Food Choices In 50s
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These guidelines apply to you too.
You will want to make all of your food choices using these healthy guidelines:
| Daily Amount of Food From Each Group | ||||||
| Calorie Level1 | 1,000 | 1,200 | 1,400 | 1,600 | 1,800 | 2,000 |
| Fruits2 | 1 cup | 1 cup | 1.5 cups | 1.5 cups | 1.5 cups | 2 cups |
| Vegetables3 | 1 cup | 1.5 cups | 1.5 cups | 2 cups | 2.5 cups | 2.5 cups |
| Grains4 | 3 oz | 4 oz | 5 oz | 5 oz | 6 oz | 6 oz |
| Meat and Beans5 | 2 oz | 3 oz | 4 oz | 5 oz | 5 oz | 5.5 oz |
| Milk6 | 2 cups | 2 cups | 2 cups | 3 cups | 3 cups | 3 cups |
| Oils7 | 3 tsp | 4 tsp | 4 tsp | 5 tsp | 5 tsp | 6 tsp |
| 1= Calorie levels are set across a wide range to accommodate the needs of different individuals. | ||||||
| 2= Get the majority of these nutrients from fresh sources. In general 1 cup of fruit or 100% juice, or 1/2 cup of dried fruit can be considered as 1 cup from the fruit group. | ||||||
| 3= includes all fresh, frozen, canned, and dried vegetables and vegetable juices. In general, 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice, or 2 cups of raw leafy greens can be considered as 1 cup from the vegetable group. | ||||||
| 4= includes all foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, and barley, such as bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits. In general, 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or 1/2 cup of cooked rice, pasta, or cooked cereal can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the grains group. | ||||||
| 5= in general, 1 ounce of lean meat, poultry, or fish, 1 egg, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, 1/4 cup cooked dry beans, or 1/2 ounce of nuts or seeds can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the meat and beans group. | ||||||
| 6= includes all fluid milk products and food made from milk that retain their calcium content, such as yogurt and cheese. Foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream and butter, are not part of the group. In general, 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1 1/2 ounces of natural cheese, or 2 ounces of processed cheese can be considered as 1 cup from the milk group. | ||||||
| 7= include fats from many different plants and from fish that are liquid at room temperature, such as canola, corn, olive, soybean, and sunflower oil. Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, certain salad dressings, and soft margarine. | ||||||
Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This is just a general guide. To use it, you need to figure out your specific calorie needs based on your weight, age, and current activity level. Again, see the 40’s nutrition section for how to calculate your personal calorie requirements.
As you get older the amount of calories you need to survive starts to decline. This is because you are losing muscle and gaining more fat as the years roll by. You can change that by exercising and building muscle.
Of course you can’t exercise very well if you put terrible food into that amazing body of yours. At 50 you need to really focus on the quality of the food you eat. This is how you do so:
1) Eat a low-salt, low-fat diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and fiber.
2) Eat smaller meals more often to prop up your sagging metabolism.
3) Stay away from simple or refined carbohydrates. We’re talking about anything made from white flour—muffins, cookies, white bread, and white sugar. Move those daily treats to one treat per week.
4) Get the majority of your fats from the ‘healthy’ fat list: olive oil, avocados, nuts, nut oils, and organic corn and soybean oil. Get organic because the majority of non-organic corn and soybeans have been genetically altered. We don’t yet know what the long-term effects are of these products. Do you really want to be a Guinea pig?
5) Eat lean protein. Try to get 50% of your protein requirements from vegetarian sources like beans and legumes. Soy and dairy products also contain a lot of protein.
6) Get more calcium. If you only pick two guidelines to follow, they should be this one and number 7. You need strong bones if you want to live. Hip replacement surgery is invasive, painful, and (sometimes) can shorten your lifespan by 2-4 years. Ouch. Now is the time to protect yourself.
7) Focus on fiber. Fiber comes from the plant kingdom. Eat your beans—those fiber powerhouses—and plenty of fruits and vegetables. This will keep you regular and clear out dangerous, cancer causing agents from your body.
How to Incorporate these Guidelines into Your Diet
It’s all very well to know what you should be doing. To put those guidelines to use you need to know how to use them. Here are ways to increase the fiber and calcium in your life:
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How to Increase Your Calcium Intake
1) Eat more broccoli, spinach, and Swiss chard.
2) Buy a box of fat-free milk powder and throw a few tablespoons into almost every recipe you make. You won’t even taste it in your baked goods, or anything else that is already creamy.
3) Have a glass of fat-free milk or calcium fortified soy milk with lunch.
4) Have a glass of calcium fortified orange juice with breakfast.
Recipes for Keeping Healthy
Breakfast
Oatmeal made with milk
Power Calcium Blueberry Pancakes*
Calcium fortified cereal with fat-free milk or soy milk
Lunch
Chili beans and a Spinach salad*
Quick Chicken Fajitas in a whole wheat tortilla*
Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce
Dinner
Mashed potatoes
Chicken cutlet
Steamed broccoli
| Power Calcium Blueberry Pancakes | Directions |
| 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup White Flour ½ cup Fat-Free Milk Powder 1 tsp Baking Soda 2 tsp. Baking Powder ½ cup Egg Beaters 1-1 ½ cups 2% Buttermilk 1 cup Blueberries |
1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
2. Add in the buttermilk and egg whites and mix until combined. 3. Add the blueberries and cook on a heated pan. Makes 12 |
| Spinach Salad | Directions |
| ½ Bag Baby Spinach
1/3 cube of Athens Fat Free Feta Cheese Cherry tomatoes to taste, halved 6 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved Dressing of choice |
Serves 2 |
| Quick Chicken Fajitas | Directions |
| 1 pound cooked chicken breast from the deli
1 bag stir fry vegetables 1 jar salsa of choice |
1. Cut the chicken into strips
2. Either steam the vegetables on the stove or in the microwave in a small plastic container full of water until soft. Drain. 3. Combine with chicken. 4. Pour the salsa over everything and reheat in the microwave. |
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different foods. You may not feel like cooking mow that the kids are gone. That’s understandable if a little wrong-headed. You are what you eat. If you eat garbage, you will look and feel like garbage.
You don’t need to cook every day. All of the recipes I’ve included will feed one or two people for at least two days. If you cook twice as much as you need you can eat a varied, nutritious diet every day of the week and only cook two days a week. When it comes right down to it, you are trading one to two hours of time per week to guarantee that you feel good the other 166 hours that make up that week. That’s what I call a good investment.
It’s vital that you get a handle on your eating and exercise habits. Once you do these two things you are virtually guaranteeing that you’ll spend the next thirty years (give or take a few) enjoying your life.
Looking For Specific Age Information?
Health Issues Over 40 50 60 70 – Elderly
Exercises in Your 40s 50s 60s 70s – Elderly
Foods / Diet After 40 50 60 70 – Elder
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