What Should Be The Diet Of Women After 40?

Generally, women get so tangled in family responsibilities, that they blindside their health, which in old age causes numerous health issues. But to keep all the health conditions at bay, it is important for women, especially after the age of 40 years to pay attention to their health as well as their diet. Here are a few things they should keep in mind.

What Should Be The Diet Of Women After 40?

Right nutrition and a healthy diet are a must for people of all ages for both physical as well as mental health. Especially for women, a good diet is important because their body goes through many changes in every stage of their life. When women turn 40, the body requires many essential nutrients, therefore, a proper diet is necessary. Dr. Sangeeta Malu, Nutritionist at MGM Medical College and Nehru Children’s Hospital and Research Center, Indore informed the ETV Bharat Sukhibhava team more about how women’s diet should be after 40.

Focus On What You Eat

Dr. Sangeeta Malu says that as soon as women cross the age of 40, their body's metabolism starts decreasing as well as their hormonal level also decreases. Their digestive system is also affected. Along with this, menopause usually occurs in women between 45 and 50 years of age, although in some women, symptoms of menopause occur before 45 years of age. Therefore, to protect the body from these and many other similar problems, it is very important that women pay special attention to what they eat or drink. They must remember that it should be low in calories, but high in calcium, iron, protein, and fiber.

Controlled And balanced Diet

Since after the age of 40, the body’s metabolism begins to lower down, it is important to have a controlled diet. At this age, women should reduce their caffeine and alcohol intake. Because caffeine and alcohol promote menopause and alcohol also affects the heart and kidneys. Apart from this, salt and sugar must be consumed in small quantities only. The reason behind this is that since our body functions begin to slow down at this age, large quantities of any kind of food can cause indigestion. Therefore, the quantity of food should be consumed according to the body’s ability to digest it.

Reduce Calories And Fat In Diet

Dr. Malu says that whether there is a disturbance in metabolism, imbalance in diet, problem in hormones, or any disease, after the age of 40, the problem of weight gain starts appearing in women due to various reasons. Therefore, it is important to control the amount of calorie consumption.

Calories in our body are acquired from carbs and fats. At this age, women require about 2000 to 2500 Kcal per day. Fat i.e. Ghee / Oil is used a lot in our Indian food. And consumption of 25 to 30 grams of oil or ghee per day is very important for the body of women after the age of 40. The remaining quantity of required fat is obtained from other foods that we eat.

Protein
Dr. Malu says that it is one of the most essential nutrients. Generally, after the age of 40, degeneration of protein starts not only in women but also in men. And during this time, more protein is required by the body to function properly. 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per kg of weight should be consumed. This can be acquired from both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items. But it is also important to know that the protein obtained from vegetarian food is comparatively better. Hence, for this, dairy products like milk, curd, pulses, beans can be consumed.

Vitamin D

Along with protein, calcium deficiency also begins in women after 40. One of the reasons for this is a change in hormones. In such a situation, the ability of the body to absorb calcium in the bones decreases, which can further lead to bone-related problems. Therefore, for calcium, different types of cereals, dairy products, and fruits should be included in the daily diet.

Vitamin D deficiency with age also affects the functioning of the body's organs. It also increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. Therefore, many health problems can be avoided by just meeting our body’s vitamin D needs. There are many food sources of vitamin D, but after a certain age, one may not be able to fulfill the need, thus, vitamin D3 supplements can be taken on medical advice.

Iron

Dr. Malu says, in women, iron deficiency is seen at every age, but after 40, this problem usually increases. In such a situation, women should consume jaggery, sugarcane juice, leafy vegetables, pomegranate, sesame, flaxseed, and groundnut in large quantities.

Magnesium

Magnesium is essential because it not only helps in controlling blood pressure but also works to transport calcium to bones, with the help of vitamin D. Therefore, magnesium supplements can be taken on medical advice.

How to Plan A Diet?

Indian women can plan their daily diet in the following manner:

1. Breakfast
   For morning breakfast milk, oats or fruits like papaya, pomegranate, apple, etc. can be taken. Apart from this, you can have tea, green tea, boiled egg, ragi, idli, and upma.
2. Lunch
   For lunch, you can eat chapati, rice, dal (lentils or pulses)curd, roasted papad, dates and gram flour ladoos, etc.
3. Tea Time
   Around 4 pm, you can have milk or tea with two salty biscuits. And, at around 6 pm, you can treat yourself to some light snacks like dhokla.
4. Dinner
   A bowl of lentils or vegetables, two chapatis, soup, fruits/vegetable salad, or juice can be consumed at night.

Dr. Malu informs that the ideal time to have dinner is during sunset, between 6:30-7 pm. But, if due to some work or other reasons, you have to delay your dinner time, it is better you eat easily digestible food in small quantities only, like porridge (Dalia), khichdi, soup, etc.

For more information in this regard, you can contact Dr. Sangeeta Malu at dr.sangeetamalu@gmail.com or smart6sangeeta@yahoo.com.