Our bodies change as we age, and to remain vigorous, active and healthy in our middle years and beyond requires that we supply them with good nutrition and regular exercise. It's almost too simple, isn't it? However, staying faithful to a healthy lifestyle requires commitment and self-discipline, and an understanding that you are the one who must make the appropriate choices. When you enter your middle years at age forty, you can no longer ignore the relevance of diet and exercise to health even if you did so in your youth.
There is an overwhelming amount of information on nutrition and exercise readily available to all of us. There are information articles in the daily newspaper, in magazines, and on the Internet. There are even CDs you can buy or rent and play on your computer if you have the right software. As well, there are TV programs and innumerable books devoted to these subjects. If you want an education on nutrition for life, the best vitamins for your age and sex, the best practices for weight loss, or a diet and nutrition guide complete with charts showing health-boosting and health-harming factors in your diet, it's out there. While health professional don't agree on everything, they are united in their support of general health rules governing what you should eat, the benefits of remaining active, and health risks to avoid. Don't bother to search for anyone who will champion endless TV watching, smoking, guzzling beer, and a fast food diet as acceptable lifestyle choices. You won't find anyone. (I've already looked.)
Keep Moving
The benefits of exercise cannot be overrated as a means of staying young and energetic. However, fitness at forty doesn't require taking up bodybuilding or becoming a crack golfer. Involvement in sports is certainly pleasurable, and if you have any interest in pastimes like playing golf or tennis, cycling, kayaking, skiing, or baseball ? to name a few ? you can find lots of other people who share your interest and whose enthusiasm will keep you coming back for more. However, if you have never participated in sports in your youth and don't feel confident enough at forty to join a team, or you haven't the time to invest in becoming skilled enough at some particular sport to enjoy yourself, don't be discouraged. There's one thing you can do at which you are already very skilled ? you can walk. Brisk walking is one of the best ways to become fit and to stay that way. It is also one of the least expensive activities to pursue, and if you really enjoy it, there is a natural progression to ? wait for it ? hiking. Walking and hiking can also be group activities and you may have friends or family members who decide to join you and increase their fitness levels as well. Don't overlook health clubs, aerobic classes, dancing lessons, or aquatic classes. There are fitness classes for every age group and level, and there are personal trainers who will design a fitness program just for you. If you ever thought you would like to tap dance or belly-dance, get out there and do it. Time is moving on, and to stay healthy, you must move with it.
Eat Well and Take Your Supplements
Eating nutritiously means choosing foods that provide you with the right amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, as well as vitamins and minerals. Minimum levels that are required to keep you from suffering from a deficiency in one of more of these elements is not the same thing as obtaining sufficient quantities to reach an optimum level of health and to maximize your body's ability to fight disease. Even if you make a conscientious effort to choose foods from each of the food groups so that you are eating a balanced diet every day (and how likely is that?), you might still lack a particular nutrient that your body requires. Soils in which we grow fruits and vegetables are often depleted in nutrients, which means the foods grown in these soils are depleted, too. Nutrients can also be lost in the shipping, storing, preserving, and even the cooking of food. Does this mean you have to eat only fresh, organic food ? preferable grown by yourself ? and most of it raw? Yum, yum. Fortunately, there is another way. You can add nutrients to your diet by taking a multivitamin supplement, and you can choose one that has been formulated for your sex, your stage of life, and your particular needs.
Vitamins and mineral are known as micronutrients because only microscopic amounts are needed in comparison to the amount of protein, carbohydrate, and fat we should consume and the quantity of water we should drink each day. As small as these amounts are, they are essential to life and health, and you may need more than normal amounts of some of them because of your particular circumstance: you are recovering from surgery or an illness or you are under a lot of stress; you smoke or drink a lot; or you are on a restricted diet or trying to lose weight.
Women in their forties are usually still menstruating and may be also be bearing and/or raising children as well as working at full-time jobs outside the home. They need particular nutrients for this stressful stage of life, and must also prepare their bodies for the following decade which brings the menopause years. Women in their forties, therefore, should eat foods low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Women should also take a daily supplement that includes:
? Calcium (300 to 1200 mg) to protect themselves from osteoporosis
? Magnesium (400 to 800 mg.) to assist in relieving PMS, or premenstrual tension
? Iron (40 mg.) to ensure sufficient iron levels which may be lowered by menstruating
? Vitamin E (200 to 600 IUs) to protect against cell-damaging free radicals
In their forties, men, like their female counterparts, are also stressed by combining work and parenting roles and need the same well-balanced diet, low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Men should take a daily supplement that includes:
? Beta-carotene, or vitamin A (5,000 IUs) to help prevent cancer, stroke, and heart disease, and to help lower cholesterol levels
? Vitamin E (400 IUs) to protect against coronary artery disease and poor circulation
For good health nutrition is of paramount importance, which means eating balanced meals and taking one or more daily supplements designed with your needs in mind. A multivitamin will give you all the vitamins and minerals necessary to sustain life and health and you should choose one that has been formulated for your sex and your stage of life. Remember to take your supplements with water at mealtime to help increase their absorption and to take advantage of the synergy that occurs when nutrients act together. For a healthy lifestyle in your forties, you should also make time for regular exercise. Go for it.
Scott Gray is currently a freelance writer and enjoys providing tips to consumers who are in the market for all types of vitamins, vitamins and vitamins.
efficient cleaning crew Lake Forest ..Food is one of our most basic needs. However, in... Read More
The more I study health and fitness, the more convinced... Read More
While America has given birth to the song "Young at... Read More
HGH is an exciting new phenomenon, which aspires to help... Read More
It's green, it's valuable, and it can vastly improve your... Read More
Is there an alternative to statin drugs such as Lipitor... Read More
It's unfortunate but many people have digestive systems that find... Read More
Zma is a unique combination of vitamins and minerals that... Read More
Haven't heard of fucose? Think it's the latest teen dance... Read More
Most people understand the concept of vitamin and mineral supplementation,... Read More
PART TWOFor those of you that read my previous article... Read More
HMB stands for beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate. It is a metabolite of... Read More
Did you know that when we breath oxygen, it interacts... Read More
One of the most apparent influences modern times has brought... Read More
In a perfect world, your children would eat a balanced... Read More
As I have become more involved in using functional nutritional... Read More
The Greek word "Glyco" means, "Sugar". Most people think of... Read More
Chromium picolinate supplement combines the essential trace mineral Chromium with... Read More
Many millions of people are affected by pain and suffering... Read More
Fiber supplements can be tremendously beneficial for IBS sufferers. Although... Read More
OK, first let's get something straight here...If you think that... Read More
Proper nutrition is fundamental to optimizing your health. By eating... Read More
There are a number of pros and cons for vitamin... Read More
During the past few years, I've become more interested in... Read More
Vitamins are organic compounds that the human body cannot produce... Read More
green cleaning service Deerfield ..With dietary supplements making their way in our daily life,... Read More
You've probably been eating blueberries since you were a little... Read More
Do you ever find yourself asking any or all of... Read More
Since its discovery in the late 1950???s Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)... Read More
Rhodiola rosea is available commercially as a supplement and rhodiola... Read More
Vitamin supplement - why is it important?Vitamin supplement or supplements... Read More
"High-dose pharmaceutical-grade fish oil is as close to a medical... Read More
Actually, my headache is not the result of just thinking... Read More
The skeletal muscle component known as creatine is not only... Read More
The body is just mind-bogglingly amazing. I mean, when you... Read More
Did you know that most store bought vitamins and minerals... Read More
PART TWOFor those of you that read my previous article... Read More
OK, first let's get something straight here...If you think that... Read More
Taurine is the second most abundant amino acid in the... Read More
Part 1:A "better nutritional program" means the introduction of foods... Read More
Over the last 2 years, the link between weight gain... Read More
Diet Supplement ? when are they used?Why diet supplement is... Read More
Coral Calcium is an excellent source of readily accessible and... Read More
April 14,2005 federal judge Tena Campbell of the federal district... Read More
How can I improve my health and lifestyle beyond diet... Read More
L glutamine is an amino acid occurring abundantly within the... Read More
ImmunPlex? is an undenatured whey protein isolate that contains many... Read More
As much as we would like to deny it, the... Read More
It's never too late to change your habits, and if... Read More
Moderate amounts of vitamin E in the diet can protect... Read More
Nutritional Supplements |