EAT TO LIVE WELL — FOR LONGER

You hit an age when it’s harder to shift pounds and you lose the glow of youth. Now there’s an eating plan to reverse that — with EVERY dish supercharged to boost vitality in midlife and beyond All next week, diet and nutrition experts Mimi, 49 ,and Sam,

Growing up, we probably thought we wouldn’t care what we looked like after 50 because by then we’d be old and it wouldn’t matter. But there’s nothing like reaching your middle years — and realising you still feel young and have years of life ahead — to bring your health and vitality into sharp focus.

Luckily for us, middle age has had a makeover. we are ‘midlifers’ now, enjoying an amazing time of freedom and self-assurance.

why dress like our parents when the skinny jeans still fit? if yoga feels a little ‘zen’, you can try outdoor swimming or lifting weights. There’s little stopping you from backpacking around South America or starting a new company if you want, because age is no longer the barrier it used to be. well, at least it isn’t if you look after yourself.

That’s why this is exactly the right time to take stock and think about protecting your health if you want to ensure you feel just as good as you do now in ten, 20 or even 30 years’ time.

in our 20s and 30s, many of us will have enjoyed the health and youthful appearance we inherited without even thinking about it.

But by your 50s, the way you live starts to make a big difference. our genes are thought to account for only 20 per cent of the risk for leading causes of death — the rest is down to lifestyle choices (diet, exercise, stress, booze), and these we can control. So it’s never too late to step in and give those genes a little nutritional support.

At 49 (Mimi) and 46 (Sam), we hope we’re ageing pretty well, but there’s no way we will take this for granted. we are unable to turn back the clock, but we can, with small changes and minimal effort, stay healthier for years to come.

That’s why we have written our new book, The Midlife Kitchen, which is serialised exclusively in the magazine which you will find inside today’s paper (if yours is missing call 0808 272 0808 between 7am and 7pm and we will send you a copy) and in special pullouts all next week in the Mail.

we’ve been great friends for more than ten years, are both married and have four children between us. The book is a culmination of all our experience and passions, and of our changing tastes and desire to eat inspiring healthy meals.

in researching our book, we have concentrated on familiar foods and examined what they bring to the midlife table, always favouring good, sensible facts and solid evidence over fads.

Mimi is the co- author of bestseller The Fast Diet, with Dr Michael Mosley, which introduced the ground-breaking concept of 5:2 intermittent fasting.

Sam is also passionate about the role good food can play in enduring health. Her father died suddenly of a heart attack at 59, and her youngest brother passed away four years later aged 27, from complications arising out of Type 1 diabetes.

These family tragedies made her realise that she would have to pay close attention to her general health to combat her genetic heritage and live a longer life.

we’ve both had our health ups and downs over the years — Mimi was diagnosed with postnatal depression, has had a breast cancer scare, and more recently, discovered she is intolerant to alcohol.

Forus, celebrating midlife is not about being desperate to look younger or dressing like our children. it’s about embracing the wisdom and confidence that the years can bring — with an honest recognition of the challenges of midlife, particularly when it comes to health, fitness and nutrition.

There is no doubt the diet we follow really makes a difference. From turmeric to tomatoes, pumpkin seeds to leafy greens, certain foods have been proven to have powerful potential for reducing the risk of age-related diseases.

Public Health England recently stated that living healthily in midlife can double a person’s chances of staying fit and well from the age of 70 onwards — something none of us can really afford to ignore.

As we both hit midlife, we recognise we are ageing, and that our bodies are changing — whether it’s creaking joints or eyes that squint at menus. Like many women at this stage of life, our dietary concerns have evolved from a desire to watch our weight into something more vital: the desire to stay really healthy.

we have noticed a subtle shift in our palates as well. it could be down to changes in our sense of taste, an understanding of the fundamentals of good eating, or simply because our bodies are trying to tell us they need certain nutrients to function properly.

where once we craved pasta, we now prefer salad; the sweet tooth of youth has diminished as the need for intensely savoury, texturerich foods has increased. This undoubtedly reflects the fact that in midlife, our needs are very different from those of our 20s and 30s: we need greater fortification from food full of vitamins and minerals. These help to guard against loss of muscle mass and a decrease in bone density.

we need lean protein, too (vital for healthy cells), a moderate quantity of ‘good’ slow- burn carbohydrates and gut-friendly probiotics. women will particularly benefit from eating foods high in phytoestrogens such as flaxseeds and soya.

For many women, hormonal shifts at midlife will mean redistributed body fat with a thickening around the middle. Typically, we put on a kilo or two every four years in middle age (women gain an average of 4.5kg during menopause). And although ours is not specifically designed as a weight-loss plan, it will help you reach a naturally healthy weight. we’ve designed the recipes that way.

At the age of 20, the average woman’s daily calorie requirement is 2,000, but a woman of 50 who has a sedentary lifestyle only needs 1,600 calories — so it is never more important to ensure the calories you do eat are good ones.

we certainly don’t advocate cutting out food groups such as dairy or wheat ( unless health problems mean you have to). The recipes we have written, tested, tasted and enjoyed are first and foremost about good-tasting food, with a healthy bonus. They are not health-led and joyless.

All the ingredients we list are widely available — you won’t have to scour the health food shops and spend a fortune. our message is radically different from that of the clean-eating gurus.

So many of these suggest avoiding certain foods and even cutting whole food groups from your diet. our recipes, by contrast, offer much more variety.

THErE’Sbeen such a deluge of misinformation and conflicting messages that people are confused. But everything we suggest is based on tried-and-tested dietary advice, and we hope it will help cut through some of the white noise that has surrounded nutrition.

we would never use the words ‘detox’, ‘ superfood’ or ‘cleanse’, and you’ll find no mention of alkalinity, spirulina or a dish garnished with some unrecognisable Amazonian fruit. The only thing we suggest you limit is refined sugars.

our ‘ stealth health’ recipes

contain fresh ingredients that taste so good you’ll hardly notice their health credentials. The message we want to get across is ‘eat this, you’ll love it . . . and by the way, it’s good for you’.

It is about sticking to simple truths about food, giving you the confidence to take back control of your eating.

In today’s magazine — and next week’s pullouts — we’ll share delicious and healthy recipes to see you from breakfast to dinner, with desserts and snacks, too.

Every dish will be power-packed with ingredients to boost energy, skin, immunity, digestion, heart and bone health, and to balance blood sugar, hormones and mood.

And none of it is boring. You’ll find favourites such as pot- roast chicken, filling curries, bread and even sticky toffee pudding, all nutritionally checked by dietitian, Dr Sarah Schenker.

Every dish has been given a twist — a dash of spice, or a sprinkling of nuts and seeds — to boost its health-giving qualities for midlife. We are so lucky that this stage of life isn’t the burden it once was. We are pro-ageing, not anti-ageing. We don’t fear growing older, and want to embrace it knowing that we are as healthy as we can be.

We urge you to see midlife as a time to overhaul and finetune your diet. Optimum health might be your goal, but maybe you’re also tired of the same old meals in your repertoire and sorely crave inspiration.

Midlife is our moment. Let’s love it and live it well.

The Midlife Kitchen: healthboosting Recipes For Midlife And Beyond by Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice (£25, Mitchell Beazley). © Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice 2017. To get a copy for £17.50 (offer valid until May 6) visit mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. P&P is free on orders over £15.