Sometimes eating well is overwhelming and you don’t know where to begin. As you age you may notice subtle changes in your body and new health problems arising. You want food that tastes good but also is high in nutritional value and has good health benefits that suit your changing needs. So let’s make it easy. If you can add these top 5 foods for men over 40 into your regular diet each week, these simple changes will reward you with big disease-fighting and anti-aging benefits.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a phytonutrient and antioxidant that has been shown in multiple studies to enhance prostate health. Processed tomatoes (think tomato sauce, paste, juice, and soup) have the highest lycopene content. Lycopene is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer and a decline in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Tomatoes are also rich in other antioxidants and vitamin C, providing all this for very few calories. These cancer killers can also help fight aging by reducing sun damage and preventing wrinkles. Find out more about.
Green tea
Green tea is more of a drink than a food, but green tea has some important health benefits for aging men so it deserves a spot among the top 5 foods for men over 40. You have probably noticed your metabolism slowing and may find your belt tightening. This is common among men whose hormones begin to slowly change after 40. Green tea is useful in helping men regulate their hormones. It is also associated with boosting metabolism and weight loss. Green tea is high in catechins, which are powerful antioxidants that reduce the fat the body absorbs and helps speed up the loss of excess body fat. On top of all that, green tea has many prostate, brain, heart benefits as well. Need we say more?
Green leafy vegetables
Okay, so maybe this group encompasses several foods, but dark-green leafy vegetables have many benefits for an aging man’s brain, heart, digestive track, bones, and sexual health. They are high in vitamins, fiber, and calcium. Make sure that you include cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, cabbage, and bok choy in those greens several times per week. It is especially important for men over 40 to get cruciferous vegetables several times per week and to eat them raw too. They help with regulation of your hormones and protect against several kinds of cancers that commonly affect men.
Bored with steamed veggies? If you are stumped on how to eat them regularly you can throw shredded vegetables on a salad, sneak them into sandwiches, hide them in sauces, or even blend them up in smoothies for breakfast to start your day off right with a few servings of high-fiber and highly nutritious vegetables.
Here’s some food for thought: some studies on people in their 60s found that the people who regularly eat more leafy green vegetables score higher in verbal and memory tests than people who don’t eat these foods.
Plant-based fats
Here’s another category that has many options. Eat foods that contain heart-healthy unsaturated oils. Just a little bit of these fats go a long way. Eating nuts, avocados, olives, and olive oil can help improve heart and prostate health. These foods also help fight inflammation. If you can trade some of your less-healthful animal fats in for some heart-healthy oils and foods, you will make an especially beneficial change to your diet. Plus, improving your heart health can help improve your sexual health and erectile function. These foods can be helpful for men fighting prostate cancer by slowing the spread of the disease and helping men live longer. Find out more about the benefits of eating heart healthy food for prostate cancer.
Oily fish
Fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids such as sardines, mackerel, wild salmon, herring, and tuna are good for brain, heart, and prostate health. Eating these fish every week can improve your mood and may delay the onset of mental decline such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Another seafood high in omega-3 fatty acids, in addition to zinc, is oysters. Zinc is a mineral that is important for prostate and sexual health. When shopping for seafood look for wild rather than farmed products.
Healthy eating after 40
This list of the top 5 foods for men over 40 can give you a good start in including foods that are going to support good health and the hormonal changes your body is going through as you mature. Of course you also want to include plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains and more plant-based sources of protein. If you are beyond 40, you may also want to read further into the best foods for men over 50 and the best diet for prostate health for a deeper look into how the right diet can help you achieve better health and fight the effects of aging.
