Although diet is important no matter a person’s age, one’s nutrition after age 50 is highly important. The most important reason for dieting at this age I maintaining a healthy body. The body over 50 struggles to withstand more abuse from inactivity, eating a lot of fast food and drinking too much alcohol. The side effects are inevitable.
Changes take place in the body after 50 that makes the food you consume of great significance. Muscle mass decreases by about 10 percent each decade after age 45. Plus, while you lose muscle, you are more likely to gain more body fat, requiring less calories because muscle burns more calories than fat.
Exercise must also be prioritized, including resistance training, which helps counteract the inevitable decline in metabolism that takes place with age.
Conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, brain function, menopause sypmtoms and other conditions must be combatted with proper nutrition as women get older. But there are so many different diet options for women over 50 that it is dizzying. Some of them are not even truly good for a person’s health.
What Makes a Good Diet for Older Women?
Choosing the best diet for women over 50 is hard. There are so many options. When your primary goals are simply improving your overall health, weight loss, gaining energy or even weight gain, there are several amazing diet plans to choose from. Read on to find our top picks.
These diets were chosen based on specific criteria, including:
- Adaptability: These diets can be changed according to your personal preference and health/nutritional needs.
- Easy to follow: These diets do not require additional supplements or complicated instructions.
- Nutritionally balanced: You will get plenty of protein and fats, as well as quality carbs and micronutrients.
- Evidence-based studies: These diets are backed by science, proving their health benefits.
Here is our list of the best diets for optimal health for women over 50 who hope to gracefully and healthily transition into later stages of life.
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean diet is an easier diet plan to follow. It does not require the dieter to stop eating specific foods. Instead, it recommends you eat foods that are mainly in the recommended food groups. Nuts, dairy products, beans and whole grains are allowed with this diet. Many other diet plans omit foods from at least one of these groups, turning many people off from following them.
Foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish (like salmon), fruits, olives, vegetables and whole grains are popular staples of this diet.
The Mediterranean diet has been proven to improve heart health and boost brain health.
Plant Based
If your grandmother wouldn’t recognize it as fresh food, don’t eat it. This advice comes from author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.
This diet plan is based on a diet that is predominantly plant based. Processed foods are avoided, which were not around many generations ago. What you eat is key and should be kept wholesome.
Eat a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables while reducing dairy products. Minimal amounts of chicken, fish and red meat are also part of this diet plan.
This diet reduces risk of various chronic age-related illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, cancer and mental decline.
Gluten Free
The gluten free diet was initially used for people who were gluten sensitive or for those with celiac disease; however, it has recently gained popularity among people who do not have these issues, including women over 50 without these struggles.
Women who are 50 years or older may benefit from reducing gluten in their diets – plus a gluten free diet can reduce caloric intake.
Gluten comes primarily from sources such as pastas, breads, pastries, crackers and more. But gluten is found in many hidden products.
Eating foods that do not contain gluten are associated with increased energy, improved health and weight loss.
Whole 30
This diet may not be for the faint of heart as it is a true elimination diet. By following this diet, you are to eliminate foods such as dairy, alcohol, soy, sugar, legumes, grains, artificial sweeteners, bake foods and junk foods. Several of these items sound fine to remove, but some are hard. But the benefits do abound.
By taking part in a Whole 30 Diet, you will be able to boost your metabolism, while helping with digestion and regulating blood sugar levels.
A huge benefit of this diet for women over 50 is that it helps to change your habits. Many women have also reported a reduction in pain and inflammation.
Keto
The ketogenic diet, which puts the body into ketosis, is a popular diet plan for women over 50. When the body enters into a state of ketosis, it burns fat for energy. This is especially ideal for those who want to shed some extra pounds. Furthermore, the keto diet is associated with additional benefits, such as:
- Lowered triglycerides
- Leveled blood sugars
- Boosted metabolism
- Lowered blood pressure
- Boosting of good (HDL) cholesterol
- Heart disease protection
- Blood sugar level decrease
This diet is filled with many plentiful fats, including fats coming from animals sources, and high quality proteins. Green leafy vegetables are also popular.
The keto diet often sounds hard for those with a strong sweet tooth, but hunger and sugar cravings actually disappear quickly!
These benefits of the keto diet for people over 50 apply to people of both genders, but there are more for women. One being menopause. Many women experience an increase in body fat during menopause, due to a change in the pattern of fat distribution, often beginning to accumulate around the abdomen. This diet helps to combat this by burning excess fat into energy.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a fairly easy way to reduce calories, while resetting the body’s metabolism. It is easy to get started on intermittent fasting because you can actually count the hours you sleep as a part of your time spent fasting.
It is recommended to not eat for at least 16 hours with intermittent fasting, eating two or more meals thereafter over the span of the next 8 hours. It may sound hard at first but it isn’t challenging once you get the hang of it.
Several metabolic changes take place for women over 50, including:
- Decreased levels of insulin
- Increased levels of HGH, which help to encourage muscle growth and fat burning
- Fat burning
