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| Healthy Foods for Women |
Here we present you a guide of 10 Best Healthy Foods for Women Over 40 because when women reach 40, they realize that eating healthy foods is more important than ever.
Women at 40s can be an unexpectedly turbulent time because of slow metabolism and other illnesses. And, they must have queries “what should you eat when you’re 40” and why it is important to keep track of your diet.
You all should know that eating healthy breakfast foods after 40 is the key to stopping belly bloating, warding off diseases, banishing unnecessary fat, and keeping your mind and body healthy. So, if you are a woman in your 40s, it's high time to supercharge your diet with some super-powerful and healthy vegetable foods.
Experts say women over 40 needs to eat because people naturally lose muscle after the age of 40, especially women after menopause. Therefore, here we are with the list of Healthy foods you should eat if you’re over 40 in the hope to motivate you and help you in staying healthy.
Here are the 10 Best Healthy Foods for Women over 40. Let’s take a detailed look.
Healthy Foods: Dry Fruits
Dry fruits are healthy, tasty, nutrition-packed, and easy to carry and make people go nuts over them will all these qualities. Dry fruits like Almonds, Dates, Pistachios, Cashews, Walnuts, Brazil Nuts, Hazelnuts, Apricots, Raisins, and Prunes are not just delicacies but are powerhouses of nutrition.
These are the dried fruits that women of all ages must include in their diet because these are known as one of the healthy breakfast foods and you can add them to vegetable desserts and vegan salads as toppings. Packed with essential fatty acids, minerals, antioxidants, and proteins are tiny factories of good health.
If you are watching your weight then you must include these dry fruits in your diet as veggie food in moderate quantity. You should limit the intake to about 20gms total of mixed dry fruits and nuts. Also, avoid snacking directly from the bag or jar because it will lead to overeating.
Calcium-Rich Foods
Calcium is very important for women’s health because women’s bones start getting weaker over 40 and the condition becomes more dangerous after menopause. And health experts say that our body has more calcium than any other mineral. Calcium helps strengthen bones, teeth, and plays an important role in heart health, nerve signaling, and muscle functions.
It is recommended for adults around 40 to intake 1000mg of calcium per day. The popular rich-in calcium foods are milk, cheese, yogurt, and other non-dairy products like leafy greens, dried fruits, tofu, seafood, and legumes.
Some seeds including pappy, sesame, and chia seeds are tiny calcium powerhouses. You can use these products in your daily diets by making veggie food and vegan soup.
Other foods like beans, lentils, salmon, dried figs, almond, whey protein, rhubarb, fortified foods like bread, tortillas, crackers, and fortified drinks like a nut and seed-based milk, orange juice, and non-dairy milk are a great source of calcium foods you should eat if you’re over 40. And, these calcium-rich healthy vegetable foods can be included as healthy lunch food and healthy dinner food in your routine as per your choice
Fresh Fruits
Women are blessed with a quality of handling different jobs at a time and dealing with period cramps, mood swings, energy drains, headaches, and other problems. And when women age, the nutrition rule for their body changes, and vitamins and minerals become even more important.
There is a simple way to add vitamins and minerals are by adding fresh fruits to diets. Fresh fruits are easy and healthy breakfast foods and a healthy choice as a vegan salad. All types of fresh fruits are popular among the 10 best healthy foods for women over 40 and for other people of all ages. According to the studies, higher intakes of vitamins, essential acids, and lower intakes of fats and carbs are associated with anti-aging properties.
Fresh fruits like Cherries, Berries, Tomatoes, Papaya, Guava, Apples, Avocados, and all other seasonal fruits have additional health benefits and may help prevent bone and muscle loss, fend off diabetes, breast cancer, and heart-related problems, and preserve eyesight and protect skin from aging and cell damages.
You can easily add your favorite fruits to your diet as healthy lunch foods and healthy dinner foods and can mix them in vegetable desserts.
Fiber-Rich Foods
Getting enough fiber is important for staying slim and aging well. It also keeps the digestive system healthy and cholesterol level lower. For women in their 40s, it is important to include fiber-rich foods in a regular diet to keep their portions in check.
As per some studies, increasing the intake of fiber by eating wholegrain will help in reducing the cholesterol level and risk of type 2 diabetes, control your weight, and prevent heart disease that may cause death.
Fiber can be found in whole grains like barley, oats, quinoa, brown rice, millet, wheat bran, buckwheat, bulgur, and more.
You can use these items and prepare healthy breakfast foods and can also make tasty vegan soups by adding your favorite toppings and seasonings. These fiber-rich items will help in improving blood sugar levels and protects you from cancer and digestive problems.
You can make healthy lunch foods from brown rice and can eat barley and oats as healthy dinner foods. It is recommended to adults to intake 25-30gm fiber per day. These fiber sources are easily available and we can add to our regular diets without making any special efforts.
Its health benefits show that women should not miss this nutrient in their regular diets. For women, it is one of the popular foods you should eat if you’re over 40.
Healthy Smoothies
Everyone loves smoothies and their great health benefits. Get your daily dose of veggies easily as if it is a treat. These smoothies can be your favorite vegetable dessert and you can add them to your diet as healthy dinner food if you are watching your health.
Smoothies are a great alternative to prepare a balanced meal that helps in the prevention of muscle loss, increase fat burning, maintain natural blood sugar level and are good for hormonal health.
If you are being strict on your weight and curves then try healthy smoothies as healthy lunch foods and see the results and feel the difference. Pick a variety of your favorite fruits like banana, berries, avocados, mango, guava, plum, peaches, cucumber, sweet potato, beetroots, beans, nut butter, lime, lemon, and prepare healthy smoothies by adding your preferred toppings.
Healthy smoothies are the perfect answer for your query “what should you eat when you’re 40?” and are easy to prepare. All you need is to use is natural sweeteners and chilled/frozen fruits to avoid sugar and ice. The best thing about smoothies is their endless options and flavors.
Foods High in Vitamin D
The Vitamin D Council recommends that healthy adult women over 40 should intake 2000 IU of Vitamin D on daily basis and if they got less or no sun exposure then increasing the intake is necessary. Non-veggie food like fatty fishes such as Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, Beef Liver, and Egg Yolks are a good source of vitamin D.
It is good to add these sources to your routine as healthy lunch foods. And healthy vegetable foods like spinach, kale, soybeans, white beans, okra, oatmeal, cereal, and orange juice are vitamin d fortified items that women should eat in their 40s. You can easily make vegan salad and vegan soup by using these vegetables and enjoy healthy breakfast foods and healthy dinner foods.
Vitamin D helps our body to absorb calcium which is important for bone health. It prevents bone deficiencies and the risk of other health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and different types of cancers. As women, these are the must-have vitamin D rich foods you should eat if you’re over 40.
B12 Foods
Vitamin B12 is a part of the B-complex family and this is one of the most essential vitamins to be added to your diet and is popular as one of the 10 best healthy foods for women over 40. Most of the vitamin B12 foods are limited to animal foods that lead to a deficiency in vegetarians.
The main source of vitamin B12 are eggs, fish, animal organ meat, clams, beef, and for people who prefer veggie foods – some fortified dairy products and cereal are the best options. For non-vegetarian people, it is easy to add these items to their diets but for people who prefer healthy vegetable foods low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt, and breakfast cereal are the best options.
Our body cannot make this nutrient on its own so it is important to add it to our diet as food items or supplements. This water-soluble nutrient plays a major role in supporting the production of DNA, maintaining brain, nerves, and blood functioning. In case of deficiencies, we have to take supplements suggested by our doctors.
Vegetables with a High Source of Potassium
Fruits and vegetables are the richest sources of potassium and if you prefer healthy vegetable foods over junk then you may be getting plenty of it in your diet. You can use the potassium-rich fruits and vegetables in preparing the vegan salad and vegetable dessert and enjoy healthy lunch food or healthy dinner foods as per your choice.
Bananas are popularly known as high-potassium food and you might be surprised to know that only 100gm of broccoli or spinach can add 5-7% of potassium to your daily diet. Other than bananas and greens, soybeans, potatoes, kidney beans, corn, avocados, and lentils are a nutritious way to increase potassium in your diet.
It is easy to prepare vegan soup using these veggie foods like leafy greens and beans and to add to your daily diet.
Potassium is linked to reducing the risk of heart disease and it is one of the necessary foods you should eat when you’re over 40 to improve your metabolism. You should intake the right balance of potassium because its high or lower amounts can be dangerous. So, it is suggested to consult your specialist for a balanced diet.
Foods High in Vitamin C
For adults the age of 40s, the recommended amount of Vitamin C in a daily diet is 65-90mg and the maximum amount is 2000mg a day. Although Vitamin C is important to avoid certain diseases, it’s too much intake can be harmful and may cause diarrhea. So, Vitamin C is what should you eat when you’re 40? to improve immunity and fight various seasonal diseases.
Regular intake of Vitamin C rich foods showed decreased inflammation and reduction in oxidative stress. The level of vitamin C is maintained in cells and acts as an oxidant and helps in weight loss. Vitamin C rich fruits are packed with anemia-fighting folate and boost your immune system.
Citrus fruits and juices like oranges, grapefruit, and pineapple, mango, papaya, kiwi fruit, watermelon, and all types of berries have the highest source of vitamin C. You can eat these fruits raw or can make vegan salad and vegetable desserts and enjoy anytime as healthy breakfast foods or healthy lunch foods.
These sources will naturally brighten your dish and supply a good amount of Vitamin C. You can also have these sources of vitamin C as healthy dinner foods to enjoy good health.
Water
As we age, hydration is the key to impacting every organ, cell, and tissue in the human body. According to specialists around the world, it is highly recommended to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water per day. And, if you are working out ad going to gyms then you should drink more than 8 glasses. Healthy vegetable foods with an adequate quantity of water will keep you healthy and hydrated.
The color of urine can tell if you are getting enough water. The light yellow color of urine shows that you are adequately hydrated and your body is getting what is required.
Dark yellow or orange color indicates that you are drinking less water than your body’s requirements and its clear color indicates that you are drinking more than required water and it is just passing through your body.
Staying healthy and keeping the weight maintained after 40 can be hard, especially if you have any health issues or don't have time to exercise. It's time to add these 10 Best Healthy Foods for Women over 40 to your diet ASAP so you can look and feel your best when you get older.
The healthiest diets for women over 40 require some dietary adjustments because this age is a great time to practice a little extra self-care to nourish your body. We all know that protein-rich foods are among the top foods to eat to lose weight and Fresh fruits, like apples and berries, are also great in place of high-fat.
But, these “Foods you should eat if you’re Over 40” don’t work the same for all because different bodies have different requirements. The age of 40s is not doom and gloom – this age needs only little adjustments.
You can talk to the expert diet planners and nutritionists to guide you with a balanced and healthy diet as per your age and health conditions and solve your curiosity on “What should you eat when you’re 40?” The above list will help you in staying healthy in your older days.