Healthy eating for older adults Archive

Treadmills are among the most effective types of exercise equipment — if you know how to use them.

Cardio exercise is essential for all-around health, but many older men have trouble hitting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. And some people may have limitations that prevent them from doing traditional cardio workouts like walking, running, or swimming.

But there may be another option: the standard gym treadmill.

Exercise shouldn't be something you do only when you want to drop those 10 extra pounds or prepare for the charity 10-kilometer run. To be successful, it should be something you do as routinely as eating, sleeping, and taking your morning shower. That can be difficult, as you may already know. The information below may help you stay on course when your motivation starts to flag. Remember, the result is worth the effort.

The value of maintaining an exercise program became evident when the results of the Harvard Alumni Health Study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The men who had been moderately active but later became sedentary had a 15% higher risk of death than their counterparts who had never been active. On the other hand, those who started and kept up an exercise program had a 23% lower risk of death, which approaches the 29% decrease in risk enjoyed by the men who'd always been active. But knowing the benefits of lifelong exercise or even creating a personal exercise plan will be of little use if you don't stick to your program. As you plan an exercise routine, you need to prepare for the challenges that await you, so you won't be thrown off track.

Vegetable-rich diets are associated with lower risk for chronic disease. To get the full range of nutrition from plant foods, choose from a variety of colors when you shop and eat, including blue/purple, green, orange/yellow, white/light green, and red.

Excessive sodium raises blood pressure, which raises cardiovascular risks. Reading nutrition labels, considering sodium in restaurant meals, getting adequate potassium, and reducing calorie consumption can lower dietary sodium intake.

Opting for more vegetables and plant-based proteins is a new trend that's long been healthy.

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Plant-based meals aren't just for vegetarians anymore. International food consultants Baum and Whiteman named vegetables and plant-based proteins two of the hottest restaurant trends for 2017. That's no surprise to Harvard dietitians. "There are many reasons why people are eating more plant-based meals," says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. "Part of it is about health, and part of it is about eating more environmentally sustainable meals."

Veg-centric meals

One of the trends is the "vegetable forward" or "veg-centric" movement. It's taken average vegetables and elevated them into creative entrées and side dishes. This cuisine focuses on roasting, layering, caramelizing, and grilling vegetables to give them bold flavors and appeal. You might find restaurants offering caramelized cauliflower with balsamic breadcrumbs, roasted parsnips with pistachio and lemon, or bitter greens and crispy yams. In some cases, the dishes are accompanied by chunks of animal protein (meat, poultry, or fish) that complement the meal but don't dominate it, similar to a Mediterranean-style diet.

Artificial tears, warm compresses, eye massage, or prescription medications may ease your discomfort.

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According to the American Optometric Association, most older adults experience some of the gritty, burning symptoms of dry eye syndrome. "The severity varies, from people who only get dry eyes in the winter to people who have dry eyes every day," says Dr. Matthew Gardiner, an ophthalmologist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

The eyes have it

Our eyes have a few sources of moisture. One is the lacrimal gland in the upper outer quadrant of the eye. It can produce large quantities of tears (if you cry or if something gets in your eye).

News briefs

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Can eating a Mediterranean diet help you hold on to more brain cells in older age? A study published online Jan. 4, 2017, by Neurology suggests there's an association. Scientists measured the brain volumes of about 400 dementia-free people, taken when participants were age 73 and again at age 76. Researchers then compared the changes in brain volume over the three years to questionnaire answers about how well participants stuck to a Mediterranean-style diet. The diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, legumes, and whole grains; moderate amounts of fish, dairy foods, and red wine; and limited amounts of red meat and poultry.

Sticking to the diet was associated with a lower amount of total brain shrinkage over the three-year study period. The finding is only observational and doesn't prove that eating a Mediterranean diet slows age-related brain shrinkage. But other studies have linked eating a Mediterranean diet to larger brain volumes. The diet is also associated with better thinking skills, a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, and a reduced risk of dying from heart disease or cancer.

Are oils and other products made from this tropical fruit a healthy choice?

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Recently, a Harvard Heart Letter reader emailed us a question about coconut oil, a solid white fat that's been touted as a health food, specifically for the heart. Lately, more coconut-based products, including spreads and beverages, are showing up on grocery store shelves, along with jars of coconut oil. But this reader isn't buying it. "I cannot imagine that a food with so much saturated fat could be healthful. What is the latest scientific information regarding coconut oil?" he wrote.

Extracted from white "meat" inside the brown, hard-shelled fruit of the coconut palm, coconut oil is indeed chock-full of saturated fat. In fact, it's about 90% saturated fat, a much higher proportion than butter (64%) or lard (40%). Too much saturated fat in the diet raises harmful LDL cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. But what else do we know about the health effects of this tropical fruit?

Research we're watching

Following a Nordic diet — which features fish, whole grains, plus fruits and vegetables popular in Scandinavian countries — may help lower the risk of stroke, a new study suggests.

The study, published in the February 2017 issue of Stroke, included more than 55,000 Danish people from a national health registry, all of whom filled out questionnaires about their diets and other lifestyle habits. Researchers looked at how closely the participants followed the Healthy Nordic Food Index, which includes six food categories: fish, apples and pears, root vegetables (such as carrots and celery root), cabbages (which also include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts), rye bread, and oatmeal.