Women as they age experience a lot of physical and mental changes including the slowdown of metabolism, loss of estrogen, hormonal imbalance, anxiety, and depression. When it comes to ageing, you all have choices, from colouring the hair or embracing the grey hair, and fine lines. However, it becomes more important to stick to a regular exercise regimen and eat right to maintain a disciplined lifestyle. Moderation is the key, rings true, and the need to eat healthily becomes essentially vital as you get older.
Food that women over 50 should follow

Smarter food choices for healthy ageing should be focused on variety, eating nutritionally dense foods, and keeping balanced amounts. This diet regimen can help women support heart and brain function optimally, regulate menopause symptoms, manage weight, keep bones strong and uplifting overall health and well-being. It’s all about making smart choices.

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Thus a few diet patterns were chosen based on certain criteria, which would help women over 50 to age gracefully and lead a healthy lifestyle. These diet plans are:

  • Easy to follow
  • Make modifications as per personal preferences and nutritional demands
  • Not highly restrictive
  • Nutritionally well-balanced and varied
  • Backed by science that these diet’s offer health incentives

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is constantly rated as one of the healthiest diet patterns for almost anyone, including women over 50. This diet mainly comprises vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. It is primarily plant-based, but also comprises moderate amounts of fish, dairy, as well as limited quantities of eggs, poultry, and red meat. Several pieces of evidence strongly prove that the Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of several chronic age-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and mental disorders. Furthermore, this diet beats many other popular diets as its highly adaptable, no food groups are off-limits and even red wines are allowed sparingly.

Also Read: Mediterranean Diet: Know Why This Is Not Just Another Food Fad To Follow in 2020

The DASH Diet

Reports reveal that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for women over 50. Further, a high rate of uncontrolled blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease that increase remarkably after the onset of menopause. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is formulated to avert and treat blood pressure. This diet is low on sodium content and emphasises including foods rich in calcium, potassium and magnesium that are well-known to lower blood pressure.

The DASH diet chief comprises vegetables, fruits, low-fat milk, a moderate quantity of whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fish and poultry. Red meats and sweets are avoided. Restricting salty, processed foods in favour of wholesome foods delivers additional perks including diminished cholesterol and better blood sugar control.

Also Read: Hypertension: Follow DASH Diet To Control High BP- Infographic
Woman eating an apple

The Flexitarian Diet

The Flexitarian diet is a semi-vegetarian plan that’s mainly plant-based but rarely includes meat, eggs, milk, and fish. It is a great choice for boosting fibre intake and plant protein who also accepts the nutritional value of animal products and wish to add them as needed. This diet pattern supports managing weight, augmenting cardiac health, and preventing diabetes. Additionally, the Flexitarian diet offers more iron and omega-3 from foods like fish and meat and it’s also packed with calcium, an essential mineral needed for conserving bone health in postmenopausal women.

The MIND Diet

The occurrence of dementia is significantly higher in women than men. The MIND diet was mainly designed to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of age-related mental decline. This diet is an abbreviation for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurogenerative Delay”. It combines the elements of the Mediterranean and DASH diets that have proven to uplift brain health. Whole grains, berries, leafy greens, beans, olive oil and fatty fish are majorly included in this diet while refraining from fried foods, red meat, butter, cheese, and sweets.

Also Read: The MIND Diet: Here’s Why You Should Eat These Top 10 Foods For Brain Health And Memory

Natural Eating

Well, mindful or natural eating behaviour may work out well for all those who have tried numerous fad diets. Long-term restrictive dieting may lead to a range of adverse impacts, including bone depletion, weight gain, disordered eating behaviour, and poor quality of life. This eating practice is an anti-diet program formulated to reform diet outlook and form a positive relationship with the body and food you eat. Dietitians suggest adapting mindful eating practices as chronic dieting causes physical and psychological damage. A natural eating pattern comprises principles based on concepts like making peace with food, valuing health, and coping with emotions without the use of food. The goal is to help you review how to listen to your body’s natural hunger and satiety cues so that you no longer rely on a specific diet to nurture yourself mentally or physically. Moreover, studies also disclosed that intuitive eating improved psychological health and a lowered risk of eating disorders.

Conclusion:

If you’re a woman over 50, it is often hard to decide or know which diet suits you best, particularly if you’re experiencing physical changes linked with ageing. Studies backed by science have proven that The Mediterranean, Flexitarian, DASH, and MIND diets, along with natural or mindful eating, offer a host of wellness incentives for your heart, brain, and overall well-being. Well, choosing the one that’s right for you needs meticulous consideration of your personal goals and nutritional needs. The right choice is the diet that can help you sustain long term and keeps you feeling at your best.