Laura Mariano
You have heard it all your life about the importance of eating healthy. You’ve heard it all – eat more fruits and vegetables and reduce your sugary and trans fat foods intake. It wouldn’t be so common to follow this advice if it were simple.
The adverse effects of poor eating habits may not have been as apparent to you when you were younger. As you get older, you will notice that the wrong diet choices you made all your life start to show up in your daily life.
As a senior, it is more important than ever to develop healthier eating habits. It doesn’t matter if you are starting later in life; it’s worth the effort to eat better.
Healthy eating habits can make you feel healthier and lead to better doctor visits. Although it can be challenging to start, you will find it easier to stick with good habits over time.
Make your recipes.
The majority of processed foods and meals at restaurants are high in sugar and salt. However, it is easy to forget what you eat when another person is cooking. Cooking your meals is the best way to control your intake of different ingredients.
While it takes some time to make your meals, you have much more control over what you eat. It’s easy to get started if you have avoided cooking for most of your adult life. No one has to learn how to cook from scratch. Many free online recipes and search engines make finding those that suit your dietary requirements easy.
Google searches for “high calcium, low-fat recipes” bring millions of results. You’re almost sure to find many recipes that appeal to you, and most of them have clear instructions and are easy to follow for beginners. Bookmark any website that has recipes you like to save for later.
You might not be able to trust everything you find online, and Websites can exaggerate how healthy something is. Be aware of the nutrition information on websites and pay attention to ingredients. There are many recipes and cooking ideas that will satisfy your dietary requirements.
Take notes about what you like.
Many people are afraid to eat healthier. It is easy to confuse “healthy” and “dark and bland in our culture, and this doesn’t have to be!
You’ll find that you enjoy cooking healthy meals and delicious recipes if you start to cook more at home. Look for commonalities in the recipes that you love. You might love extra garlic or prefer recipes that combine sweet and savory flavors.
You don’t have to change your eating habits. On the way to discovering which recipes are great for you, you might try some recipes that you don’t like.
Try substitutions.
Olive oil is an excellent substitute for butter in many recipes, and you can use honey or applesauce as a sweetener in some sweet recipes. You have many healthy substitutes that you can use to make your favorite recipes more nutritious. You might not like all of these, but you may find that you enjoy some old favorites better when you make them healthier.
Reduce soda consumption or quit altogether.
The average American consumes 44 Gallons of soda per year, and this is a lot of sugar, full of empty calories. Even worse, high sugar consumption, and diet soda, have been linked to type 2 diabetes, which is a higher risk for heart disease and obesity.
You can set a goal to reduce the amount of soda you consume if you are one of many Americans who have a soda habit. If you feel more ambitious, eliminate sodas from your daily life. You can keep other drinks, such as tea or carbonated water, around to make sure you always have something else to drink.
Although it may seem complicated, this simple change can make a big difference in your health.
Drink lots of water.
Most people have heard of the importance of drinking water, and this is a fundamental need that can be difficult to meet.
Seniors are at the most significant risk from dehydration. People between 85 and 99 years old are admitted to the hospital six times more frequently than others. Neglecting to refill your water bottle at the tap frequently enough can have serious consequences.
This is an easy problem to solve. Keep a large bottle or glass of water with you throughout the day. To give yourself an extra incentive to drink, mark your bottle with time-oriented goals.
