HOW TO Age Well

What really works and what doesn’t

- Tara Parker-Pope

While you can’t control getting older, the good news is you can slow the decline of ageing by making smart choices along the way. And it’s never too late to start. From the foods you eat and how you exercise to your friendships and retirement goals, there are simple and effective ways to keep your body tuned up and your mind tuned in. First, a note about weight. Losing just five per cent of your body weight has been shown to reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease and improve metabolic function in liver, fat and muscle tissue. While we’d all love to shed all of our extra pounds, it’s a lot easier to start with a five per cent weight loss goal and keep it off.

WHAT YOU EAT

Studies have found that eating one serving of processed meat a day, like bacon, sausage and deli meats, was associated with a 42 per cent higher risk of heart disease and 19 per cent increased risk of diabetes; other research has implicated processed meats in a higher risk for colorectal cancer. Processed meats have on average four times more sodium and 50 per cent more nitrate preservatives than unprocessed meats.

Overall, the best strategy is to skip all processed foods and beverages. This will immediately eliminate added sugars from your diet. But how do you know if a food is processed? One good indicator is if it comes packaged. Of course, some whole, unprocessed foods that are good for you come in packages. Think nuts, eggs, olive oil and milk— to name a few. Try to live by the one ingredient rule. If a packaged food contains only one ingredient (ground turkey, for instance) it’s probably a reasonable choice.