Article By:If you want to know the secret to keeping your doctor’s visits at a minimum, look to your kitchen. Unfortunately, as men get older, their chances of developing health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, high blood sugar, diabetes, ED, and prostate cancer increase. None of those conditions are inevitable, of course, but lifestyle habits — particularly how you eat — can make a huge difference in how healthy you remain.
You can reduce the risk of these conditions by improving your diet, focusing on foods that have been shown to boost health and reduce the likelihood of a scary diagnosis.
Here are five of the best foods older men should add to their diets, and why.
1. Eggs
”As men age, their muscle mass decreases,” says Jim White, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a personal trainer in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“Eggs are a great source of protein,” he says, and that can help with the dwindling muscle mass. Although the pendulum has swung back and forth on the healthfulness of eggs, most experts see a role for them in our diet. Eggs also have lutein, which may reduce the risk of the macular degeneration, an eye condition that can cause blindness. Just don’t overdo it, because too much cholesterol can be a problem.
2. Berries
Berries may reduce the risk of cancer, says Deepak Talreja, MD, a cardiologist at Eastern Virginia University Medical School in Norfolk.
Research is ongoing, but some studies have found that blueberries, for instance, inhibit inflammation, which may decrease the risk of some cancers. A research review examining the anti-cancer properties of blueberries, published in the October 2013 issue of Anticancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, concluded that the little blue orbs might help inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Blueberries aren’t the only berries that might help fight cancer. A diet that includes freeze-dried black raspberries and strawberries inhibited esophageal cancer by 30 to 70 percent and colon cancer by 80 percent, according to studies on rats done at the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center in Milwaukee. Whether humans would experience the same anti-cancer benefits has yet to be proven.
3. Avocados
Like you needed a new reason to indulge in guacamole: Avocados are loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that may help keep cholesterol levels low. And that’s something that men need as they age, White says. One medium California avocado has about 230 calories, but it also has about 10 grams (g) of fiber and about 20g of fat. Plus, avocados have also been linked to weight loss and lower levels of inflammation.
4. Green Leafy Vegetables
Dark green vegetables are good for your brain health and reproductive health. Spinach is high in lutein and can even increase blood flow, helping with many bodily functions. Green leafy vegetables are high in folate and potassium, plus they are a great nondairy source for calcium, which is good for your bones. Many people do not realize that men are at risk for osteoporosis too. A study reported that that men who ate greater amounts of leafy green vegetables had a 34% reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer.
