Have you been sprinkling blueberries over your favorite foods for years? Snacking on walnuts? Congratulations: You’re doing something right for your health. Believe it or not, experts say that there are not only foods that can improve your health but also help prevent or offset issues of aging such as dementia, stroke and arthritis. While you likely already know that you shouldn’t wait to start eating healthy, you might be surprised about the health benefits of some foods, especially of the fresh farm to table offerings.
6 Superfoods for Seniors to Support Healthy Aging
Here are six foods you should be eating as part of a healthy lifestyle that will help you fight common senior problems and hopefully age gracefully:
Avocado
Filled with good fats – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats – avocado is high in vitamins A, E and fiber and helps lower cholesterol, according to a report by the Mayo Clinic. Several research projects in recent years, including a 2021 study by the Kansas University Medical Center, have revealed that people who eat these round garden-grown staples retain stronger cognitive functions – the ability to think, learn and remember things.
Berries
Fresh fruits like blueberries and strawberries are packed with health benefits. Strawberries are rich in calcium, iron, potassium and manganese, a mineral that helps the body function. Melissa Altman, a functional medicine practitioner and nutritionist with her own private practice in Charleston, recommended several servings of half a cup of berries each day.
Nuts
People who consume a handful of nuts each day are less likely to experience cognitive declines. Altman suggested half a cup of nuts every day, although, because of digestive issues, she pointed out that they aren’t for everyone.
Fish
There are many health benefits of consuming fish. Known for its distinctive pink and buttery flavor, salmon, for example, is high in protein and the right kinds of fat, including omega-3 fatty acids, which, according to articles by the Cleveland Clinic, support the immune and digestive systems. Because of those fatty acids, several servings of fish each week can help manage arthritis.
Grass-Fed Butter
A better choice than regular butter, for several reasons, according to a May 2019 article published by Healthline.com. It turns out that the butter of cows that eat grass is richer than other butter in vitamin K2, which promotes bone and heart health. It also has 26% more omega-3 fatty acids than regular butter.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Collards, kale, spinach, lettuce and the like – the foods your mother told you to eat to grow up big and strong – are also linked to slowing issues of aging. According to a 2018 study of 960 older adults by Rush University in Chicago and the Tufts Human Nutrition Research Center in Boston, adults who ate two cups of leafy green vegetables a day experienced less cognitive decline than those who ate nearly none. The multi-year study attributed this to several of the nutrients found in these vegetables.
When to Start Eating Superfoods
How young should you be when you start eating these foods? As soon as babies are old enough to eat them, Altman said, pointing out that berries can be mashed into baby foods. Prepackaged foods, on the other hand, should be avoided. “Modern foods that come out of a box are not healthy for the human body. As a culture, we’re not doing a good enough job feeding healthy children healthy foods,” she noted.
Benefits of Eating Healthy at Any Age
That being said – if you haven’t been eating healthy, you can still reap the benefits of health foods by starting now. They won’t cure your dementia or other problems, but they’ll help to slow down their progression, Altman explained.
She said she’s a fan of the paleo and Mediterranean diets, even going so far as to suggest importing food from the Mediterranean region, where she said the quality of the same food is better than what you can get in the United States. She added, however, that “I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all diet for all people.”
By Kevin DeValk
