Whatever claims it may have for longevity, extreme calorie restriction is not recommended for good heath, particularly for seniors, who frequently fail to get proper nutrition even when they’re eating what they want. A better plan is to try to eat the right foods, and there’s more than one strategy for that.
Heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women. Habits that are least likely to develop coronary heart disease are:
- keeping body mass index (BMI) under 25,
- exercising for at least 30 minutes,
- limiting alcohol consumption
- taking a multivitamin and
- eating a balanced diet low in saturated and trans fats and high in fruits, vegetables, cereal, fiber, nuts, legumes, chicken and fish
For more specific information, it may be best to think in terms of decades.
IN YOUR 40s and 50s: During mid-life, even if you’re maintaining your weight, you’re likely getting fatter with every passing year because your metabolism is slowing at a rate of three percent a decade and, without exercise, you’re likely losing muscle mass and bone density.
Increased abdominal fat contributes to a number of health risks, including high cholesterol, high triglycerides, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. You can protect yourself against these health risks by:
- exercising regularly with at least two to three days a week of strength training to maintain muscle mass and
- limiting your calories enough to maintain a reasonable weight and BMI.
With menopause, women face increased loss of bone density, and both men and women are at risk of osteoporosis, leading to frailty in later life. Adequate calcium should be obtained through dairy products, collard greens and fortified orange juice or cereal.
IN YOUR 60s and 70s: Your body loses some of its ability to absorb nutrients, making it necessary to be increasingly attentive about getting enough nutrition, particularly calcium and vitamin D, which is needed to absorb it.
About 75 percent of cancers develop after age 65. To protect against cancer as well as heart disease, antioxidants have gained a great deal of attention. What is known as the Mediterranean diet–rich in vegetables and fruits, whole grains, fish and olive oil but low in red meat and saturated fat–is frequently recommended by nutritionists as a healthy choice and rich in antioxidants.
Longevity is relatively high in countries of the European Mediterranean, but it’s not because the traditional Mediterranean diet promotes weight loss. Overweight and obesity are prevalent in these countries, probably associated more with lack of exercise than adherence to diet.
IN YOUR 80s AND BEYOND: If you’ve lived into your 80s and 90s without medical conditions that restrict your diet, you should be able to eat pretty much anything you want. Unfortunately, many elderly people do not eat enough, whether because of lack of appetite or feelings of isolation and depression.
A widow or widower living alone may not have much incentive to cook and eat satisfying meals every night. As a result, many seniors fail to get enough nutrition to maintain bones, muscles and energy to perform daily tasks.
In such cases, the solution may be not a diet but a lifestyle change: find a circle of friends to share meals; go for lunch regularly at your local senior center; enjoy every meal. For countries such as Greece, some experts attribute longevity to the way of life–an environment where life equals good food, friendship, some laughs and a glass of wine.
Casey M. Valiente, PharmD
