Your body changes as you get older, but a balanced diet will help you stay healthy. Here's what to eat and how to keep healthy as you get older.
What to eat
A healthy, balanced diet
Whatever your age, it's important to eat a healthy, balanced diet. This means you should try to eat: plenty of fruit and vegetables – aim for at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg a day plenty of bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods – choose wholegrain varieties if you can some milk and dairy foods some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein – try to eat at least two portions of fish a week, including a portion of oily fish just a small amount of foods and drinks that are high in fat or sugar
Look at the eatwell plate for more information on how to have a healthy, balanced diet.
Plenty of foods rich in starch and fibre
Fibre-rich foods include wholegrain or brown types of starchy foods such as bread, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals. Other good sources of fibre are potatoes, oats, beans, peas, lentils, fruit and vegetables.
Eating foods containing fibre could be good for your digestion. Constipation tends to become more of a nuisance as you get older, but fibre-rich foods can prevent constipation and other digestive problems.
Don't buy raw bran and sprinkle it on your food to increase your fibre as this may prevent your body absorbing some important minerals.
Read more about the health benefits of fibre.
Iron-rich foods
Iron is important for our general health. A lack of iron can make us feel as though we have no energy, so include some iron-rich foods in your diet.
The best source of iron is lean red meat. However, if you eat more than 90g (cooked weight) of red and processed meat a day, the Department of Health advises that you cut down to 70g.
Read more about how much meat you should eat.
Iron is also found in pulses (such as peas, beans and lentils), oily fish such as sardines, eggs, bread, green vegetables and breakfast cereals with added vitamins.
Liver is a good source of iron. However, be careful how much liver you eat as it’s also rich in vitamin A, too much of which can be harmful.
Calcium-rich foods
Osteoporosis is a major health issue for older people, particularly women. It happens when your bone density decreases, which raises your risk of fractures. It's important to have calcium in your diet to keep your bones healthy.
Eating calcium-rich foods can help you avoid osteoporosis. Good sources include dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt. Choose lower-fat varieties when you can or eat higher-fat varieties in smaller amounts.
Calcium is also found in canned fish with bones such as sardines, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage (but not spinach), soya beans and tofu.
Read more about how to get enough calcium.
Less salt
Many of us in the UK eat too much salt. Too much salt can raise your blood pressure, which puts you at increased risk of health problems such as heart disease or a stroke.
Try to have less than 6g of salt a day.
Most of the salt we eat is already in foods such as cereals, bread, tinned soups and other ready-prepared foods. Check food labels before you buy and choose ones that contain less salt. Don't add salt to your food when cooking and at the table.
Read more about how to cut back on salt.
Enough vitamin D
Vitamin D is also essential for healthy bones as it helps you absorb calcium. We mainly get our vitamin D through the effect of summer sunshine on our skin. However, it’s also important to get some in your diet.
Good sources include eggs, oily fish, some fortified breakfast cereals and fortified spreads.
Read more about how to get enough vitamin D.
Vitamin A
Having too much vitamin A (more than 1.5mg of vitamin A a day from food and supplements) might increase your risk of bone fracture.
Liver is high in vitamin A. Don't eat liver or liver products, such as pate, more than once a week, or eat them in