… continued from part 1 …

Think like a pot plant! That’s the message a dietitian colleague of mine tells older people – water yourself well and get out into the sunlight.

Getting some sun

Just half an hour of activity outside each day is enough not only to keep reasonably fit and toned but also to allow our skin to make its own vitamin D. Older people have about one-quarter the ability to produce vitamin D compared to younger people so it is important to get some sun exposure each day. It’s the sun that causes the skin to make vitamin D. Vitamin D helps carry calcium into the bones to keep them strong. It’s also important for your immune system. Sitting in a sunroom behind glass won’t do it. If at all possible, get up and take a walk around the garden for 30 minutes. Older people who can’t get outside each day may need a low dose (10ug a day) vitamin D supplement. But too much can be toxic so check with your doctor before taking a supplement.

Well watered

As we age we lose our sensitivity to thirst. On top of not feeling thirsty some older people deliberately drink less to avoid embarrassing moments of incontinence. This drying out of the body can lead to headaches, constipation and more concentrated (even toxic) medication levels. It’s important to drink fluids even when you don’t feel thirsty, especially in hot weather. With some medication, the doctor may tell you to restrict fluids but for everyone else it’s good to drink enough to keep your urine clear – about eight glasses of water a day. If that much water sounds too daunting fill a two litre jug with water, add sliced lemon and ice, and drink slowly over the day. Or have a few cups of herbal or green tea. Green tea has more antioxidants and less caffeine than black tea.

Fruit juice also counts as fluid and is good for people who need to gain weight or have no appetite. A glass of unsweetened juice has about three teaspoons of sugar (mostly from the fruit) along with vitamins and antioxidants, depending on the variety. Too much coffee and alcohol causes dehydration. However a study of almost 6000 people aged over 65 found that those who had 7-10 alcoholic drinks a week (not all in one session!) had a third less risk of heart failure compared with abstainers. Maybe it’s due to the relaxing effect of a glass of wine with a meal each night!

Part 3 tommorrow…

While most of us are still dragging ourselves from warm cosy beds hundreds of energetic seventy and eighty-somethings are greeting the dawn, and each other, as they cycle or walk along beaches and through parks. Don’t bother looking for them after 7am. They are already at the cafes sipping lattes or juice while catching up on the latest news, gossip and jokes. All across the world a growing number of the 65-plus age group, often from ‘power’ careers, are into ‘power-aging’. They exercise regularly, get involved in their local community, travel frequently and search out the latest anti-aging foods and supplements.

I was recently at the home of my ‘power-aging’ aunt and uncle for lunch and asked their 91 year old friend – who looks about 70 – what she thought was the secret of healthy aging. She replied, “Looking out more than you look in.” This dynamic woman has suffered tragic personal loss and debilitating disease yet you would never know it to meet her. I asked her whether she ate any particular diet. She replied, “I’ve never been on a diet. I just eat a bit of everything.”

The former head of the British Nutrition Foundation – an amazing woman whose career extended from re-feeding the people coming out of Nazi concentration camps to testing the effects of potentially toxic metals on herself because it wouldn’t be ethical to test on others – had a similar answer. When this 90-something nutrition expert was asked what she thought was the key to healthy eating, she said, “Eat a little bit of a lot of things – and have a glass of milk each day.”

We can’t stop aging but we can slow it down depending on what we eat, how active we are and whether we have any disease. The American Institute for Cancer Research says that one-third of the most common cancers can be prevented through diet, activity and weight control. And another third can be prevented by not smoking.

As we age we lose muscle and fat from the places we like it and gain fat where don’t want it. Scratches take longer to heal, we get more aches and pains, everyone speaks far too quietly and food just doesn’t taste the same. Then there are the social changes: grief from losing loved ones to death or disease, loneliness, being stuck at home because we can’t drive anymore and financial struggles. Such things change how we cook and eat. Sometimes it’s just too hard to cook a meal of meat and vegetables. A quick pop of the toaster and a nice cup of tea is much easier. But it’s never too late to make changes – to your eating, activity or attitude. And these changes can delay and sometimes reverse many of these problems associated with ageing.

Follow me over the next few days as we look at ways to put more life into your years…   Part 2 here

Last night’s first of four transtasman rugby battles between the All Blacks and Wallabies for the Bledisloe Cup was a great game – that is if you support the All Blacks! After a shaky start, they beat Australia 22-16. Before you assume I’m a rugby fanatic, I have to admit loving rugby does not come naturally. I am training myself to enjoy watching rugby with my husband because, apparently, ‘recreational companionship’ is one of a husband’s top 5 needs from his wife. I’m sure you can guess what number one is!

Talking about training, I promised yesterday that I would give you some food ideas for the recovery meal which you should eat within an hour of finishing training. This meal is really important for athletes who are in serious training each day to reduce the risk of burning out and getting run down. You need 1-1.2 grams per kilo carbohydrate and about 10g (grams) of protein, as well as rehydrating about 1.5 times the amount of fluid you lose. If that all sounds a bit technical, just try one or two of these food combos plus some sports drink and water. Each one has about 50g carbohydrate and 10g protein…

• Large bowl fruit salad and 200g yoghurt
• Meat, chicken, tuna or cheese filled roll and a banana
• 600ml low fat flavoured milk
• Glass (300ml) fruit smoothie or milkshake
• 2 cups breakfast cereal with milk
• Large baked potato with cheese or cottage cheese and a glass of low fat milk or 200g carton yoghurt
• 300g creamed rice

For more details, check out the Australian Institute of Sport’s website. The dietitians who work there are at the cutting edge of sports nutrition.

It’s rugby season in New Zealand and every few Saturdays most of the country sits glued to the TV watching our ‘boys’, the All Blacks (that’s them in black, and still No. 1 in the world) tough it out against another nation. Tonight they play the Wallabies (Australia – that’s them in green) in Auckland for the Bledisloe cup (usually these transtasman games are epic encounters of huge guts and determination). It’s blowing a gale and intermittently pouring with rain. Great Kiwi weather, and it favours the home side! It’s great to finally have our captain, Richie McCaw, back on the field. Let’s hope he’s fully recovered from his injuries.

Talking about recovery, it’s a critical part of the eating plan of any serious athlete. An athlete’s body will recover much more quickly from a game or training session if he or she eats carbohydrate (1 gram per kilo) and protein soon afterwards.  Protein, along with carbohydrate, is more readily taken up by the muscles if it’s eaten straight after training. It’s important for replenishing glycogen stores, muscle repair and immune system recovery. As well as carbohydrate and protein, athletes need to replace lost fluids. Even on a cold winter’s night like tonight, the All Blacks and Wallabies will lose at least a couple of kilos in fluid.

When I was the dietitian for the Brisbane Lions Australian rules football (AFL) team, we would get them to calculate how much fluid they lost during training so they would know how much they needed to replace. Some of them lost five or six kilos in a training session! This meant they needed to drink five or six litres – and more – to fully recover. AFL players can run up to a half marathon in one game (amazing!). No wonder they lose so much fluid!

In the ‘good old days’ our tough rugby players recovered with steak, chips, burgers and beer – plenty of fluids consumed there! But in the brief television glimpses of the AB’s recovering after a game I have spotted sushi amongst the recovery meal laid out for them. It’s an amusing picture – our gladiator AB’s delicately popping little rounds of sushi into their battered mouths. But it’s fantastic sports nutrition – protein and carbohydrate rolled into one. I bet the beer is locked away until they have at least drunk a few litres of sports drink, juice and water.

For those of you who won’t be watching the game, I’ll let you know the score tomorrow – along with some recovery food ideas and amounts.

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Morning after: AB’s gutsed out a round 1 Bledisloe cup win at Eden Park, Auckland 22-16, after being down 10-0 early in the game. Real determination and character to come back and win, with inspirational ‘old-timers’ back in the side leading the way. Good on you boys, travel well to South Africa this morning (4.30am), for next game against our traditional old foe, the Springboks! Match reports:

All Blacks shake off rust

ABs make winning start

Old guard add steel to All Blacks