Of course, giving up tobacco is not easy. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin, and it often takes repeated attempts for folks to kick the habit for good. The good news is there are many tools available to help you succeed, such as nicotine replacement gum, lozenges, and patches. Though many of these aids are available over-the-counter, the best place to begin is with your healthcare provider, who can guide you in the process and possibly prescribe medications that reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It’s important to follow directions carefully when using these products to avoid potential complications such as nicotine poisoning and interactions with other medications. To get started, you can find tips and support on websites such as www.smokefree.gov and the American Lung Association’s www.lung.org/stop-smoking.
Diet
Adopting healthy eating habits in your 50s is more important than ever in order to counteract changes that naturally occur with aging. For instance, both blood pressure and cholesterol levels tend to increase with age, so maintaining healthy ranges with diet and exercise is vital. When it comes to a healthy diet, there have been volumes written on the subject, with wide variations in advice. However, most experts agree that following a heart-healthy diet is your best bet. Eating a heart-healthy diet can lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, prevent diabetes, and keep weight in check. In fact, good eating habits are more effective against disease than medications.
You can ask your healthcare provider for healthy eating guidelines or find heart-healthy diets online on websites such as www.heart.org (The American Heart Association). In general, a heart-healthy diet includes:
• Reducing sodium to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure). Take the salt shaker off the table and check labels on prepared foods for sodium content—you might be surprised by what you find. Recommended guideline for sodium intake for healthy adults is 2,300 milligrams or less per day. However, older adults, African-Americans, and those with a diagnosis of hypertension should lower their daily intake to 1,500 milligrams or less. (On average, Americans consume double and even triple those amounts!)
• Reducing saturated fats, which are found in red meat, poultry skin, full-fat dairy products, butter, and cheese.
• Avoiding trans fats, which are artificial fats used to extend the shelf life of various packaged and processed foods, such as margarine, crackers, and bakery goods. Many deep fried and fast foods also contain trans fats.
• Adding more “good” fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), which are found in foods such as avocados and nuts and some cooking oils (olive, canola, and sunflower).
• Including omega-3 fatty acids in your diet by eating fish, particularly deep-water, fatty fish (salmon, herring, trout, sardines, mackerel, and albacore tuna) at least two times per week.
• Increasing fiber with whole grain, high-fiber foods, such as whole grain breads and cereal, brown rice, couscous, quinoa, lentils, beans, nuts, oat bran, and oatmeal.
• Avoiding refined flour products and foods with added sugar (simple carbohydrates), such as white bread, cakes, cookies, sugar-added cereals, and soda pop. Beware of ingredients such as corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, and corn sweetener, among others, which are really sugar!
• Loading up on fruits and vegetables (five or more servings per day), which not only increase fiber, but provide essential nutrients. A diet high in fruit and vegetables has been linked to the prevention of certain types of cancer and lowers your risk for heart disease.
To Supplement or Not
There is a dizzying array of vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements filling store shelves these days. There is also much debate in the medical community due to recent studies questioning the effectiveness of some supplements. And, the claims regarding these supplements can be confusing! While most experts agree that a good-quality multivitamin can help you fill in nutritional gaps, supplements are not meant to replace a balanced diet—eating a variety of natural foods is important for overall health. While it’s always better to get nutrients naturally, there may be circumstances when a supplement is helpful, such as a diagnosed vitamin deficiency or health condition. The bottom line: Talk to your healthcare provider before taking any dietary supplements. Also, be sure to inform your healthcare provider of any supplements you have been taking, as certain supplements can interact adversely with prescription drugs, and others may cause complications with certain health conditions or surgery.
Encouragingly, studies show that when it comes to diet and exercise, even small changes can have big results. Conditions such as pre-diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol can often be improved or eliminated through diet and exercise, thus avoiding medications and worsening health.
Exercise
As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass and bone density and tend to accumulate more fat. Perhaps you’ve noticed it’s much more difficult to keep the weight off as you reach middle age, particularly around the middle! This type of stubborn weight gain is not only frustrating, it’s also unhealthy. An expanding waistline signals an increase in visceral adiposity, a type of belly fat that negatively impacts cardiac health. This kind of fat has also been linked to poor glucose control (insulin resistance), which leads to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and poor vascular health. Even if you’re not considered overweight, it’s possible to have more fat than is good for you.
Staying active and even stepping up your activity level can help combat this stubborn weight gain, while maintaining muscle mass and keeping bones strong. In fact, exercise can improve our quality of life as we age in many ways. All too often we assume that problems such as loss of strength, balance, and flexibility are just a natural consequence of getting older. However, research indicates that many of these issues are a result of years of inactivity, which means we can prevent them from occurring by staying active. What’s more, regular exercise has been shown to improve cognitive function as we age, helping to stave off memory loss and dementia.
Exercise will not prevent every ailment that comes along as we get older, but it can enhance the aging process. The American Heart Association notes that for every hour of regular exercise you perform, you’ll gain about two hours of additional life expectancy. More importantly, those added hours are likely to be healthier! So, how much and what type of exercise should you be doing?
Before beginning any exercise program, be sure to consult your physician, especially if you’ve been sedentary. The type of exercise that’s right for you will depend on your current physical condition, as well as the activities you enjoy—because you probably won’t stick to something you don’t like! It’s also important to note that even those with disabilities or health problems can and should get regular exercise. If you’re not sure where to start, consult with your healthcare provider or a physical therapist, who can tailor a program to fit your needs. In general, experts recommend:
• At least 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity at least five days a week. Moderate-intensity exercise is defined as any activity that causes your heart rate and breathing pattern to noticeably increase—reaching approximately 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. For example, walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes (approximately 4.0 mph), swimming laps for 20 minutes, and bicycling five miles in 30 minutes would be considered moderate activity. (See chapter 4 for heart rate
