Healthy eating for older adults Archive

When it comes to carbohydrates, quality and quantity matter — just as with everything else you eat.

 Image: © marilyna/Getty Images

These days, low-carb diets are more popular than ever. But this weight-loss strategy is hardly new. It began in the 1960s with the Atkins diet, followed by the South Beach, paleo, and keto diets. All of these diets — which swap carbohydrates for protein or fat — can help some people lose weight, at least over the short term.

But as is true for most diets that require you to avoid many popular foods, low-carb diets are often hard to maintain over the long haul. And if you do keep your carb intake low, the long-term effects on your heart and overall health remain something of a mystery so far. But a new study provides some clues.

 Image: © Azure-Dragon/Getty Images

This versatile vegetable should be a standby in crisper drawers. Not only is broccoli readily available in grocery stores, it keeps well and can be prepared in a variety of ways. As a side dish, you can eat it raw (for instance, used like cabbage in coleslaw), or steamed, sautéed, or roasted. But broccoli also can play a starring role in dinnertime dishes such as soups, stir-fries, pastas, and casseroles. When choosing broccoli, look for firm stems and tightly packed florets that are deep green or have a slightly purplish hue.

Nutritional info: Broccoli is high in vitamin A and folate (vitamin B9), as well as vitamins C and K. It's also a good source of potassium and dietary fiber, and a half-cup serving has just 15 calories.

The world looks very different at 3 a.m. when you're lying in bed staring at the ceiling or the clock. "How will I make it through tomorrow without any sleep?" you worry. You may wonder how to sleep better every night. If you regularly can't get to sleep - or stay asleep - and it's affecting you during the day, then you may have insomnia.

Prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids can help you drift off, but these drugs also have side effects. These include morning drowsiness, which can make activities like driving or using machinery dangerous, and an increased risk for falling. There are other ways to sleep better than medications.

Skipping warm-ups and lifting too much can lead to injury.

 Image: © laflor/Getty Images

Exercising is one of the best things you can do for your health, and you deserve an enthusiastic pat on the back for any amount of physical activity you're doing. But if you're performing your exercises the wrong way, you could be hurting, not helping your body.

One of the biggest exercise errors is using improper technique. You risk back injury if you arch your back while doing planks or push-ups, and knee injury if you bend too deeply in a lunge or squat (see "Move of the month").

Trendy new options are fresh and appealing, but they may not be good for you.

 Image: © NatashaPhoto/Getty Images

The. hot item in coffee shops isn't just coffee. Now, along with inventive brews, many shops are offering fresh gourmet noshes that rival food at chic cafes. That means you'll find treats and dishes with all the buzzwords attached, including "house-baked," "handcrafted," and "locally sourced." It also means you may be tempted to eat something that's unhealthy, especially if you're ordering quickly because eight people are in line behind you.

New on the menu

More coffee shops are ditching prepackaged pastries and sandwiches, and operating tiny kitchens that crank out breakfast with flair. For example:

News briefs

Are you putting off exercise because you think you need to jump into a rigorous routine? An observational study published Aug. 8, 2018, in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that even light physical activity, combined with less time sitting, is associated with signs of better heart and blood vessel health among older adults. Researchers analyzed health information for more than 1,600 people ages 60 to 64 who underwent clinical assessments and wore heart and physical activity monitors for five days. Participants' activity ranged from light intensity — like stretching and golfing — to moderate-to-vigorous activity, like brisk walking, dancing, and lawn mowing. Scientists also looked at participants' blood markers for heart and blood vessel disease, including the inflammation markers C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. The results: compared with being sedentary, people with light to moderate activity levels had more favorable biomarker profiles. The takeaway: lots of research has shown that replacing sedentary time with any amount of physical activity is linked to better health, so don't let high activity goals keep you from getting off the couch.

Image: © Mark Bowden/Getty Images

News briefs

 Image: © manustart/Getty Images

If your grandkids urge you to indulge them in a popular new snack at the mall, just say no. The FDA is warning that consuming products with liquid nitrogen added at the last minute can lead to injury. The products are marketed under names such as "Dragon's Breath" and "Nitro Puff." They're cheese puffs or cereal pieces that are frozen in liquid nitrogen and then dipped in a special sauce. When you put them in your mouth, the products release vapor that looks like smoke. Liquid nitrogen is also added to some cocktails to make them look like they're emitting fog. But the FDA says all of these products can cause severe damage to skin and internal organs and may cause breathing problems. The agency advises you to avoid the products.

If you're addicted to sweet, bubbly beverages, diet sodas are a better choice than sugary ones. But try switching to healthier options.

 Image: © NoDerog/Getty Images

Despite the abundance of added sugar in America's food supply, our love affair with sugary drinks has been waning over the past decade or so.

"In adults, we've seen a 25% drop in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and I think this trend will continue, given the heightened awareness of the harmful effects of excess sugar," says Dr. Frank Hu, chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Sugary drinks (such as sodas, sports drinks, and lemonade) are the biggest source of added sugar in the American diet and are widely considered to be among the main drivers of the obesity epidemic. A high-sugar diet also has been linked to increasing rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, all of which contribute to heart disease.