Thursday, March 28, 2024

Healthy eating tips for 50+ diners

healthy_eating_senior_couple“Food just doesn’t taste the same anymore.”
“I can’t get out to go shopping.”
“I’m just not that hungry.”

Sound familiar? These are a few common reasons some older people don’t eat healthy meals. But, choosing healthy foods is a smart thing to do—no matter how old you are!

Here are some tips to get you started:

  • Eat many different colors and types of vegetables and fruits.
  • Make sure at least half of your grains are whole grains.
  • Eat only small amounts of solid fats and foods with added sugars. Limit saturated fat (found mostly in foods that come from animals)and trans fats (found in foods like store-bought baked goods and some margarines)
  • Eat seafood twice a week.

Two Plans For Smart Food Choices

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) describes two eating plans. Eating a variety of foods from each food group in either plan will help you get the nutrients you need.

One plan is called the USDA Food Patterns. It suggests that people 50 or older choose healthy foods every day from the following:

Fruits—1-1/2 to 2-1/2 cups
What is the same as 1/2 cup of cut-up fruit?
 A 2-inch peach or 1/4 cup of dried fruit

Vegetables—2 to 3-1/2 cups
What is the same as a cup of cut-up vegetables?
 Two cups of uncooked leafy vegetable

Grains—5 to 10 ounces
What is the same as an ounce of grains?
 A small muffin, a slice of bread, a cup of flaked, ready-to-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta

Protein foods—5 to 7 ounces
What is the same as an ounce of meat, fish, or poultry? One egg, ¼ cup of cooked beans or tofu, ½ ounce of nuts or seeds, or 1 tablespoon of peanut butter

Dairy foods—3 cups of fat-free or low-fat milk
What is the same as 1 cup of milk?
 One cup of yogurt or 1-1/2 to 2 ounces of cheese. One cup of cottage cheese is the same as ½ cup of milk.

Oils—5 to 8 teaspoons
What is the same as oil added during cooking?
 Foods like olives, nuts, and avocado have a lot of oil in them.

Solid fats and added sugars (SoFAS)—keep the amount of SoFAS small 
If you eat too many foods containing SoFAS, you will not have enough calories for the nutritious foods you should be eating.

Your doctor may want you to follow a certain diet because you have a health problem like heart disease or diabetes. Or, you might have been told to avoid eating certain foods because they can change how well your medicines work. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian about foods you can eat instead.

Here’s a tip: Stay away from “empty calories.” These are foods and drinks with a lot of calories but not many nutrients—for example, chips, cookies, soda, and alcohol.

The second eating plan is called the DASH Eating Plan. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. DASH is a lot like the Food Patterns, but following this plan can help you lower your blood pressure. See For More Information at the end of this AgePage to find out more about DASH.

Read much more here!

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