How to be healthy whatever your age

To help you look and feel your best, your body requires specific nutrients as you age. Find out how to be healthy whatever your age with nutritionist Sarah West’s (www.sarahwestnutrition.co.uk) top tips.

In your 20s
Healthy eating is often quite far down your list of priorities when you’re in your twenties; studies suggest that 20-somethings eat 25% more fast food than they did in their teens and that only 4% consume their five-a-day target for fruit and vegetables. However, your twenties are the ideal time to lay down a healthy foundation for the decades ahead. Bone density continues to grow until your late twenties, so nutrition for bone health is crucial at this stage to lower the risk of osteoporosis later in life. Calcium and vitamins K and D are vital and can be obtained through dairy products, green leafy vegetables, egg yolks and salmon.

In your 30s
Your 30s can be a hectic time – juggling the demands of an active social life and a career can often lead to poor food choices and eating on the run, so it’s important choose healthy convenience foods where possible. Microwavable brown rice sachets, frozen vegetables, eggs, pre-cooked prawns and wholewheat pasta are all excellent supermarket staples for this period. A women’s thirties are also their key childbearing years, making folate (and folic acid, the form used in dietary supplements and fortified foods) a key nutrient. Pregnant women and those planning to get pregnant should take 400 micrograms of folic acid in the form of a supplement, in addition to eating folate-rich foods (such as kale, spinach and broccoli).

In your 40s
Your metabolism begins to slow in your 40s. Excess weight is a risk factor for heart disease, diabetes and osteoarthritis, so it’s a very important time to focus on healthy food choices. Replacing high-glycaemic carbohydrates with smaller portions of wholegrain alternatives (plus plenty of fibre-rich fruits and vegetables) will help fill you up without adding unnecessary calories. Your levels of the hormone oestrogen also start to decline in your 40s – often causing pre-menopausal symptoms – so it can be helpful to include phytoestrogens in your diet. These are foods that possess hormone-like properties and mimic the effect of oestrogen at low doses – including soya beans, flaxseed, wholegrains, bran and beans.