Eat Whole Foods

It’s more a way of eating than a formal diet. You load up on veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and low-fat dairy. You eat less fatty meats, butter, sugar, salt, and packaged foods.
Many studies have found that this diet can help you live longer and protects against heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers believe one way it works is by physically changing parts of your chromosomes linked to age-related diseases.

Walk

Aim for 30 minutes every day. If that’s too much, break it up into shorter strolls. Regular exercise -- especially if you do it briskly enough to feel a little breathless -- delivers huge health benefits. It helps keep brain cells healthy by delivering more blood and oxygen. In fact, research suggests aerobic exercise may delay or improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

It also helps:

• Control your weight

• Boost your mood

• Keep bones and muscles strong

• Helps you sleep better

• Makes you less likely to get heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Stay Connected

Loneliness is harmful to your health. If you feel lonely -- whether you live alone or with someone, have lots of friends or none -- you are more likely to get dementia or depression. Seniors who report feeling left out and isolated have more trouble with everyday tasks like bathing and climbing stairs. They also die earlier than less-lonely folks do. Researchers found that lonely people have higher levels of stress hormones that cause inflammation, or swelling, linked to arthritis and diabetes. 

Add Fibre

It’s an easy way to eat your way to better health with every meal and snack. Swap out your white bread for whole grain. Add kidney beans to your soup or apple slices to your salad. Fiber fills you up and for longer. It cuts your cholesterol levels and lowers your chance of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon cancer.It also helps you avoid constipation, which is more common in older adults. After age 50, men should aim for 30 grams of fiber a day and women should get 21 grams a day.

Select Supplements

It’s often better to get your nutrients from food, not a pill. And you usually don’t need special supplements aimed at seniors.

After age 50, your body does need more of some vitamins and minerals from foods or supplements than before. They include:

• Calcium (to keep bones strong)

• Vitamin D (Most people get it from sunlight, but some seniors may not get out enough.)

• Vitamin B12 (Older people have trouble absorbing it from foods, so you may need fortified cereals or a supplement.)

• Vitamin B6 (It keeps your red blood cells strong to carry oxygen throughout your body.)

Tell your doctor about any supplements you take so you can avoid bad interactions with any medications or treatments

Stick to Sleep

Insomnia is common in older adults. It’s when you have a harder time falling and staying asleep. It helps to wake and sleep on schedule every day. That can help keep your body clock in sync so you get the sleep you need.

Also try and:

• Keep your bedroom dark. Turn off your TV, cell phone, and laptop.

• Avoid caffeine or alcohol in the evening.

• Don’t nap longer than 20 minutes during the day.

• Ask your doctor if any of your meds might be keeping you awake