Eating for good health

The effects of processed foods

Unprocessed, whole foods affect your hormones in a good way. This is what helps you register your body’s natural cues and lets you know when you’re full.

Processed foods tend to be eaten faster. This might be why your body doesn’t register when you’re full until you’ve eaten too much. Processed foods are also engineered to be addictive.

If you don’t get the nutrients you need, you may begin to feel unwell or end up malnourished. If you already have poor health or a chronic condition, this could get worse. A diet that supports healthy bones is particularly important as you get older.

Changing nutritional needs

As you age, your lifestyle and appetite can change. This may affect the type and amount of food you eat. A smaller appetite, or reduced ability to buy and prepare healthy foods, can also affect the vitamins, minerals, and fibre intake you need. You can learn more in our article, How your nutritional needs change with age.

You can also read more about this at:

• Healthy eating over 60 | Healthdirect
• Nutrition and older adults | Nutrition Australia
• Nutrition for older adults | Oregon State University online course

When to get help

Consult a health professional before changing your diet if you have any medical conditions. You may be referred to a dietitian.

A dietitian can help you manage health conditions. They work with your doctor. They can review blood and other test results to make an eating plan for you.

You may also be eligible for a Medicare rebate as part of a disease management plan.

Healthdirect provides detailed information about the dietitian services available in Australia. This includes the costs of seeing a dietitian and options for reducing the cost.

Beware of fad diets and supplements

Avoid fad and restriction diets. Restriction makes you want to eat things you’re telling yourself you shouldn’t eat.

A balanced diet with lots of variety will give your body all the vitamins and minerals it needs.

If you’re at risk of a deficiency, or if you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, see a health professional. They can help you with your diet and give you advice about supplements you might need.

Supplements can interact with medications and sometimes do more harm than good. This is why it’s best to get advice from your health professional.

Start with swaps

Eating a healthy diet starts with small changes. Begin by swapping a few processed foods with vegetables and unprocessed ingredients.

Explore the links below for ideas:

• Dietitians Australia recipes
• Foolproof ways to make vegetables taste good
• How to make vegetables taste good with 8 tricks
• Nutrition Australia recipes and healthy eating resources
• How to make vegetables taste good: flavour pairings & cooking strategies

Healthy eating on a budget

Many vegetables and legumes are good value for money. This is because they have a high nutrient value per calorie. Use the links below for tips to eat well on a budget:

• Healthy eating on a budget | LiveLighter
• 90 dirt cheap meals
• Cheap, easy ways to eat more vegetables | ABC
• Shopping seasonally could save you money | ABC
• Is fresh produce better than tinned and frozen fruit and veg? Not always | ABC
• Planning a vegetable patch that produces all year round in Australia | ABC Everyday
• It’s cheaper to buy meat close to its use-by date. But is it safe? | ABC Everyday

LiveUp's healthy recipes

Check out some of LiveUp's healthy and easy-to-make recipes:

• 3 healthy and easy breakfast ideas
• One-pan peanut tofu with veggies and noodles
• One-pan snapper and cannellini puttanesca
• Salmon, kale, and quinoa bowls with lemony tahini dressing
• Tuna and avocado sweet potato boats
• Quick beef mince stew

Assistive products

The LiveUp In the kitchen section has links to helpful kitchen assistive products that can make cooking easy and enjoyable.

References

Bourdeau-Julien, I., Castonguay-Paradis, S., Rochefort, G., et al. (2023). The diet rapidly and differentially affects the gut microbiota and host lipid mediators in a healthy population. Microbiome, 11(26). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-023-01469-2

Hall, K. D., Ayuketah, A., Brychta, R., et al. (2019). Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake. Cell Metabolism, 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008

Deschasaux, M., Huybrechts, I., Murphy, N., et al. (2018). Nutritional quality of food as represented by the FSAm-NPS nutrient profiling system underlying the Nutri-Score label and cancer risk in Europe: Results from the EPIC prospective cohort study. PLOS Medicine, 15(9): e1002651. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002651

Watkins, L. (2023, January 8). Restriction diets 'always backfire'. Nutritional specialist suggests finding nutritious foods you enjoy. ABC News. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-08/diets-backfire-expert-suggests-nutritious-food-to-enjoy/101825942

Ridoutt, B. (2022, February 16). How to make your diet more sustainable, healthy or cheap – without giving up nutrients. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-your-diet-more-sustainable-healthy-or-cheap-without-giving-up-nutrients-170522

How to use this information

LiveUp provides free information to help you make informed decisions about your health. This information is for general and educational purposes only, is not intended to provide a comprehensive guide, and does not replace medical advice. Everyone is different, so some of these tips may work better for you than others. You should use your own judgment and seek medical advice when applying this information to yourself, to determine if it is suitable in your circumstances. Your use of, or reliance on, this information is solely at your own risk. Independent Living Assessment Incorporated is not responsible or liable for any injury, loss, or damage caused as a result of your use of, or reliance on, this information.