How adding salads can improve older adults’ health. (2024)

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How adding salads can improve older adults’ health.? ›

Incorporating salads into your diet can have a profound impact on your health, especially as you age. With their high fiber content, ability to prevent blood sugar spikes, and potential to reduce the risk of heart disease, salads are an easy and practical way to improve your overall health.

Incorporating salads into your diet can have a profound impact on your health, especially as you age. With their high fiber content, ability to prevent blood sugar spikes, and potential to reduce the risk of heart disease, salads are an easy and practical way to improve your overall health.

Salads made with a variety of fruits and vegetables make the perfect healthy lunch or dinner. That's because they're filled with tons of nutrients that benefit your body, like fiber, vitamin E, and vitamin C. These nutrients can work to lower your blood sugar, regulate cholesterol levels, and help you lose weight.

Vegetable and Fruit Salads are Full of Fibre

For example, a fibre-rich diet can help alleviate and prevent constipation and lower cholesterol. It can also make it easier to maintain a healthy body weight which reduces your risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

A natural source of healthy fiber – Leafy greens and raw veggies, like those found in our Spring Mix or Antipasto salads, are perfect for giving your body the fiber it really needs. Fiber helps to control your blood sugar, it lowers bad cholesterol, it normalizes digestion, and it helps you to feel fuller for longer.

Try having smaller meals more often and with nutritious snacks in between. It's important to eat regularly, at least three times a day. You might not always feel like cooking so you could increase your intake of tinned, chilled and frozen ready-prepared meals.

Salads are often high in fiber

Help prevent constipation. Lower your chances of cancer in your bowl. Prevent hemorrhoids. Regulate your cholesterol levels.

Is Salad Really a Healthy Choice? That depends on what you add to those greens. The right toppings can create a filling meal that's loaded with vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy fats, and smart carbs. But other ingredients can pack in extra calories, fat, sodium, and sugar.

"Eating salads on a daily basis as part of an overall healthy lifestyle may support gradual weight loss over time," says Karnatz. "This is because leafy greens are low in calories and high in volume and fiber, which will keep you satisfied for longer," she adds.

According to the study:

Eating a salad a day is directly correlated with higher nutrient levels. Adding salad dressing to a salad increases the absorption of certain nutrients being consumed. The fat in salad dressing helps absorb key nutrients such as lycopene and alpha- and beta-carotene.

What is the most important in salad? ›

That leads us to the final, and perhaps most important element of an amazing salad: dressing.

The term “salad” comes from the Latin word for salt (“sal”). In Roman times, salads consisted largely of salted vegetables glazed with an oil and vinegar dressing. Thus the salt. The French eventually coined the term “salade” which is where we got it.

Benefits of Leafy Salad Greens

Salad greens contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, calcium, folate, fiber, and phytonutrients (see Table 1). Leafy vegetables are a good choice for a healthful diet because they do not contain cholesterol and are naturally low in calories and sodium.

Some building blocks to make a delicious and filling salad include: Greens ‒ Look for dark, leafy lettuces, such as romaine, spinach or arugula. If you have access to fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme, oregano or mint, they add zest and extra nutrients to your salad bowl.

Oil and vinegar.

In general, dressings with fewer ingredients tend to be healthier. And it doesn't get any simpler than oil and vinegar. “This is a great option, because it won't have any added sugar or salt,” says Allers.

The main types of food in this eating pattern include a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy, seafood, poultry, and meat, as well as eggs, nuts, seeds, and soy products.

Berries such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries are a superfood known to protect cognitive function, including memory retention, per Scientific American.

Start with Dark, Leafy Greens:

Instead of traditional iceberg lettuce (which is mostly made of water), choose dark, leafy greens to start the base of your salad. Dark, leafy greens help add vital nutrients like fiber, folate, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, and Vitamins A & C.

For seniors, eating enough fruits and veggies is essential to staying healthy, active, and independent. This is because our nutrition needs change as we age. If older adults don't get the nutrients they need, they're more susceptible to malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and chronic diseases.