Top tips on healthy eating and exercise
THIS week Home Instead Senior Care will be looking at how a healthy diet can be the key to maintaining a positive outlook on life while keeping your mind and body fit and well. No matter what age you are, or what your eating habits are like, it’s never too late to change your diet and improve how you feel.
Healthy eating includes consuming high-quality proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in the foods you take in, while minimising processed foods, saturated fats and alcohol.
Eating in this manner helps you maintain your body’s everyday functions, promotes optimal body weight and can assist in disease prevention. Healthy fats Rather than cut out fat from your diet completely, choose healthy unsaturated fats which can improve blood cholesterol levels, lower your risk of heart disease and benefit insulin levels and blood sugar. Look out for Omega-3 fats, which can benefit your brain and your mood. They’re typically found in fish, nuts and seeds. Exercise Regular exercise can help you stay healthy, independent and energetic as you get older. Exercise is anything that gets your body moving and an average of 150 minutes a week is recommended. Walking rather than driving is a small change which gradually introduces exercise into your daily routine. Slowly reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. There are hidden sugars in a variety of foods such as ready meals, tinned goods and pasta sauces. Consider using natural foods, herbs and spices to flavour your food and give your taste buds time to get used to the new flavours. Fibre As we age, our digestion can become less efficient, so it’s important to include more fibre in your diet. An easy way to incorporate fibre into your everyday routine is to start your morning with a high fibre cereal. The best source of fibre is whole grains, wheat cereals, barley, oatmeal, beans, nuts, vegetables and fruit. »●I welcome any suggestions for future topics from you all. Write to me at: david. bradshaw@homeinstead .co.uk or by post to Jape One Business Centre, Dell Road, Shawclough, Rochdale, OL12 6BZ.