What happens if you let yourself go? What happens when you start saying “yes” to the cream cakes and “go on then” to the second (or third or fourth) glass of wine? Eating healthily can be hard as you get older and if you are finding it hard to cook well then ask your in home care if they can prepare healthy food for you. Live in care jobs often extend to this type of duty so don’t be afraid to ask.
The answer is you increase your risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, falling, depression, diabetes and liver failure to name just a few. We’re told to watch what we eat but what does that actually mean in practice?
Fat
Fat can broadly be divided into good fats and bad fats. Good fats act as transports for vitamins and minerals your body needs and can be a source of healthy energy. Bad fats simply clog up your arteries and add unnecessary calories to your plate (and pounds to your waist).
Good fats include things such as olive oil, avocado and nuts – all of which should be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet.
Bad fats are unnecessary fats that can easily be reduced or removed from your diet. Frying as a method of cooking should be kept to a minimum, grill bacon, poach eggs and reduce the amount of butter you spread on your bread.
Sugar
Although you want to cut down on fat it’s important that you don’t replace your high-fat foods with low-fat alternatives that are full of sugar. Low-fat yogurts are especially bad in this regard as the sugar is added to mask the lack of fat.
Excessive sugar consumption can lead to high blood pressure, and of course diabetes, and it is extremely easy to eat too much. Keep sugary treats such as cake and biscuits to a few-times-a-week treat. Also try replacing sugar in tea and coffee with sweeteners and watering down fruit juice or drinking smaller glasses.
Protein
Protein is what your body needs to rebuild so it is important to have enough protein in your diet. If you eat meat, it’s very likely that you will be eating sufficient protein. Make sure that you don’t eat extremely fatty forms – trim fat from meats such as bacon or switch to poultry and fish as a high protein low fat alternative.
Adding beans and pulses to your diet can be a great way to add extra healthy protein into your diet, especially as they come with added fibre which can help aid digestion. It can also help you reduce the amount of calories you are eating which is important as your metabolism slows in later life leaving you at risk of overeating.
Carbohydrate
Most of our diet is carbohydrate and you should be choosing starchy forms – potatoes for example – instead of sugary forms. Sugars are broken down quickly leading to undesirable blood sugar spikes. Carbohydrate eaten with fibre is digested more slowly so choose whole-wheat bread and breakfast cereals based on wholegrains to increase the amount of fibre you eat.
