The Mens Health Diet for Over 50s
By Ralph Goldsmith
As you get older the importance of exercise increases. But it’s also important to watch what you eat and drink. As a man over 50 you may need to consider the health issues that are of concern to men in that age bracket
For men weight gain tends to be around the abdomen.
Apart for the fact that you have problems getting close to fit you well, and your friends may start to talk about your beer belly, putting on too much weight around the waist does brng about some real health risks.
Some of the diseases related to weight could be heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. The general rule of thumb is that, if your waist is more than 37 inches (metric 94 centimeters) then you have a risk. If your waist goes beyond 40 inches (101 centimeters metric) then you have a significant risk.
If you want to reduce the chances of these issues then consider eating the right diet to keep your heart healthy and this will also help you to lose weight.
Not only that but you will look and feel better too.
Fats
First thing is to cut down on the total amount of fat that you eat. The recommendation is that no more than 30% of your caloric intake should come from fats.
If you’re intake is one thousand five hundred calories in a day then you need to restrict yourself to fifty grams (one.76 ounces) of fat.
If your calorie intake is 2000 then you should have no more than 66 grams (2.33 ounces) of fat.
Of course not all fats are equal.
Saturates are found in foods like fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, butter, lard, cream, cheese and many processed and takeaway foods. These types of fats increase the ‘bad’ type of cholesterol (known as LDL).
Polyunsaturates come from pure vegetable oils and spreads like sunflower, corn and soya oils and margarines and some vegetables. While these types of fat help to lower the ‘bad’ cholesterol, they also lower the ‘good’ (also known as HDL) cholesterol.
Monounsaturates are found in things likeolive oil, rapeseed oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. These types of fats lower the ‘bad” cholesterol but they also help to maintain levels of ‘good’ cholesterol.
So what you need to do is reduce the total amount of fats that you take in, but also swap the fat types away from saturates towards unsaturates, and in particular monounsaturates.
Salt (sodium)
The problem with salt is that it increases the likelihood of high blood pressure and therefore the risk of heart attack and stroke.
So cut down on salty foods, which include ketchup, pickles, chips (crisps), ready meals, takeaways, processed meats such as ham, bacon and burgers, pastry products, pizza, canned soups, ready-made cooking sauces and canned fish in brine.
Cutting down on these things will also help you to lose weight so you win all round.
Now, if all of this sounds hard don’t worry.
This doesn’t mean the end of enjoying your food. It can be as simple as just having a bit of a focus on foods with lower fat and less sodium, and that can be just a few minor changes to what you eat now.
Live longer and better. get more information about health, diet and exercise for over 50 men at http://exerciseforover50men.com/
