Watch These 5 Foods
Once you've reached numbers that start with a 5, it's worth easing a few foods out of your life. To lift your quality of life, it helps to pay a little more attention to what you eat. Don't let this worry you — you're simply experiencing the physical changes every age brings. All you need to do is support those changes as well as possible with the foods you eat, and enjoy every age to the fullest. Here are the foods to cut back on in your 50s.
Pickles: High blood pressure becomes more common with age, and high-sodium foods are one of the causes. From your 50s onward, a lower-sodium diet is very important — it meaningfully lowers your risk of heart disease and heart attack. So what does avoiding high-sodium foods mean? Most processed and packaged foods, pickles and, of course, salt are high in sodium. Just one pickled cucumber contains around 1,180 mg of sodium — almost an adult's entire daily requirement. To slow ageing and keep your quality of life high, ease off pickles in your 50s.
Loaded pizza: Metabolism slows with age, which means gaining weight becomes easier than losing it. Loaded pizzas — with their processed meats, fat and high carbohydrate — aren't a great choice in your 50s. But there are healthy alternatives when you crave pizza! Choose or make it with plenty of vegetables and no extra cheese, and switch a thick crust for a thin one to cut about 100 calories per slice.
Fizzy, sugary drinks: These shouldn't really be consumed at any age. But after 50, their high sugar causes sudden blood-sugar spikes that throw your levels into disarray. Research shows high-sugar diets raise cholesterol and triglyceride levels, posing a risk to heart health. For your health, take special care to avoid fizzy and sugary drinks in your 50s.
Pastries: Another thing that begins in your 50s is that your metabolism no longer works as quickly and your energy isn't as high. So getting energy from the right sources and supporting your metabolism becomes very important. High-fat, high-calorie börek, pastries and cakes may look like good energy sources, but their fat and refined sugar cause your energy to crash a few hours later — and because your body struggles to burn these high-calorie foods, the weight tends to stay. Choose high-protein, high-fibre foods instead, which keep you full longer, steady your blood sugar and keep your energy up.
Alcohol: One glass of wine 3–4 days a week does no harm, but moving to a second glass after 50 carries more risk. If you don't set a limit in these years, you may experience more sleep problems and water retention, and your organs may age faster. If you're looking for a refreshing drink, choose water — it gives life to your organs and your body.