Balanced Diet

Whatever your age might be, it is important to eat a balanced diet.If you eat well, you are likely to feel healthier, stay active for longer and protect yourself against illness.In later years specially, you are what you eat. Eating regular meals and snacks is a good habit. If you get used to missing meals,or eating unhealthily, you may start to feel tired and depressed. It is rightly said that, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” After the age of 65, immune system gets weak and you are more vulnerable to food poisoning and consequently dehydration. Older people take longer to recover from any disease and hence more attention should be paid to what you eat.
Four food rules you must follow:

• Eat something of everything and not too much of any one thing.
• There is no one food you must have. If you dislike something choose something else which will be equally nourishing.
• Some foods are better for you than others. Try to avoid foods which give you verylittle value (nourishment) for your money.
• Try to drink six to eight tumblers of liquid per day even if you don’t feel thirsty.

If you follow the four food rules and the good-food guide outlined above, vegetarianism is probably as good a way of life as non-vegetarianism.
Foods that you should avoid after the age of 65 are:

1. Raw or runny eggs: Raw eggs increase the chances of food poisoning. Mayonnaise, certain omelettes, sauces that contain raw eggs should be avoided.
2. Frozen, processed and restaurant foods are typically extremely high in sodium, and should be avoided or only be a very small part of the diet.
3. Cold Meat: Many cold meats such as salami, Parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni are not cooked, just cured and fermented, so there's a risk that they contain toxoplasmosis-causing parasites.
4. Uncooked food: uncooked food such as Shell fish, sushi, raw milk, sprouts can contain bacteria that could cause poisoning.
5. Too much salted food: Salt causes your body to retain water and the extra water your body stores raise your blood pressure.
6. Bacon: Bacon can cause joint problems. If you are suffering from Arthritis you must avoid bacon, along with meats, egg yolks, corn, sunflower, safflower, soybean and cottonseed oil, margarine and pretty much anything fried.
7. Too much sweet: too much sugar can cause and worsen diabetes, also lead to further health problems such as cardiovascular disease, kidney damage or nerve damage. Diabetes further leads to a lot of health related issues.
8. Cold drinks: sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas should not be consumed to help prevent diabetes and weight gain.
9. High Trans-fat food: Like sugar, excess trans-fats make the skin look stiff and inflexible. "Trans fats clog and stiffen the arteries and smaller blood vessels," which makes the skin look old
10. High caffeine products: Number of cups of Coffee and tea per day should be very limited. Coffee and caffeinated products also dehydrate the body, making you look tired and worn out. They also cause acidity.
11. Fried food: Fries food increases cholesterol and contributes to collagen break down in the skin, making one's skin look wrinkled and worn out

Some important tipsthat every senior must take about eating habits are:

1. People who eat at least five cups [of fruits and vegetables] a day have lower blood pressure, lower cardiovascular disease, lower rates of cancer; they have a better immune response; usually they're leaner and have lower rates of diabetes and obesity
2. Eat a variety of foods from the main food groups to ensure your diet contains as many different nutrients as possible.
3. Antioxidants like vitamin C can even help keep your skin younger-looking. One study linked eating lots of yellow and green vegetables to fewer wrinkles.
4. Eating whole grains rich in fiber -- oats, quinoa, barley, wheat, and brown rice -- lowers your chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
5. Snacking on nuts cut the risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol by about 20%. You only need to eat 1/4 of an ounce a day to get the benefits -- that’s about 4 almonds.
6. Go easy on high-fat meat, high-fat dairy, and bakery treats. The saturated fat found in these foods can clog your arteries, which can lead to heart problems.
7. Eating foods containing fibre could be good for your digestion. Constipation tends to become more of a nuisance as you get older, but fibre-rich foods can prevent constipation and other digestive problems.
8. Prepare meals rich in Omega 3 fatty acid as they have been proven to reduce inflammation, which can cause heart disease, cancer and arthritis. They can be found in flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, walnuts, canola oil, and different types of fish.
9. Organic ketchup contains lycopene which is a cancer fighting phytochemical. Organic ketchup should be used instead of commercial ketchup because it contains three time the lycopene.
10. Fruits and vegetable’s peel is sometimes the most nutritious part of it which should not be thrown away.
11. Dark chocolates are rich in antioxidants and caffeine, a natural stimulant that enhances focus and concentration.
12. Cinnamon is known to lower blood sugar, blood pressure and stress.
13. Bananas are rich in potassium and can naturally lower blood pressure.

For more tips and a guide to the food you should try to eat every day log on to our website old age solutions