Eat Healthy Now To Stay Physically Active When You Age

According to recent findings, women who maintain a healthy diet were less at risk of developing impaired physical function as they age.

While maintaining a healthy diet now can keep your waistline in check, a recent study suggests that it also has an impact on women’s physical mobility in later life. According to a large study conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital on 54,762 women involved in the Nurses’ Health Study, women with healthier diets were found to have lower risk of physical disability as they age.

Physical function was measured by self-reported health surveys every four years while participants’ diets were assessed using food frequency questionnaires every four years over a 16-year period (1992 to 2008).

Of those who showed reduced risk of physical impairment, their diets involved higher intake of vegetables and fruits, lower intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, trans fats, and sodium; and moderate alcohol intake.

Among the food components listed, increasing the intake of oranges, orange juice, apples and pears, romaine lettuce, and walnuts showed the strongest association with reduced risk of physical disability.

It is worth noting however that the individual food components alone did not show as strong an association, thus suggesting that an overall healthy diet is still more important than its individual parts.

As being physically active during old age is an inseparable part of healthy ageing, this gives us even more reasons to start eating and living healthy now. Besides, eating healthy isn’t difficult. Simply throw in a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice to kick off your mornings, or make it a point to bring a fruit to work everyday for starters. Replace your sugar-sweetened beverages with fruit-infused waters and avoid these foods that are high in sodium.

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