To help AARP members make healthier choices, we pulled together a list of 25 Foods to Skip After Age 50 — plus expert advice for what to eat and drink instead. We asked readers to let us know about foods they avoid as they get older. Some of our readers are making incredibly healthy choices. I should incorporate some of their tips into my diet. Here are a few for inspiration:
I am 73 and almost ten years ago I decided to go completely off sugar. The only fruit I eat are a couple of berries, half of a green apple, and a bit of lemon juice. I buy grass-fed, organic beef, organic air-chilled chicken, and wild-caught fish. I eat grass-fed cow butter. Sometimes I make veggie burgers using nuts as my base. I grow my own kale, so they have a bunch of kale, peppers and crookneck squash in them. The only grains I eat are sorghum, teff, quinoa, brown rice, and wild rice. The only thing I drink is filtered water. So no coffee, tea, alcohol. No bread. If I make a cheeseburger, I use lettuce instead of bread. I have to make everything from scratch. Due to some
health issues, this will be my diet for the rest of my life. That is fine with me because this diet makes me feel like a teenager. Sugar is the devil! —Elizabeth Jarvis
I've basically been a vegetarian for 40 years but in younger years, I occasionally enjoyed fast food like French fries, pizza, coffee beverages loaded with sugar and whipped cream, and sodas. Now I don't eat processed food. Everything is fresh. I only drink water, lemon water (fresh squeezed) and sugarless jasmine or herbal tea. Snacks were occasionally cookies, pie, cheesecake (my favorite), ice cream and brownies. Now I opt for carrot or zucchini sticks with hummus, sorbet or sherbet, plain Greek yogurt or skim cottage cheese with fresh fruit. Because of heart and kidney issues, I avoid sodium and instead use fresh herbs and spices. Instead of
cream or milk, I use almond milk. I use plant-based butter and olive oil instead of real butter. Finally, I still keep working out and going to the gym. —Judi, 74, Richmond, Virginia
Did you have the chance to read Caution, These Drugs Cause Memory Loss? Do you feel that your memory isn't as strong as it used to be? Could medications be to blame? Tell me about it at betsy@aarp.org, and we may publish your stories.
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