The best diet if you’re over 60

If you’re over 60, you might be bombarded with options for the so-called “perfect diet.” But what’s the diet that’s really the best for you, and your health? Keep reading to find out.

Tackling the issues

There are a number of health issues that disproportionately trouble those aged 60 and older that might be guiding points as to how one should structure their diet. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that generally, chronic diseases are the leading killer of older adults. Their list includes everything from heart disease to cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, or diabetes.

However, the statistics specifically note that the number one leading cause of death of people 65+ is heart disease. Over 66% of men over the age of 65 experience hypertension, and it affects 74% of women over the age of 65 as well. The second leading cause of death in geriatric populations is cancer, which affects 22% of those 65 and older.

While it’s difficult to structure a diet entirely around disease prevention, there are definitely some tips and tricks that one can integrate into their diets. Some diseases, like cancer, can’t be prevented by eating peach pits or grape leaves, but they can be staved off with the proper vitamins and nutrients if one isn’t genetically predisposed to health difficulties.

We all know that processed bread, sugars, and refined grains can cause heart issues later in life, and that alcohol can cause cancer or liver disease. But in addition to the fact that there are foods you shouldn’t be eating, there are also things you need to be eating as an older adult.

The nutrients you need

There are a number of nutrients that older adults have to focus on in order to maintain health and longevity. The first one is dietary fiber – though it’s great for those of all ages, it’s known to decrease heart disease and type 2 diabetes in populations 60 and older.

Calcium is also extremely important for the prevention of osteoporosis, as experts say that a lack of calcium can lead to brittle bones, and devastating falls or fractures. Vitamin A is also extremely important for bone health in the elderly, and a 2015 study from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that vitamin A can decrease the risk of bone fracture in subjects that are overweight.

Another important feature of any well-rounded diet is that you’ll want to focus on the iron content in foods. Data from St. Luke’s Hospital mentions that if you’re on medication like Zyloprim for gout, shy away from eating too much iron, as it could overload your liver. ACE inhibitors, Boniva, and levothyroxine are all drugs that can be impacted by ingesting too much iron as well.

But medications like Zantac, Pepcid, Tagamet, Prilosec, or TUMS for GI issues can all impact the way that the body absorbs iron. This would mean that you want to try for more iron in your diet by eating things like the diet items mentioned below.

So what’s the best diet?

As for the best diet around for those above sixty, that’s hard to say. There are complicated cholesterol-specific diets like the TLC diet or supposed “cure-all” diets like the Mediterranean diet. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics stresses the importance of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and all the other “superfoods” that your doctor, spouse, or local health and wellness writer has been haranguing you with for as long as you can remember. But ultimately, your perfect diet can only be determined by one person: you.

The best move would be to combine multiple diets into one keeping in mind your own personal bloodwork, medications, and body type. The baseline of eating standards is that you’ll eliminate processed carbohydrates, processed sugars, and processed meats from your diet – basically if it’s been through a machine so many times that you don’t really know what’s in it, you shouldn’t be eating it. Fresh food is always your friend, even if you don’t eat it raw, so the best diets always involve spending more time in the produce section than the pasta section.

As for everything else, it’s up to you. If you’re looking to slim down, a variation of the Mediterranean diet might be a good choice as long as you replace your rice with squash and your pasta with lentil pasta. If heart health is your biggest goal, shy away from too much meat, even if it’s lean, and avoid eggs, as they’re high in cholesterol. And if you’re concerned about hypertension, as most older adults are, whatever you do, don’t add salt to your food. There are plenty of other delicious seasonings out there to replace it with.

All in all, the takeaway is this: if you stay mindful about what you eat, and don’t put garbage into your body, you probably won’t feel like garbage, and your health probably won’t be garbage. But ultimately, it’s about what’s best for you, and short of the universally toxic food items you shouldn’t be ingesting, only you can determine the nuances of crafting a truly perfect diet for this new stage of life.