The other day (ok, I can’t lie, the other month) I was reading my Prevention magazine and came across this article about how to eat to live longer. I’ve been wanting to share it with you for some time now!
The article claims…
Though you can’t stop aging, you can eat anti-aging foods to age less. You can increase your vitality today, prevent or postpone the diseases of aging, and add healthy years to your time on earth.
I don’t know about you but the older I get the less I care what I look like in a bathing suit. I just want to be around to swim!
So Let’s take a look at the recommendations and see how they compare to our diets?
- Get most of your nutrition from food. CHECK! The article suggests supplementing calcium (1,000 to 1,500 mg), vitamin D (1,000 IU), and folic acid (800 micrograms) for longevity in addition to eating a healthy diet. That I need to get on, I’m lacking in the supplement department.
- Enjoy five or more daily servings of vegetables and fruits. CHECK! We know this now, right? Not only are they "filling foods" they help us live longer? Bring on the broccoli!
- Legumes for longevity. CHECK! I LOVE me some beans, I know there good for my heart and I don’t care that they make me f___. (Oh come one.. you know that one right?)
- Eat whole grains. CHECK! I’m a whole grain-o-holic. No problems there.
- Have a handful of nuts. CHECK! I bought a bag of nuts in shells for Thanksgiving and the toddler and I have been cracking a few of them every morning. The fact that they are in shells helps me watch my portion and the toddler thinks it’s cool when I use the nutcracker. I’m going to buy another bag and try to make it a morning tradition. :)
- Choose fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Hmmmm Kinda a CHECK. I do choose fat free, low fat milk and yogurt but cheese? I can’t go with the fat free stuff. It grosses me out. I do choose part skim mozzarella though, I guess that counts, huh? :)
How does your diet match up? And what do you think about eating for life instead of your waistline? With age comes clarity and I think it’s very clear that eating good food isn’t only good for my body shape it’s just better for my life.
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Have you ever tried Allegro Cheese? It is a fat free cheese that is comparable in texture and taste to regular cheese. I buy mine at Extra Foods or Superstore.
I think all of their recommendations are great and I definitely hope that my new food choices (which I am trying to do all, but I’m not quite where you are) help to make me live longer and with a better quality of life. But, alas, my main motivation is that I want to fit into my 12 slim jeans again one day. I want to feel like I don’t fill up the entire side of a booth at a restaurant. I want to fit comfortably in a seat on an airplane. I want experience life the way I supposed to. I just want to live. Hopefully it’s a long life, but I just don’t want whatever days I’m given to be wasted on self-pity and poor health. So I do agree, but I’m not quite there as it being my sole motivation. Hope this rambling makes some sort of sense. Probably not since I should definitely have been in bed an hour ago. Haha.
I think that some times the full fat cheese is necessary! A little goes a long way so with the real stuff (sometimes I buy sharp for extra flavor in the small amount) I don’t feel deprived with an ounce.
I am there — mostly. I really need to work on the legumes and the whole grains. The whole grain is my biggest problem – I usually just don’t like wheaty tasting stuff. I am slowly getting there… Baby steps.
I’m actually doing pretty well with the list as well. I definitely need to get better about remembering to take my multi-vitamin. I’ve also let my daily dose of nuts (usually almonds) fall by the wayside recently as well, so I need to get back to that.
FWIW, I completely agree with you about the fat-free cheese — ick! I can tolerate the 2% cheese though, so that’s what I usually get.
Amazingly enough, I’m not doing too badly with that list. But like you, I can’t stand FF cheese — it doesn’t melt! (I can eat FF cottage cheese, though. Go figure.) I try to get the reduced-fat or 2 percent cheese whenever possible — but I had two years of Atkins, where I got the full-fat stuff … and lots of it!
I notice that I have the same laptop as you. I am curious what program you use for your photos? Are you using iPhoto?
I strive for a life without Doritos, and to only limit myself to eating a healthy amount of dark chocolate (when the truth is I love chocolate in every way, shape and form).
But I will never forgoe proper cheese! Danish blue… stilton… mature cheddar… life is too short.
Sadly I’m about 20kgs off my goal weight so maybe I need to reconsider :D
Barb – I totally get what you are saying and I’ve been there. My goal with the post wasn’t to make you feel bad that your motivation is to lose weight for losing’s sake. It is to show that the same healthy foods that help you get to where you want to be are the same ones that help you live a longer life. My motivation is different now as I’ve lost the weight and for some who are just starting their journeys this may click and motivate them as well. Different strokes for different folks, different motivations for different stages. But I hear ya!
Susan – I haven’t! Now I’m on a hunt! Thanks. :)
I’m totally with ya, Roni! When I set out to lose weight 71 weeks ago, I just wanted to feel better. I’m old enough now (52) that I don’t care what I look like any more and I’m no longer in the market for a man…..I just wanted to feel good. And I do! Actually, after only losing 25 pounds, my Dr. took me off 1 of my 2 high blood pressure medicines. Although I’m at my WW goal of 92.4 pounds lost, I’m still taking the 2nd medicine and my Dr. says I may always have to take it because high blood pressure isn’t caused just by obesity. But I feel fabulous! And the great thing is….I look good too…..which was just a by-product of getting healthy.
As I aged, I began to feel less “in control” and that was also a big motivating factor for me. I now feel totally in control of me, of what happens to me, of what I can do…etc…etc….and now I feel like I can do anything!
And if I was still overweight and unhealthy, I wouldn’t even be able to help myself…how could I be any good to help anyone else?
I love this! It’s a good affirmation for me as I’m just starting my *final* weight loss journey (since Oct.) and I feel like I’m finally getting all the pieces of the puzzle right. I don’t do fat free cheese for the most part, either, but I do like the sharp 2% cheddar & part skim mozz. I can’t stand low fat Jarlsberg or fat free cream cheese (unless it’s IN a recipe). Fat free cottage cheese is fine, fat free Kraft Singles (swiss and reg) melt really well for grilled cheese, and fat free sour cream and milk are still good to me.
I agree with everyone about the taste of fat-free cheese – it doesn’t melt very well and it doesn’t taste as good so I end up using more than I should. As for fat-free dairy, I usually choose low-fat instead of fat-free. This is because the fat in dairy contains Vitamin D, which is essential for your body to utilize the calcium. I’ll always chose a low-fat dairy product for this reason, unless the fat-free version states it is fortified with vitamin D, which in that case there’s no need to worry.
I’m really feelin all of the non believers of the fat free cheeses! The farthest I will go with that is the 2% ones that are more common now! I also will not give up my real mayo; I’d rather have a tsp of the real stuff than 2 tbsp’s of the fake-ick!!! And yes I love that the foods that nourish us in our weight loss journey also aid us in our travels through our ages! It beats having two lists in the grocery store; okay this product for weight loss-check and that product for aging gracefully-check! No thanks!