As women, our bodies undergo很多of changes from the time we hit puberty till we approach the midlife milestone known as menopause. While no amount of money or magic will prevent this from happening, we can cushion these changes by altering our food and exercise habits. To be clear, we’re not talking about the secret sauce to end the mother of all hot flashes. Instead, we’ll discuss slow, steady and timeless habits that can help — and the sooner you start, the better!
What Changes in Middle Age?
For women, the chapter in aging known as menopause is defined as one year after your last period. Theaverage age for menopauseis 51 in the United States, with most women hit this momentous occasion in their 40s and 50s. During this time, many women experience a hormonal roller coaster as the sex hormones recalibrate. Once this happens, a notable decline in estrogen, often coupled with decades of sedentary habits, kick off the following changes:
You round out in the middle.
For most women, fat gathers on the hips and thighs leading to a “pear shape.” This type of fat, known as subcutaneous fat, carries a lower risk for disease compared with the moredangerous visceral fat，在器官内及其周围积累。绝经后，雌激素的下降会导致更多的脂肪作为内脏脂肪存储在腹部区域。可悲的是，我们丰富的卡路里环境和久坐的生活方式使存储内脏脂肪变得容易。随着妇女的年龄，朝着增加内脏脂肪的转变是部分原因心脏病，2型糖尿病和乳腺癌的风险增加。
您的骨头不是过去的样子。
在更年期后的5 - 7年中，女性有可能lose as much as 20% of their bone density。如何？骨骼是活的组织，不断重塑自身。在女性中，雌激素通过两个关键功能: 1. it increases our absorption of calcium from the diet, and 2. it decreases the rate of bone breakdown. Declining estrogen after menopause removes this protective factor, and it increases your risk for osteoporosis (think: brittle, porous bones).
你失去肌肉质量。
好的，所以这种变化也发生在男人身上。衰老通常伴随着肌肉质量和力量的损失，因为它带来了有利于肌肉崩溃与生长的变化。由于缺乏活动（尤其是实力练习），这种趋势会恶化，并且最早可以在30年代和40年代开始。
You can add hot flashes to the list of reasons why you can’t sleep.更年期期间的雌激素减少会导致潮热75–85% of women。这种不舒服的现象平均持续3分钟，可以真正打动您的睡眠质量。如我们所知，长期睡眠剥夺与higher body mass index, poor food choices, more cravings and higher caloric intake。
5 Strategies to Win at Aging
衰老是不可避免的。虽然您可能会觉得其中一些变化正在串谋与您相提并论，但要知道您有很多因素can控制。无论您的年龄多大，开始考虑这五个明智的策略永远不会太晚：
1.定期吃蛋白质，并在整个饭菜中散布。
蛋白质不仅适用于散装，而且您无需过分地看到结果。在衰老和体重减轻的背景下，吃更高的蛋白质饮食很重要，因为它有助于避免瘦肉组织，从而进一步刺激脂肪减少。万博彩票下载安卓狗万体育买球每顿饭或零食分配约25-30克蛋白质，以优化身体的消化，吸收和使用这种大量营养素的能力。在我们的beginner’s guide to protein。
2.让力量训练你的朋友。
如果您是有氧运动员，请尽可能每周至少两天培训新伙伴。当涉及到优雅的衰老时，这是一个双重的：您会锻炼更强壮的肌肉and更好的骨密度。Rest assured, you don’t need to overcome your fear of the weight room right away, because weight-bearing exercises are only one category of strength training. You can also engage in resistance-band and body-weight exercise (think: push-ups, dips, yoga).
3.保持有氧运动。
继续您的有氧运动（思考：轻快的步行，骑自行车，慢跑和跳舞），并尝试满足CDC的建议150分钟的中等强度有氧运动per week. Strength training will help build strong legs, arms and back, but cardio exercises keep your heart, lungs and brain happy. Additionally, a 30-60 minute sweat session is more effective than sit-ups for减少内脏脂肪在腹部地区。
4. Prioritize calcium and vitamin D in the diet.
随着年龄的增长，这两种营养素都越来越重要，因为它们在骨骼健康中起着至关重要的作用。钙是铺设强骨坚固的重要矿物质，而维生素D则激活构成基础的细胞。这就是为什么钙建议从1,000毫克/天增加到50岁以后的1,200毫克。可悲的是，大约42％的美国人don’t meet their daily calcium recommendations with women in their 40s and 50s averaging about 882 mg/day.
迄今为止，牛奶和乳制品是美国饮食中钙的重要来源；但是，您也可以求助于非乳子来源，特别是如果您患有牛奶过敏或乳糖不耐症。要了解更多信息，请查看这些牛奶富含钙的替代品。
这张图片对维生素D的黯淡：专家推荐600 IUs/day，，，，but there are limited foods that contain it. A few sources for this vitamin include fatty fish (think: swordfish, salmon, tuna), fortified foods (think: milk, yogurt, orange juice, cereal) and eggs. Some experts recommend vitamin D supplements if the blood levels for this vitamin dips below a certain amount. You can always find out more by consulting your doctor or health provider.
5.减少糖。
我们大致9,000 taste budsallowing us to enjoy a variety of flavors: sweet, salty, sour, umami and bitter. These taste buds are constantly replaced; however, we gradually lose this ability requiring more stimulation to enjoy the same sensation. As we age our threshold for sweetness diminishes so we have to be more vigilant with the amount of sugar we shake into our coffee. Cutting added sugar is beneficial for keeping the steady weight gain in check and reducing chronic illness. If you want to learn more check out所以你想停止……吃添加的糖。
