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Foods For A Long Healthy Life

Q. As I age, I'm growing more concerned about my risk for getting chronic diseases such as cancer and macular degeneration. Are there any nutrients that may help to protect me against chronic disease?

A. The risk of many chronic diseases increases with age. Chronic diseases, like prostate cancer and macular degeneration, are rarely seen in the young. We're living longer than ever before. The average Canadian woman is expected to live to be 82 years old and the average Canadian man, 77 years. The good news is that there are steps you can take that may help you live a long and healthy life.

A poor diet that is depleted of essential nutrients can undermine your health and increase your risk of chronic diseases. Eating more vegetables and fruits, however, is a good place to start.

Macular degeneration, a chronic disease of the eye, for example, is the leading cause of vision loss in Canadians over the age of 50. Lutein, a natural antioxidant found in green leafy vegetables and in the red, orange and yellow pigments of fruits and vegetables, has been linked to reducing the risk of macular degeneration.

Ensuring that your diet is rich in calcium and vitamin D not only helps maintain bone health, but has also been shown to help reduce your risk of colon cancer. Vitamin D has also been associated with a reduction in the risk of breast cancer.

Calcium is found in many foods, including milk, cheese, yogurt, broccoli, dried beans, peas and tofu. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium and is naturally found when the body is exposed to sunlight and in some foods such as sardines, salmon and fortified milk. It can be difficult to get enough vitamin D especially in the winter, so consider taking a daily multivitamin that contains 400 IU of vitamin D, the daily dose recommended by Osteoporosis Canada.

If you're concerned about macular degeneration and cancer, you may also want to consider taking a daily multivitamin such as Centrum Advantage with increased levels of lutein, calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients that help reduce your risk for chronic diseases such as macular degeneration and cancers of the breast and colon.

More information is available online at www.centrum.ca.

Source: www.newscanada.com

Diet and healthy ageing

Diet and Ageing

also see in Health -> Vitamins & Minerals