Stay fresh
Ageing well involves first eating food that doesnât harm us and then to eat what does us good. Avoiding processed food is high on the list of preventing harm so that food is fresh and full of energy-giving vitality. Foods that are highly processed lose nutrients, with flavours, often sugar and salt, added to make them taste better.
Chemicals are added to provide long shelf life â providing a cocktail that the industry loves, but our bodies donât. Instead, spending money on a diet rich in Omega fatty acids is much more beneficial and essential to maintain healthy brain function, reducing inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and colitis, as well as prevention of coronary heart disease.
The best source is fresh, oily fish such as herring, mackerel, trout, fresh salmon and tuna. The pressure-cooking of tuna before canning can remove much of the omega oils, but salmon and sardines donât go through this stage and their valuable calcium is also preserved. White fish has some omega 3 as well as a decent amount of B vitamins, so include that in the weekly diet too.
Nutritionist Udo Erasmus suggests consuming omega-rich healthy oils by the spoonful. He says the kind of fats and oils we use in dressings give us far better energy than lots of carbohydrates.
He believes that frying foods, even in what is considered healthy oil, is contributing to our obesity problem and in old age we need to manage weight carefully. Oils change their chemical composition and become bad fats. He would have us ban the frying pan from the house and slow cook meat, making sure we get plenty of salads in the diet to balance and ensure nutrients are absorbed. He believes oils should not be taken as supplements, but as foods, using them as dressings and to finish vegetables â as many raw as possible.
Elderly people sometimes find it difficult to digest vitamin-rich raw vegetables such as beetroot and carrots, so he suggests juicing them instead.
While there has been controversy about the benefits of flaxseed oil versus fish oil, itâs not worth getting into. Both have huge benefits. Better to think about the great fresh foods available to us and using oils to dress them, steaming instead of frying.
âWe still consume far too little Omega 3 essential fatty acids and need to eat more oily fish,â says Udo. âA small percentage of the omega 3s in oils may not be convertible in the body, but a high 60% of their content is good as fuel and 20% keeps skin healthy. Donât think of them as fattening and instead cut down on carbs and include omega rich oils at all stages of life from infancy.â
Nutritionist and author Patrick Holford is interested in the relationship between food and ageing too. He recommends eating plenty of vitamin B-rich foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and greens, and for B12 to eat meat, fish, eggs and dairy products.
He talks about homocysteine levels which can decrease with age due to decreasing levels of stomach acid. Regularly eating pulses and seeds supply this and help with memory and other brain function, as well as eye health. As a preventative measure we should increase levels before we get old, making chickpea soups, main courses and salads part of life. Sprinkling toasted seeds on salads and in stir-fries is an easy way of including vitamin B in the diet.
Holford agrees with Erasmus on the need to eat oily fish, and suggests it three times a week. He talks about the strong colours of healthy vegetables and fruit, vegetables and spices, which are all rich in antioxidants. He recommends green tea, not coffee, and red wine in moderation.
Both Holford and Erasmus have products to sell, but their advice gives us plenty to think about.
* Patrick Holford will be in Ireland Apr 28 â May 1 giving daytime seminars followed by a seminar in the evening on the Ten Secrets of Healthy Ageing, the title of his book co-authored with Jerome Burne. Details: www.patrickholford.com . Udo Erasmus has just finished his Irish tour, but will be back next year.
