A Healthy Diet Should Be Allowed In Midlife

Highlighting from the research publication, “A Prospective Study of Dietary Fiber Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Among Women” from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers developed a food-frequency questionnaire assessing 39,876 female health professionals with no previous history of CVD or cancer to support the concept. Women were followed for an average of six years for incidence of various CVD or death confirmed by medical records or death certificates. Evidence from epidemiological studies suggests a strong inverse association between dietary fiber and coronary disease, high intakes of fiber and 20% to 40% in reductions to risk, as well as increased intake of fiber and reduction of plasma cholesterol. The data generally support current dietary recommendations to increase the consumption of fiber-rich whole grains and vegetables as a primary preventive measure against Cardio vascular disease.

For last 50 years many researchers throughout the world have shown that the foods we eat have a profound impact on our health and longevity. A healthy diet

People with high cholesterol are at greater risk of developing heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. People with diets high in saturated fats---like those in meat, dairy and eggs---are more likely to have high cholesterol levels. To reduce cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends limiting the intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, and eating more plant-based foods.

The risk of heart disease rises as people age. Men develop an increased risk of heart disease at the ages of 45 and older, while women 55 and older are at an increased risk. “A woman’s natural hormones give some level of protection from heart disease before menopause.” (www.fda.gov) “After menopause, women develop heart disease as often as men, and women who have a heart attack don’t fare as well as men. Women are more likely than men to die from a heart attack.” (www.fda.gov) Obesity is caused by many different possible factors including “genetics, metabolic, psychological reasons, socicultural reasons, sedentary lifestyle, neuroendocrines, medicamental reasons, and high caloric nutrition.” (www.obesidad.net) Obesity is known to cause colon cancer, high blood pressure, and premature death. “Obesity is also associated with high blood cholesterol, complications of pregnancy, menstrual irregularities, hirsutism (presence of excess body and facial hair), stress incontinence (urine leakage caused by weak pelvic-floor

Eating a healthy diet is instrumental in the reduction of the risk factors for several major diseases. Obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are a few of the risk factors that serve as precursors to major diseases, and can be controlled with healthy eating.

The reduction of the amount of saturated fats from one’s diet improves health greatly for cardiovascular health. According to nursingdegree.com, ”Eating nuts and whole grains, while eliminating dairy products and meat, will improve… cardiovascular health.” When eliminating food that comes from animals doing so eliminates all dietary cholesterol from one’s diet. Vegan diets go to extreme lengths to prevent heart attack and stroke. Plant-based foods are high in fiber and according to nursingdegree.net, “A diet high in fiber…leads to healthier bowel movements.” While obtaining nutrition from vegan diets also prevent disease at the same time. For example, it is stated in nursingdegree.com,” Eating a diet consisting of whole grains, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, can greatly reduce…chances of colon cancer.”

Financial Status: Financial constraints can affect the ability of the elderly to afford adequate food/nutrition. This is a factor that leads to malnutrition in older adults.

Healthy eating can decrease the risk of many problems that are on the rise such as obesity, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes.

According to Donald D. Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic on Healthy Weight, “Eating well – choosing a plant-based diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains – also will reduce your risks of some of our nation’s biggest killers and related conditions. Many cancers, heart disease and high blood pressure, among other conditions, are linked to diet, most notably to diets high in fat and saturated fat. Even without weight loss, adopting a healthier eating style can be beneficial. (Hensrud 49)”

Aging affects the appetite and food intake of a person resulting in a gradual decreasing in the body weight. Moreover, slower stomach emptying makes the elderly to experience increased fullness or satiation all the time. The alteration of gut peptides, such as cholecystokinin, insulin, GLP-1 and Peptide YY during aging modifies satiation and satiety. Moreover, the study collected data from seven scholarly reviewed medical journals following well-defined criteria: must use scholarly reviewed journals written English and the journals had to align with the topic under discussion. It demonstrated the differences in satiety and satiation related to age and their unique responses to gut hormones. Moreover, out of the seven articles, four were controlled trials while three of them included cohort studies. The keywords used during the study were aging, food intake, regulate, satiety and satiation. Other studies used in the search demonstrated major strengths, such as exhibiting the differences in satiety and satiation related to age and their unique responses to the gut hormones. They also showed the likelihood for the manipulation of nutritional factors like the meal size, taste, and variety for inhibiting weight gain or weight loss through compensatory alterations in energy ingestion. The major limitation of the study included their inability to reflect the general population because the elderly subjects represented successful aging, free of chronic diseases and

Typically, older adults need fewer calories because they may not be as active and metabolic rate declines. Older adults still require the same or higher levels of nutrients for optimal health. Older adults tend to lose some ability to taste, therefore they may over season their food. They may be really increasing their salt intake which can be a problem if they are not drinking enough fluids. In older adults, we see malnutrition and we also see obesity. Different dietary plans are may be used to accommodate nutritional needs based on the older adult’s physical condition. Heart failure diets may be implicated for older adults in heart failure. Reduced salt and fluid intake are extremely important in the heart failure diet. Diets and nutritional

In addition to its effects on bone health, estrogen also has a huge effect on the cardiovascular system. Studies have shown that it increases the levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, decreases the levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and relaxes and dilates blood vessels so that blood flow will increase. There is also evidence that estrogens contribute to the maintenance of the health of the endothelium, or the lining of the blood vessels, thus further protecting the cardiovascular system from plaque and heart disease. With menopause, estradiol levels drop, and so these effects on the heart and blood vessels are lowered, giving postmenopausal women a higher risk of heart disease than premenopausal women.

As adults age, the body’s metabolisms slow down progressively. Older adult tends to stay indoors most of the time, so they are not getting sun light or physical activity. This can cause dehydration if they are not having adequate flued and fiber intake. Fiber intake can help lower heart disease, control weight and prevent conception. Eating healthy and staying active is important no matter what our age is, but as we get older our body starts to get weaker and we need to be stricter on our diet to lower our health risk of complications.

Unlike diets, eating healthy is a not a temporary solution. Eating healthy and choosing a variety of foods from each food group – grams, proteins, fruits, vegetables and diary combined with routine physical activity can result in a long and healthy lifestyle. When choosing food for one’s family it is important to look for food low in fat and sugar, relatively low in calories, rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients important to health.

A sample of 1730 randomly selected women the age group is 35-64 years, based on the date of late menses women were defined as post-menopausal (n=696), peri-menopausal (n=183) or pre-menopausal (n=659). The results showed that post-menopausal women had significantly higher age-adjusted levels of total cholesterol [6.0mmol/L in post menopause vs 5.7mmol/L in pre-menopause, ps Institute for Social and Economic Change. The investigators have an opportunity to address health problem and measures with postmenopausal women and encourage healthy dietary