It’s important that once we touch 50, we start to seriously think and prioritise our health, body and well-being. Here are some changes every man and woman over 50 should adopt in their lifestyle.

If 40s is the time when you begin strategising about healthy ageing, 50s is about implementation. A lot of changes have already happened by the time you hit half a century, and many more are to follow in coming years. From adding healthy antioxidants, phytonutrients, calcium, fruits, salads to eliminating disease-causing refined products and saturated fats; from pushing self to be physically active every single day to engaging your brain in meaningful activities to keep it active, there are many healthy changes that are required to lead a qualitative life post 50. (Also read: National Nutrition Week: What foods should we eat according to our age)

When you grow old, the emphasis shifts from fitness to wellness, from not only being careful of seasonal infections but also chronic diseases that could speed up ageing. Aiming to achieve quality in our future years could make all the difference and the right nutrition could help you remain healthy and disease-free throughout your life.

“It’s important that once we touch 50, we start to seriously think and prioritise our health, body and well-being. It is imperative to realise that all ailments and diseases depend 80% on what we eat, 20% on exercise and 5% on our attitude. When we internalise this fact, then our approach just organically shifts and we must thereafter imbibe the health ratio steps to follow religiously once we hit 50,” says Nidhi Nahata, Food Therapist and Founder, Justbe Resto Cafe Bangalore.

Step 1: Build a relationship of our body with food

This means being mindful of what we eat and eating food that is going to love us back, instead of giving us ailments and diseases.

A basic rule of thumb is to “eat whole grains”, and natural food like:

⁃ Beans, which help in maintaining the longevity of our organs,

⁃ Sprouts which help in building immunity,

⁃ Gluten free grains like amaranth, oats, millets etc, which help in digestion,

⁃ Fruits to keep the energy levels boosted and introduce lots of fibre into our body,

⁃ Salads which are also a fibre rich food, that help resolve constipation

Step 2: Eliminate

Meat activates the cancer cells (carcinogens) and must be avoided while refined products like maida, oil and sugar should be eliminated from your diet.

Step 3: Embrace elements of nature

• Sun is an essential part of our diet too. It’s food for our skin which helps build vitamin D3,
• Water: Having sufficient beverages and water-rich foods like watermelons, oranges etc keeps us hydrated as well.
• Walking: Walking gets the feet moving, the blood flowing, the mind activated and movement is life.

Step 4: Attitude matters

When we are mindful of our choices this means self-love which means self-care. This is the most important lesson of love – because before we love anyone else, we need to learn to love ourselves, our body, our attitude and then love will flow effortlessly without any judgement at all.