Use these 5 tips to age well

It’s true we can’t cheat nature but who is to say that we can’t be in harmony with nature and age well?

Because we all want to grow old gracefully, healthwise at least, and numerous studies seem to indicate that making the right lifestyle changes can help us achieve that. It can be as simple as exercising an hour or two a week, cutting out processed food and incorporating vegetables and fruits into our diet. The benefits are enormous and can be the difference between a healthy you and a sickly you. And everyone knows that prevention is better than cure and the best part is that it’s never too late to start.

So, we hope that these simple five tips from the New York Times wellness website would give you the inspiration to make the needed lifestyle changes. Here to ageing well.

1. Lose just a little bit of weight

Small changes in body weight can have a big impact on health risks. Start easy, maybe a 5 per cent weight loss goal, and keep it off. It’s been shown to reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease and improve metabolic function in liver, fat and muscle tissue.

2. Avoid processed meat

Processed meats like bacon, sausage and deli meats can increase by 42 per cent the risk of heart disease and 19 per cent increased the risk of diabetes. This may be due to the levels of sodium and chemical preservatives. Processed meats had about four times more sodium and 50 per cent more nitrate preservatives than unprocessed meats. Other research has implicated processed meats in a higher risk for colon cancer.

3. Eat blue (and other colours)

While you shouldn’t plan your health around anyone ‘superfood’, there’s a lot to be said for eating blueberries. In one review of the eating habits of 187,000 male and female health workers, eating three or more servings of blueberries a week was associated with a 26 per cent lower risk for diabetes. Another study found that eating the equivalent of a cup of blueberries a day lowered blood pressure. Most of us can’t eat a daily cup of blueberries. But the lesson is to add darkly coloured fruits and vegetables — blueberries, cherries, spinach and kale — to your diet. Note that you can substitute with your locally available fruits and vegetables such as carrots, ugu, green, watermelon, etc. They are loaded with nutrients, fibre and carotenoids. They will also fill you up so you’re less likely to binge on junk food.

4. Skip packaged foods

The best eating strategy for ageing well is to skip processed foods and beverages. That will immediately eliminate added sugars from your diet. How do you know if a food is processed? One good indicator is if it comes in a package that has to be ripped open. Think chips, granola bars, junk food, fast food, frozen pizza, etc. There are, of course, some exceptions to the rule. Some whole, unprocessed foods that are good for you come in packages by necessity. Think nuts, eggs, olive oil and milk to name a few. Try to live by the one ingredient rule. If a packaged food contains only one ingredient (ground turkey, for instance) it’s probably a reasonable choice.

Once you cut out packaged foods, you will start eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish and whole grains. This is essentially a Mediterranean diet, which has been shown in numerous studies to be good for you. Harvard Men’s Health Watch offers a quick-start guide to the Mediterranean diet. If you prefer another eating plan, then go for it. Whether it’s a vegan diet based on the China Study, low-carb eating advocated by Atkins or the South Beach Diet, or trendy plans like the Whole 30 diet, all of these diets are based on whole, real foods that don’t come in packages.

5. What about supplements?

Study after study has seemed to debunk the benefit of taking supplements. Fish oil is one of the most widely used supplements to combat the effects of aging, but numerous studies show it has no benefit. There’s some evidence that vitamin B12 is good for the aging brain, but most evidence suggests we get enough of it from our diet. A doctor can test you to find out if you have a deficiency. The US National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements offers a fact sheet on B12. And lately, vitamin D has become popular, but again, there’s no strong evidence showing that we need to take more of it.

In fact, a 2010 Institute of Medicine report found that very few people were vitamin D deficient and that randomized trials found no particular benefit for healthy people to take added vitamin D. The best advice about supplements: Save the money you would spend on them and invest in a new pair of walking shoes, a gym membership or a delicious healthy meal with your family and other loved ones. All of those are likely to do more for your emotional and physical health than a supplement.

This article was curated from the New York Times website.