ANTIAGIN DIET

EAT RIGHT TO AGE WELL

As you get older your body’s energy needs drop; at the same time, demands for some nutrients increase. New studies indicate some of these can slow the aging process.
While aging is inevitable, many of the degenerative changes that prevail past middle age are not if preventive steps are taken. Recent medical research confirms that good nutrition can prevent, or at least slow, such debilitating conditions as osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, one report estimates that one-third to one-half of the health problems of people over the age of 65 are related to diet.
Proper nutrition is an important part of any “aging-well” strategy. Yet, on the whole, seniors are the most poorly nourished group of all North Americans. There are many reasons for this: a person’s appetite and the senses of taste and smell decline with age, making food considerably less appealing. Many older people experience difficulty chewing; in addition, heartburn, constipation, lactose intolerance, and other digestive problems increase with age and contribute to poor nutrition. Stomach acidity also declines with age, impairing absorption of nutrients. The loss of a partner or difficulty in shopping or preparing meals, may result in a person subsisting or tea, toast, sweets, canned soups, and other convenience foods that provide little nutrition. Also, a number of older people living on a fixed income usually cannot afford such nutritious foods as fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat.

Changing needs

A person’s body composition changes with age, as muscle mass decreases, often due to disuse, and fatty tissue increases. Because metabolism slows down, fewer calories are required; experts estimate that the average person should consume 10 percent fewer calories for every decade after the age of 50. Therefore, a 50 year old who needs 1800 calories a day will require 1440 at age 70, and perhaps even fewer if he is sedentary. People who fail to cut back on food intake are likely to gain weight, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis.
With increasing age, the body is less efficient in absorbing and using some nutrients; osteoporosis and other medical conditions common among older people also change nutritional needs. Consequently, an older person is likely to need extra amounts of the following essential nutrients:
• Calcium to prevent osteoporosis and maintain healthy bones.
• Vitamin D, which the body needs in order to absorb the calcium.
• Vitamin b12 to build red blood cells and maintain healthy nerves.
• Zinc to help compensate for lowered immunity due to aging.
• Potassium, especially in the presence of high blood pressure or the use of diuretic drugs.
• Folic acid, a B vitamin, which the body uses to make DNA and red blood cells, may also help to lower blood levels of homocysteine, a compound in the blood that has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
• Fiber to prevent constipation.

Supplements may be needed

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that seniors may face the risk of vitamin deficiencies, even if they are eating well. Some doctors recommend a daily vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure that an older person takes in 100 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). However, a multivitamin cannot take the place of healthy food because foods contain additional important components such as fiber, plant chemicals, and essential fatty acids. Also, high-dose supplements should be avoided unless recommended by a physician or dietitian, as they can lead to nutritional imbalances. For example, zinc supplements can interfere with the body’s use of folic acid; iron can inhibit proper calcium and zinc absorption.

Make the most of mealtimes

Although nutrition is all important for aging well, healthy eating isn’t just about the nutrients. Sharing a meal with family and friends provides lots more benefits than just the food on your plate. If the thought of preparing and eating meals holds little pleasure, for whatever reason, try some of these practical tips to make dining more enjoyable.
• Strive to make meals pleasurable, even if you’re eating alone. Set the table or prepare an attractive tray. Turn on your favorite music to improve your mood.
• If you dislike eating alone, organize regular potluck meals with friends and neighbors. Or consider joining an organization that provides an opportunity to dine with others.
• Select food that supply contrasts in color, texture, and flavor. Avoid adding salt to improve flavor; instead, use herbs and spices. A sprinkling of nutmeg or cinnamon can compensate for a diminished sense of taste.
• Eat at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables. Include a serving each time you eat. Many of these contain compounds that protect against diseases of aging such as heart disease and cancer. Choose brightly colored fruits and vegetables such as squash, carrots, peppers, melons, and berries.
• A small glass of wine or beer with a meal aids digestion and adds to eating pleasure. But don’t substitute alcohol for food, and check with your doctor to make sure that it does not interact with any medications you might be taking.
• Make sure you drink six to eight glasses of water, juice or other non-alcoholic fluids every day. Older people often experience decreased thirst or they reduce fluid intake because of bladder-control problems. This can contribute to constipation and kidney problems and increase the risk of dehydration in hot weather.
• If you have trouble chewing, there’s no need to resort to a bland liquid diet, which can lead to constipation and perhaps even malnutrition. Instead, prepare fish or ground meat and puree vegetables, soups, and other nutritious foods.
• Take daily walks or engage in other exercise, but first consult your doctor for as appropriate routine. Exercise not only preserves muscle strength but also improves appetite and mood.
• If you’re on a tight budget, organize a shopping co-op with others in a similar situation. Buying larger quantities is more economical; share with others, or divide the food into smaller portions and freeze them for future use.
• Read labels. Even if you have take along a magnifying glass to see the small print, reading the breakdown of nutrients on a food package’s label will help you to make healthier food choices.

Eat less to live longer?

Will cutting down on calories slow you aging clock as well as help cut extra weight off your waistline? Since the 1930s, scientists have known that restricting calories not only delays aging but even reverses some of its consequences in laboratory rats and mice. By feeding these animals a very low-calorie diet, a mere 30 to 50 percent of what they normally eat, scientists have been able to extend the lives of not only mice but also fruit flies.
One study was designed to see whether monkeys, fed a diet that included all required nutrients but two-thirds the usual calories, would live longer than normal. Data suggests that the primates who ingested a lean meal, as compared to their peers who ate all the food they wanted, had a lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. One theory as to why there’s a link between eating less and living longer? Metabolism of food leads to the production of free radicals; the less food consumed, the fewer damaging free radicals produced.
Rats and monkeys, however, are not humans. Before caloric restriction is recommended as a potential antiaging strategy for people, carefully supervised studies on humans (such as those currently sponsored by the U.S. National Institute on Aging) need to be done. Caloric restriction is risky to try on your own: while its generally known that seniors require fewer calories, the aging body is also less efficient in absorbing and using some nutrients. Knowing how to cut calories without compromising essential nutrients can be tricky; becoming undernourished would erase any benefits of such a diet—if indeed there are benefits to be had. Low-calorie diets are likely to be deficient in some nutrients, and leading proponents of such regimens, such as antiaging specialist Dr. Roy Walford, believe that supplementation with vitamins and minerals in essential.


Interesting facts about longevity

• Japan has the longest life expectancy in the world. Yet people in the Okinawa Islands in southern Japan enjoy even longer and healthier lives than the average Japanese. Their diet secret? Lots of grains, vegetables, soy, and fish; less meat, poultry, and dairy. There is, however, no scientific basis to the suggestion by some supplement manufacturers that “coral calcium” is the secret of the Okinawan’s longevity.
• Various studies of Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Trappist monks—all people who follow a vegetarian diet and engage in a prudent lifestyle—also show that they enjoy increased life expectancy.
• North Americans also seem to be doing something right since they are healthier than they were two decades ago. People over age 85 are one of the fastest growing segments of the population, proving that today you can live longer and healthier if you practice good health habits.

Medical proof that food is powerful medicine

According to a 2003 medical study there’s nothing fishy about fish oil’s ability to protect your heart. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils can prevent sudden cardiac death by blocking fatal heart rhythms, researchers say. Sudden cardiac death accounts for at least half of heart-related heaths. Eating fish, particularly fatty fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, and sardines, has long been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fats are credited with keeping arteries healthy and reducing the stickiness of platelets in the blood.
Elsewhere, researchers found that eating fish more than once a week was associated with a 50 percent reduced risk of macular degeneration in seniors: the chronic eye disease which accounts for one-third of all cases of vision loss that gradually destroys central vision.
Studies also indicate that fish oils may protect against Alzheimer’s disease. To increase your intake of protective fish oils, eat fish several times a week but be mindful of the fact that large fish such as swordfish and shark may be contaminated with mercury to the extent that frequent consumption presents a risk. People who do no like fish or are allergic to it can look to flax or canola oils for omega-3 fats.

DO ONE SIMPLE THING

DRINK LOTS OF WATER EVERY DAY
Consume six to eight glasses each day. Water is an essential nutrient just like vitamins and minerals because your body cannot make enough of it to meet your daily requirements. It helps regulate body temperature, transports nutrients to your body’s cells, and helps remove waste. Because sensitivity to thirst diminishes with age, older adults are susceptible to dehydration, which can cause confusion, fatigue, headache, and more.

CAUTION
If you live in a northern climate (that includes Boston, Seattle, Chicago, and much of Canada, as well as parts of Europe), your body may be seriously lacking in vitamin D, essential for the absorption of calcium. The majority of this vitamin is made in our skin upon exposure to sunlight. Not only do northern climates receive little sun in winter, but summer’s bugs, poor air quality, and our desire to protect our skin against the sin’s harmful rays lead many to shun it during helping calcium to shore up bones to protect seniors against fractures. Seniors need between 400IU and 600IU of vitamin D daily, once cup of fluid milk contains 100 IU, as does one cup of fortified soy or rice beverage as well as some fortified orange juices.