Tips to help you live to a ripe old age - Maintain your vim and vigour - As one of the Golden Girls memorably put it: “The older you get, the better you get, unless you’re a banana.”
So there’s no need to let yourself go soft and soggy just because you’ve passed retirement.
The core tenets of any healthy lifestyle may be the same for all ages – good diet, exercise, cut down alcohol and don’t smoke. But for the older generations there are extra steps you can take to keep yourself fit well into your golden years.
And the rewards are plentiful: bags of energy, reduced risks of mobility problems and illnesses such as heart disease, stroke and cancer, not to mention an active sex life…
With The 50+ Show - the largest exhibition for mature visitors in the UK - coming to Glasgow this weekend (November 11-12) we show you how to maintain that vim and vigour for years to come:
Keep checking
Prevention is better than cure. As the Department of Health points out: "Taking full advantage of health checks and services could help keep you up and running for longer. You might be years away from worries about mobility, but accessing services now is the best way to help protect your independence in the future."
They include regular sight tests, free every two years for those in their 60s and yearly for those 70-plus. Getting your eyes checked can help catch conditions such as glaucoma – a cause of blindness if left untreated - early on.
There are also regular free screenings for cancers, such as breast checks for the over-50s and bowel checks for the over-60s.
Get fit feet
Looking after your feet is key to living an independent, active life. If you neglect them you are more likely to develop conditions such as blisters, corns and infections, plus foot problems can quickly lead to knee, hip and back pain.
Podiatrist Emma Supple says: "Go to see a professional for a foot MOT every six months and never put up with foot pain as if it is normal. Your feet shouldn’t hurt."
If you are having any problems, see your GP as they can refer you to a chiropodist or podiatrist on the NHS.
Otherwise, make sure you regularly cut and file your nails, keep skin moisturised, check for inflammation, cracks or signs of infection like nail fungus and keep your feet clean, dry, mobile and warm.
Stay immune
At 65 you can ask for a free vaccination to reduce the risk of catching flu, as well as another that offers protection against infections such as pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis. Ask your GP for advice.
Get moving
Adults aged 65 and over spend an average minimum of 10 hours a day sitting or lying down. But inactivity can lead to higher rates of falls, obesity, depression, heart disease and more.
“As people get older and their bodies decline in function, physical activity helps to slow that decline,” says health promotion consultant Dr Nick Cavill.
Make sure you get 150 minutes’ exercise each week – and that doesn’t mean shopping, cooking or housework. The effort must be enough to increase your heart rate.
So go for brisk walks, take up water aerobics, play doubles tennis or push a lawn mower to get the blood pumping. And include muscle-strengthening activities such as yoga or pilates.
Eat well
Whatever your age, a balanced diet is important. But there are some specific tips for the over-50s:
Also cut salt to reduce blood pressure and try not to eat liver products more than once a week as it can lead to too much vitamin A, increasing the risk of bone fracture.
If your appetite is lacking, as can often happen as we get older, make sure you eat smaller meals more often and supplement them with snacks such as fruit, nuts and whole-grain toast.
Get some lovin’
It’s important to keep tabs on your relationship over 50. As circumstances change, children move out, retirement looms, relationships can suffer.
Don’t let complacency sink in – get to know your partner all over again by arranging trips out, making time to talk about your hopes for the future and taking up new pursuits together such as dancing or visiting the theatre.
And, as the NHS Live Well site notes: “Injecting a little passion into your life will put a spring in your step and keep you feeling young. Take time to enjoy and appreciate each other.”
Do something new
Don’t let life get routine and mundane - draw up a list of things you have always wanted to do or see, and try to tick at least one new thing off every few months. For instance, visit a city you’ve never been to, take up a hobby such as pottery or ballroom dancing, or enrol in evening classes or a degree course.
Get brain fit
Not going to work doesn’t mean your brain has to retire, too. Keep mentally fit by playing crosswords or Sudoku, taking up meditation, reading more and watching TV less, and learning a foreign language.
The 50+ Show is at The SECC, Glasgow from November 11-12. See 50plusshow.com for details ( yahoo )
So there’s no need to let yourself go soft and soggy just because you’ve passed retirement.
The core tenets of any healthy lifestyle may be the same for all ages – good diet, exercise, cut down alcohol and don’t smoke. But for the older generations there are extra steps you can take to keep yourself fit well into your golden years.
And the rewards are plentiful: bags of energy, reduced risks of mobility problems and illnesses such as heart disease, stroke and cancer, not to mention an active sex life…
With The 50+ Show - the largest exhibition for mature visitors in the UK - coming to Glasgow this weekend (November 11-12) we show you how to maintain that vim and vigour for years to come:
Keep checking
Prevention is better than cure. As the Department of Health points out: "Taking full advantage of health checks and services could help keep you up and running for longer. You might be years away from worries about mobility, but accessing services now is the best way to help protect your independence in the future."
They include regular sight tests, free every two years for those in their 60s and yearly for those 70-plus. Getting your eyes checked can help catch conditions such as glaucoma – a cause of blindness if left untreated - early on.
There are also regular free screenings for cancers, such as breast checks for the over-50s and bowel checks for the over-60s.
Get fit feet
Looking after your feet is key to living an independent, active life. If you neglect them you are more likely to develop conditions such as blisters, corns and infections, plus foot problems can quickly lead to knee, hip and back pain.
Podiatrist Emma Supple says: "Go to see a professional for a foot MOT every six months and never put up with foot pain as if it is normal. Your feet shouldn’t hurt."
If you are having any problems, see your GP as they can refer you to a chiropodist or podiatrist on the NHS.
Otherwise, make sure you regularly cut and file your nails, keep skin moisturised, check for inflammation, cracks or signs of infection like nail fungus and keep your feet clean, dry, mobile and warm.
Stay immune
At 65 you can ask for a free vaccination to reduce the risk of catching flu, as well as another that offers protection against infections such as pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis. Ask your GP for advice.
Get moving
Adults aged 65 and over spend an average minimum of 10 hours a day sitting or lying down. But inactivity can lead to higher rates of falls, obesity, depression, heart disease and more.
“As people get older and their bodies decline in function, physical activity helps to slow that decline,” says health promotion consultant Dr Nick Cavill.
Make sure you get 150 minutes’ exercise each week – and that doesn’t mean shopping, cooking or housework. The effort must be enough to increase your heart rate.
So go for brisk walks, take up water aerobics, play doubles tennis or push a lawn mower to get the blood pumping. And include muscle-strengthening activities such as yoga or pilates.
Eat well
Whatever your age, a balanced diet is important. But there are some specific tips for the over-50s:
- Digestive problems can get worse with age, so eat fibre-rich foods, e.g. brown pasta, whole-grain rice and lentils.
- Iron gives energy, so go for lean red meat (though no more than 70g a day), oily fish, eggs and green vegetables.
- Calcium-rich foods help stave off osteoporosis, so good sources are low fat milk, cheese and yoghurt as well as soya, broccoli and cabbage.
Also cut salt to reduce blood pressure and try not to eat liver products more than once a week as it can lead to too much vitamin A, increasing the risk of bone fracture.
If your appetite is lacking, as can often happen as we get older, make sure you eat smaller meals more often and supplement them with snacks such as fruit, nuts and whole-grain toast.
Get some lovin’
It’s important to keep tabs on your relationship over 50. As circumstances change, children move out, retirement looms, relationships can suffer.
Don’t let complacency sink in – get to know your partner all over again by arranging trips out, making time to talk about your hopes for the future and taking up new pursuits together such as dancing or visiting the theatre.
And, as the NHS Live Well site notes: “Injecting a little passion into your life will put a spring in your step and keep you feeling young. Take time to enjoy and appreciate each other.”
Do something new
Don’t let life get routine and mundane - draw up a list of things you have always wanted to do or see, and try to tick at least one new thing off every few months. For instance, visit a city you’ve never been to, take up a hobby such as pottery or ballroom dancing, or enrol in evening classes or a degree course.
Get brain fit
Not going to work doesn’t mean your brain has to retire, too. Keep mentally fit by playing crosswords or Sudoku, taking up meditation, reading more and watching TV less, and learning a foreign language.
The 50+ Show is at The SECC, Glasgow from November 11-12. See 50plusshow.com for details ( yahoo )
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