Eat right for your age

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Right nutrition for one’s age is a smart choice which will significantly help in steering one away from fatal illnesses and add some healthy years to your life

Dr Pooja Sharma

Today, millions of individuals across the globe are rapidly picking up potentially fatal diseases due to their abrupt ways of altering nutrition-dense-food and lethargic attitude towards healthy living. Some of the health issues like obesity, hypertension, cancer, depression, cardio-vascular problems etc. have become common ailments affecting youth and adults belonging to all age groups.

It is high time to bring about positive transformation by understanding one’s body’s nutrition requirements and tweak nutrition for one’s age to safeguard oneself from the cascading impact of inadequate nutrition on one’s health and well-being.

You cannot bridge the gap between body and quality health unless you comprehend the phenomenal effects of nutrition and its value across all age groups. At every stage of human life, variety of nutritional needs shifts across decades of one’s life. The requirements of nutrition keep changing, depending on our age and health conditions.

It’s highly imperative to include right nutrition in your daily diet so to manifest a healthier body, mind and spirit. Right nutrition for one’s age is a smart choice which will significantly help in steering one away from fatal illnesses and add some healthy years to one’s lifespan.

At an onset of ageing conditions which is correlated to daily multiple activates and diverse functions in youth and adult. There requires an extraordinary understanding about what are your nutritional needs are to carry such activates and functions efficiently respective to your age on a daily basis without any barriers.

So, let me throw some light on the key nutrients and their respective relevance across different age groups Diet in terrible twenties

One’s life in this phase of twenties is on a whirlwind, new job, new opportunities to conquer, getting married, too much stress etc. which emphasise upon adding nutrition as the first thing to do to keep one’s health balanced and well-maintained.

So in the twenties, one should focus on – “calcium” “protein” “iron”

Although not as readily as when one is younger, adults in their mid- twenties continue to build bones. There is a high chance of losing the bone mass if one doesn’t consume calcium-rich-food. Consuming 1,000 mg calcium daily is important for bones to reach the peak of strength and is the key to lifelong bone health.

Good sources of calcium include dairy products, leafy green vegetables, certain fish, oatmeal and other grains, tofu, cabbage, summer squash, green beans, garlic, sea vegetables and calcium-fortified foods such as cereals and orange juice. Also, get enough magnesium and vitamins D and K to help calcium do its job. Fortified non-dairy beverages such as soy, rice and almond milks contain 300 to 330 mg of calcium per cup of serving for e.g. 1 cup milk, 3.3 cups of yogurt and 11/2 ounces of cheese all together supply 300mg of calcium. So you can go for calcium forfeited food and juices.

Protein: From chicken to steak to tofu, protein is found across these foods and more. Protein is an essential building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. The severing of chicken and /or fish should be the size of your palm, as an east measure. At least 50 to 100 grams for women and for men at least 200 to 300 grams of protein adding into one’s daily diet can produce the required enzymes, hormones and other necessary chemicals to fuel one’s muscle growth effectively and keep one going.

“Iron: Men lose 8mg iron through minerals and women 18 mg through menstruation. For women vitamin B12 or 2b12 daily can be added to avoid anaemia, stress, depression, weakness or delays in cycle. Both men and women, to support metabolism and transfer of oxygen to muscles, can have Oysters, red meat, spinach and chickpeas.

Magnesium matters in thieties

Focus on magnesium at the onset of thirties as one can go through muscle loss which slows down one’s metabolism. Magnesium will help generating energy in one’s body, will regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels and will help maintaining a strong composition of bones.

To mitigate muscle loss, strength training and high protein diet should be adopted.

Have more antioxidants in forties

Blueberries are highly rich in vitamins A and C, as well as, an age-defying antioxidant called “anthocyanin”.

Include vitamins C and E in your food, antioxidants that repel off harmful free radicals. Radicals contribute to aging and many diseases.

Sources of vitamin C are lemon, red pepper, green pepper, kiwi, guava and tomato juices etc.

Sources of vitamin E are salmon fish oil, hazelnut, peanut butter etc.

Fifties and beyond

Many adults or elders beyond 50 are unable to produce hydrochloric acid in their stomach. Thus Multi-vitamin will do a trick to absorb the food from vitamin sources.

To make red blood cells, nerves and DNA post fifty, Vitamin b12 is essential and should be supplemented.

At the age of 50, women encounter major bone loss due to menopause, thus 1,200 calcium daily will help encounter such condition in women.

— The writer is a nutritionist