specific nutrients linked to reduce risk of cancer when consumed regularly over the time. They are rich in fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals.
2. Salmon: Fatty fish like salmon or sardines, herring, mussels, halibut are rich in lean protein to build muscle and omega-3 fats which support heart and nervous system and help us getting shiny and healthy skin and hair.
3. Almonds: Nuts are an excellent plant protein, loaded with heart-healthy fats, magnesium and zinc. Walnuts and pistachios are other healthy options.
4. Yogurt: It is rich in calcium, protein and vitamin D and so low-fat yogurt supports strong bone, muscle maintenance and gut health. Being a natural source for probiotics, yogurt helps in balancing micro-intestinal environment improving digestion and boosting immunity.
5. Quinoa: It is a plant product rich in protein, fiber, calcium and iron. Other options include buckwheat, chick peas, and black beans.
6. Green tea: A cup of freshly brewed green tea is rich in anti-oxidants deserving the hype. If you avoid the sugar, you’ll get the full benefit of the flavonols that is very important for heart and circulatory health.
7. Blueberries: Blueberries and other berries are naturally high in anti-oxidants owing to the colours they possess. Deep blue or the purple colour of the berries is due to the compound anthocyanins. Other berries containing potent anti-oxidants include: blackberries, strawberries and raspberries.
8. Red Wine: Eureka for the drinkers, as it has antioxidants since it is made by fermenting grapes. But the intake has to be limited to 1-5 ounces daily.

Eat Healthy, Feel Young and Age Gracefully