Maintain Your Heart Health After The Age Of 50, Avoid Consumption Of These Foods And Drinks

Illustration of maintaining a healthy heart after the age of 50 (Pexels/Mikhail Nilov)

JAKARTA – As people get older, the challenge of maintaining health is not getting easier. The reason is, the organs work longer and tend to store fat in the middle of the body. This is a risk to the heart, which according to the American Heart Association, in the 50s and 60s the body is easier to gain weight.

Assuming that you don't smoke, dietitians recommend avoiding this list of foods for a variety of reasons. Check the explanation and choose the healthiest foods to protect your heart.

Fatty and fried meat

Rebecca Schilling, RDN., LDN., registered dietitian for USA RX, says if you want to keep your heart healthy after age 50, it's time to limit your saturated fat intake. Foods high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats and fried foods, can create a storm by clogging arteries, increasing bad cholesterol, and contributing to high blood pressure.

Schilling's recommendation, limit one meat meal to a maximum of 3 ounces or the size of the palm of your hand. Cut and discard the fat, avoid fatty dairy, and increase the amount of fruit, vegetables, and fiber you eat each day.

Foods to avoid to maintain a healthy heart after age 50 (Pexels/Gary Barnes)

Potato chips and soda

This savory and festive combination needs to be avoided because it worsens heart health. Because the combination of both contains sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar. According to Melissa Mitri, a registered dietitian for Wellness Verge, foods that increase your risk of gaining weight are simply delicious. However, you need to avoid these two food combinations or at least limit them in order to maintain health.

Diet drink

Drinks that claim to support a healthy diet, otherwise known as non-sugar drinks, sound smart. But this is counterproductive, because these drinks contain artificial sweeteners that are linked to an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease, explains Arika Hoscheit, RDN., a dietitian and nutritionist at Paloma Health.

According to a study in Diabetes Care, it was found that people who drank diet soda daily had a 36 percent greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome and a 67 percent greater risk of type 2 diabetes when compared to non-diet-soda drinkers.

Hoscheit explains that the artificial sweetness of diet drinks and no calories make it difficult for the body to measure calorie density. The effect will increase appetite and disrupt the gut microbiome, resulting in glucose intolerance and a sugar craving. So, Hoscheit advises, choose mineral water over sodas or diet drinks with less sugar.

Donuts

Why donuts? Because this tasty, sweet and delicious round food is made from flour with simple fibers and processed using deep fried. According to Susan Bowerman, RD., a board-certified specialist in obesity, weight management, and senior director of nutrition education worldwide for Herbalife Nutrition, donuts contain the causes of weight gain and an increased risk of heart disease.

Those are the foods you need to avoid for good heart health. Next, choose the best foods from natural ingredients, minimally processed, and low in fat. In addition, live a healthy life with regular exercise, quality rest, and adequate hydration.