7 Best Diets For Women Over 50

As women approach 50, they go through various side effects of aging, including menopause.

The 50s is a time when women experience hormone fluctuations, which may cause changes in weight and metabolism.

Women above 50 may also have other conditions such as insulin resistance, changes in the regulation of blood sugars, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis.

Heart issues may become an issue in women too, especially those who are overweight.

As a result, women need to consider altering their diets to help better adapt to the changes their bodies are going through.

Here, we share the best diets for women above 50 that can help ensure proper weight management, a healthy muscle mass, and hormone balance when coupled with good sleep and an active lifestyle.

• The Mediterranean Diet 

Rated among the healthiest diets, the Mediterranean diet is a good choice for women over 50 who want to lose weight. This eating plan features a style of eating based on the traditional foods of Mediterranean countries such as Greece, France, Italy, and Spain.

Unlike other diets, the Mediterranean diet plan mostly focuses on including particular food groups instead of counting calories or tracking macronutrients.

Some of the key components of the dietary plan are fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes, leafy greens, and whole grain.

It also restricts fewer health ingredients such as sweets, red meat, and junk food, hence reducing the calories you eat.  

Although this dietary plan focuses predominantly on plant foods, other ingredients such as seafood, eggs, poultry, and dairy are also enjoyed in moderation.

Certain types of alcohol, including red wine, can be included in the dietary plan but only in moderation. Alcohol should be limited to one serving a day for men and women.

Another crucial component of the dietary plan is regular physical activity or training.

You can walk, row, cycle, run, play sports, and lift weights to increase your metabolism, burn calories, and promote your health. 

There are several health benefits of the Mediterranean eating style, among them, being weight loss.

This meal plan encourages consuming various nutrient-rich foods while limiting added sugars and processed foods, which often are high in calories.

As a result, pairing the dietary plan with a healthy lifestyle and good sleep can help promote weight loss among women above 50.

Additionally, the Mediterranean meal plan helps improve heart health.

It includes nuts and olive oil, ingredients that help improve cholesterol and systolic blood pressure levels, which are considered risk factors for heart disease.

It also protects against type-2 diabetes and inflammation.  Check out our comprehensive guide here.

• DASH Diet

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

It is a meal plan created for people wanting to prevent high blood pressure, increase metabolism, and lower the risk of having heart disease.

The dietary program focuses on vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and lean meats for protein.

Researchers have noticed that hypertension is much less common among people who follow plant-based meal plans, such as vegetarians and vegans.

That is why the dietary plan emphasizes vegetables and fruits while including some lean protein such as fish, beans, and chicken.

However, it is low in salt, red meat, and added sugar. 

Reduced salt consumption in the dietary plan is one of the things that help reduce the risk of hypertension.

The typical DASH meal program recommends less than a teaspoon of sodium a day, which aligns with most national guidelines. 

It also helps with weight loss and reduces the risk of chronic medical conditions like cancer.

Chances are that if you have hypertension, you have been told to lose weight. Often, the more your weight, the higher the pressure you are likely to experience.  

• Paleo Diet

The paleo meal program contains high protein and low carbs.

The eating plan is modeled after early humans’ diets.

It is believed that hunter-gatherer ancestors experienced lower rates of chronic health issues like diabetes and obesity.

Paleo can help enhance metabolism, improve health, and boost weight loss. However, it may be too restrictive to follow, so talk to your doctor before you go paleo. 

Since the paleo concept emerged during the 1970s, the eating plan has gained widespread popularity.

Paleo encourages eating low-carb foods and whole foods such as vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, and poultry. 

Because the meal plan encourages consuming whole foods and limiting processed foods, it aids in weight loss.

It reduces your calorie intake. It also has high amounts of protein, which can lower the levels of ghrelin, the “hunger hormone,” allowing you to feel full for longer.

As a result, a dieter may lose significant weight. Paleo also promotes heart health.  Check out our comprehensive guide to the paleo diet here.

• Keto Diet

A keto dietary plan is mainly a low-carb, high-healthy fat, and moderate-protein meal program.

The dietary regimen requires that a woman cuts on carbs and increases fat consumption.

As a result, the meal plan lowers your calories and helps burn up the stored fats in muscle.

A keto eating routine has been shown to help increase metabolism and boost weight loss.

It is a suitable diet plan for 50-year-old women to lose weight. Consuming low carbohydrates is beneficial to your health.

When you eat low carbs, you also help shed excess fat without creating the effect of intense cravings.

When you have low sugar levels, you release ketones from fat to provide an alternative energy source.

Ketones are produced when a person cuts on their carb intake and eats the right amount of proteins. Low carb intake reduces the calories you put in.

When you eat keto-friendly meals, the liver is able to convert fat into ketones.

The ketones are used as energy. This state where fat is utilized as a source of energy instead of carbs is known as ketosis.

When you are in this state, you dramatically have increased the burning of fats as fuel, potentially helping with weight loss.

A ketogenic diet needs to have about 5 percent carbs, 25 percent protein, and 75 percent fat.

It is possible to check if you are in ketosis by using test strips available at the local pharmacy. The test strips are used to perform a urine test. 

A ketogenic meal plan can be as effective in weight loss in women above the age of 50 as consuming a low-fat diet.

In addition, this eating plan can help with prediabetes and diabetes. 

Another health benefit of the keto diet is that it helps promote heart health and reduce heart disease because it improves risk factors such as hypertension, HDL cholesterol levels, and fat.

Currently, the keto dietary plan is being explored to see if it can provide additional treatment for cancer since it can help slow tumor growth.

When you eat ketogenic meals, it helps minimize and control the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease as well as its progression in women over 50. 

A keto diet includes foods such as fatty fish, meat, eggs, nuts and seeds, healthy oils, cheese, and butter.

It also features avocados, low-carb veggies, herbs, spices, pepper, and salt. Talk to a doctor about switching to a keto dietary plan.

Check out our comprehensive guide to the keto diet here.

• MIND Diet

The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) is a dietary plan that aims at reducing dementia and the decrease in brain health, which often occur at old age.

It combines two popular diets, the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension and the Mediterranean diet. 

Both diets recommend consuming a lot of fruit per day.

Although eating fruits has not been linked with improving the function of the brain, consuming berries have been.

The MIND dietary regimen recommends eating berries. Among the foods people can eat while on the MIND diet are green, leafy veggies, berries, nuts, olive oil, beans, whole grains, fish, and poultry.

You can drink wine too.  You also need to be active in order to benefit from the nutritional content of the foods.

The MIND dietary plan can also reduce oxidative stress as well as inflammation.

Oxidative stress arises when free radicals accumulate in your body in large amounts.

Free radicals often cause damage to cells, and the brain is particularly vulnerable to such damage.

Both inflammation and oxidative stress are detrimental to the health of your brain.

The omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish are known for their ability to reduce inflammation in your brain and are related to slower loss of your brain function. 

Again, discuss with your doctor about the MIND dietary plan.

• High Protein, Moderate Carbs Diets 

Consuming high protein, moderate carb meals can help you when you age.

Studies show that higher proteins support muscle mass. A woman’s muscle mass tends to decrease as she advances in age.

This dietary program keeps you full, helping reduce the amount of food you consume. Increasing your protein and reducing your carbohydrates help stabilize glucose.

When a woman advances in age, she goes through hormonal changes.

This affects insulin sensitivity and how the body is able to process and utilize glucose.

Consuming moderate amounts of carbohydrates allows the body to get a sufficient amount of B complex vitamins that can help prevent dementia as you age. 

Low carb diets often restrict the consumption of carbs to under 26 percent of total calories per day.

On the other hand, higher-protein diets pack an excess of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein, often providing at least 1.3 grams per kg of body weight. 

Protein is considered the most filling macronutrient. It helps reduce hunger and the consumption of food.

These two aspects tend to promote weight loss.

Proteins-rich foods enhance the level of fullness hormones while reducing the level of hunger hormones such as ghrelin. 

In addition, high protein, low carb diets have been shown to promote the production of glucagon, a hormone known to enhance fullness.

Therefore, it helps women who have experienced weight gain. High protein, low carb, low-fat eating patterns may help with the control and regulation of blood sugar, reduced risk of heart diseases, and bone health.

It also helps enhance metabolism.

When on a high protein, low carb diet, you can eat eggs, shellfish, meats, poultry, and high-protein vegetarian foods such as edamame and tofu.

You can also consume dairy and non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli.

The dietary program also includes foods like nuts and seeds such as sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and hemp seeds. 

• Flexitarian Diet

If you want to include more plant food items within your dietary plan without completely cutting out meat, you can consider the Flexitarian dietary program.

This dietary plan features a style of eating that promotes the consumption of plant-based food while also taking meat in moderation.

It is more flexible compared to a vegan dietary plan. The Flexitarian dietary program is a product of Dawn Jackson Blatner, a dietitian.

The dietary program was designed to help people get the benefits of going vegetarian while still consuming meat products in moderation. 

The eating plan does not recommend the number of calories or macronutrients you should consume per day or week.

People who are on this dietary plan eat mostly vegetables, legumes, fruits, and whole grains.

You also focus on consuming proteins from plants rather than animals.

You can flexibly incorporate meat as well as other animal products, ensuring a balanced diet.

A person is also required to consume the least processed food items or the most natural food items.

You must limit sweets and added sugars.  

The Flexitarian dietary program can help prevent heart problems in people above age 50.

Since it features foods containing healthy fat and is rich in fiber, it helps promote heart health and metabolism among women who are over age 50.

Besides, the diet helps tackle weight gain. Flexitarians often limit the intake of calories and processed foods, while consuming more plant foods.

As a result, they are able to lower their calorie intake, which in turn aids with weight loss. In addition, the diet helps maintain good health and prevent diabetes and cancer. 

Conclusion 

If you are a woman over 50, you need to consider tailoring your diet to meet your personal health and wellness needs, including ensuring a healthy weight.

There is lots of advice in the media, but if your main goal is to lower your blood pressure, you can opt for diets such as the DASH diet.

If you are looking forward to improving self-care and developing a healthy relationship with foods, you can maintain intuitive eating. I

f you want to lose weight, you can consider the Flexitarian or Mediterranean diets.

When choosing a diet for women over 50, make sure that it is easy to follow, adaptable, and not overly restrictive.

It also should be nutritionally balanced, often containing vitamins and nutrients you need. Remember that exercise is key when you want to lose weight. You need to find out which exercise or training best suits your age and your personal exercise goals.

When you incorporate exercise in your diet plan, it helps burn calories and you are likely to see better, sustainable results in weight loss and wellness.

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