Top 3 Diets for Women Over 50
Written by TYE Medical on Apr 11th 2023
For many of us, as we press toward 50, the need for more awareness of our eating habits becomes apparent. Due to changes in activity, hormones, and metabolism, we can’t just “wing it” when it comes to food.
Mindless eating wreaks more havoc on our bodies than ever before. That’s why there is no shortage of recommended diets for women over 50. In fact, you’ll find enough options to make your head spin. How can you tell what’s right for you? And which ones are effective and safe? Here’s our top 3 diets for mature women who want to be more mindful of their daily eating habits.
What an Effective Diet Looks Like Over 50
As you seek to age gracefully, you want to maintain a healthy weight. That is one of the driving motivations for dieting over 50. However, by this stage of your life, you’re most likely wiser and more health conscious than during your younger years. At this season of life, most women are also looking for a diet that will promote their cardiovascular health, support brain function, improve overall health, or help curb menopause symptoms.
Here is what to look for as you consider an effective diet for your needs:
- Adaptable: You want a diet plan that you can modify according to your own health goals, nutritional needs, and personal preferences.
- Simple and affordable: It’s best to find a diet plan that provides easy-to-follow guidelines with simple recipes and helpful shopping lists. But be sure to avoid diets that require you to purchase supplements and other products. This can be pricey and is often unnecessary.
- Not too restrictive: You won’t have to limit yourself to an eating plan with a narrow selection of foods that offers inadequate nutrition and calories.
- Backed by Science: You want scientific evidence that the diet is effective and has health benefits.
- Balanced nutrition: You get all the protein, healthy fats, and quality carbs you need along with all the micronutrients found in plant-based sources.
1. Top “General” Diet: the Mediterranean Diet
This probably isn’t news since it has been doctor recommended for many years. It’s a classic diet for everyone, especially as they pass the age of 50 and are more prone to weight-related and cardiovascular complications such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and related conditions.
The Mediterranean Diet is largely plant-based but allows for small portions of fish, dairy, red meat, and poultry. Animal protein is allowed but minimized to reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet. This can also be helpful because many people find red meat and dairy harder to digest as they age.
This diet is based on how people ate in Greece and Southern Italy back in the 1960’s. You’ll find a majority of the eating plan includes vegetables, legumes (beans), whole grains, nuts, and fruits. A star of the Mediterranean diet is olive oil, which replaces butter as your main source of added fat.
Interested in this eating plan? You can find many resources online or try The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.
2. Top Diet for Heart Health: the DASH Diet
While the Mediterranean Diet is considered very heart healthy, those with greater concerns may want a diet specifically designed for improving heart health. DASH stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension”. It helps prevent high blood pressure and can even treat it.
This is a popular and highly-recommended diet if you have blood pressure concerns. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over 50. And the risk increases after the menopause begins.
The DASH Diet focuses on low-sodium foods and recipes while promoting choices that are high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Each of these nutrients are known to aid in reducing blood pressure. The good news is that you get to choose how much to limit your sodium intake and then can base your diet off that amount. Talk with your doctor about the level that is best for you.
If the Dash Diet sounds right for you, you can try DASH Diet for Two.
3. Top Diet for Brain Health: the MIND Diet
You won’t be surprised to find this diet on the list when you realize it’s a combination of the first two. But it’s a combination that is optimized for brain health. And it’s an important, research-backed diet since almost two-thirds of people with Alzheimer’s disease are women.
The MIND Diet [link to our published article about MIND Diet] improves overall brain health but is specifically designed to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The name stands for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay”.
Similar to the previous diets, The MIND Diet’s eating plan focuses on beans, whole grains, leafy greens, olive oil, berries, and fatty fish. But also explicitly discourages consumption of red meat, fried foods, butter, cheese, and sweets. Research shows that the more closely you stick to the eating plan, the more your risk for developing dementia is reduced.
You can find guidelines and recipes in the book The MIND Diet Plan and Cookbook.
Take some time to consider which of these eating plans best suits your health goals and needs and which is most easily integrated to your lifestyle. Then learn more about it and make the commitment.
