10 Foods You Should Never Eat Again After Age 45

10 Foods You Should Never Eat Again After Age 45

As you’ve matured, your tastes have changed. You’ve outgrown many once-favorite foods. Chances are that sugary cereal, penny candy, and bubblegum are no longer part of your daily routine. At another time you may have subsisted on ramen noodles, peanut butter sandwiches, or delivery pizza, until your tastes, habits, or budget evolved. Now that you’re over 45, you have a new set of reasons to reexamine your diet, banish unhealthy choices, and adopt a new set of favorites. With age come changes in your metabolism, activity level, brain function, and personal priorities; now may be the time to look for healthier alternatives to some of the foods you’ve become accustomed to. Here’s a list of the top ten foods that may not be a good fit for healthy lifestyle after 45 – and a longer list of alternatives you may find that you enjoy even more. Making the switch can usher in an era of better heart health with reduced risk for cancer and diabetes, less digestive discomfort, a slimmer waistline, less chance of brain fog, healthier skin and hair, and added years of good health. A few thoughts as you start: ● Don’t feel you have to make all changes at once. You don’t even have to make all of them. Just pick two or three you like best and phase some others in over time. ● Don’t feel you have to go ‘cold turkey’ from one extreme to the other. Gradual changes are more likely to be permanent.

 Identify your excuses for making bad food choices and eliminate them. For example, you may overindulge because it’s a “special occasion.” Replace impulse eating with purposeful eating and watch your health improve day by day. ● Print this report and keep it in the same place you write out your weekly grocery list. Use it over time to swap in healthier food choices. ● Finally, for those food habits you simply can’t give up, save yourself some “cheat days”, but no more than one a week. Here’s our list of ten foods to give up after at 45, and in bold face type with each, a longer list of foods you’re apt to like better anyway. It’s your body, your health, your future – so choose your foods wisely.

1. Fried foods The more fried food you eat, the greater your risk for heart failure. That’s the conclusion of a 2015 study at Harvard Medical School, as reported by WebMD. Their recommendation: “ditch the French fries, doughnuts, crispy fried fish and chicken, and other foods cooked in fat.” 1 Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, told WebMD that greasier foods increase calorie consumption, leading to obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. "In addition,” she said, “people who eat a lot of fried foods may also consume a generally less healthy diet, consisting of more red and processed meats and fewer vegetables, beans and fruits. The bottom line is, eating fried foods once in awhile is fine but not on a daily or even a weekly basis." The good news is that finding alternatives to fried foods is easy. If you have a fondness for fish and chips, order your broiled fish with a pat of butter and eat just half an order of the fries. If you must a donut with your coffee, choose a donut hole instead; you’ll enjoy the same donut shop experience while eliminating 73% of the calories. Fast food joints known for fried food offer non-fried alternatives, like grilled chicken sandwiches. 2. Junk food Junk food is no joke. The term applies to any cheap food containing high levels of calories from sugar or fat while offering little in the way of fiber, protein, vitamins or minerals. Junk food alone is probably not going to wreck your health, but it is a contributing factor. Best of all, it’s easy to eliminate.