In my last post I wrote about the diet guidelines I use to maintain healthy eating habits. But what do the experts say are the best diet plans for seniors who want to lose weight, stay healthy and age well?
Best diets for seniors, according to an article on the LongevityFacts.com website, as reported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), are those that:
“Emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. Limits saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars. Controls portion sizes.”
Please note that personally I disagree with fat-free and low fat diets. I’m not alone. More recent science proclaims that fat is not the culprit in the epidemic of obesity. I’ll explain further in another post.
And this opinion is consistent with a 2014 review by Katz and Meller. After comparing most of the major plans, including the Atkins, Rosedale, Paleo, Mediterranean and DASH diet, the authors said,
“A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention.”
No question that best diets for seniors support eating non-processed foods if you want to adapt healthy eating habits. The points of disagreement of many experts is on the role of fats and the amount and kinds of fats that are healthy. Old school still says non-fat or fat-free is best; new school says including fats in the diet improves satiety and is valuable to cells.
When we started going low-fat, the public replaced those calories with refined carbohydrates and sugars which lead to increased fat storage and obesity.
No to Carbs, Yes to Fats
All diets have their pluses and minuses, but there are several takeaways from this online article:
Fats are not unhealthy in and of themselves. However, the wrong kinds of fats are unhealthy. Fats from plant foods are healthier than those from animal sources, and fats from fish and chicken are healthier than red meats.
Eating the wrong kind of carbs is unhealthy while eating the right kind is healthy, up to point. The bulk of the evidence shows that processed foods are unhealthy, especially sugar and refined grains found in bread, rice, and pasta.
In fact, a study of the fruit and vegetable consumption of over 2 million people published earlier this year showed that carbs are incredibly healthy when consumed in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables. That’s because they also have high fiber content which is essential for digestion and health.
What’s your diet like? Do you try to follow guidelines? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section.
Recent Comments