I`m 73 yrs. old and give up eating sweets and cake every day 2 weeks ago....it was a struggle that I didn`t expect ...I have started eating healthy, for my tea each evening I am having...
either fish or chicken (done in the oven)
with lots of roasted veg and brown rice
Do you think that is enough for my main meal.?
When one is older than 30 the body has an increasing inability, as years progress, to generate enzymes for food digestion and metabolism to take place. The rate of decay is around 10% per year, and that's cumulative. So as one gets older it gets more important to ensure you are eating foods rich in enzymes.
Possibly the best source source of enzymes are raw foods such as dark leafy greens. Obviously a bag of salad leaves fits this bill. If instead your choice is something like a savoy cabbage or Brussels sprouts then steaming is a great idea. Both of these have another benefit that by munching on these it gets the digestive process starting in the mouth. The more you chew the healthier you will be.
Thank you andyswarbs...so is steaming veg. better than roasting.
To get the full value of enzymes cooking below around 70 degrees is recommended. Normal roasting tends to be at around 150 degrees or above. There are slow roasting techniques that can hold the temperature at 70 degrees or below. Silicon baking mats can help here. Boiling is of course at around 100 degrees.
I would always argue that any food preparation that gets more vegetables into your diet is the crucial thing. So all my suggestions around enzymes are a way of maximising benefits if you want to explore options.
I will look out for a silicon baking mat...Thank you.
A spoon of organic apple cider vinegar (prefreably the organic probiotic type) in a little water, half an hour before eating a meal is very good for giving our stomach acid a little boost, as this also declines with age. The extra acid means food is better digested & that increases nutrient absorption. Alternatiively, half a grapefruit or an orange before meals will help, too. 
Would apple cider vinegar be ok. to take even though I have a reflux problem.?
A lot of people's reflux is caused by low stomach acid, but it's common to take ant-acids for either. I posted a while ago about the issues caused by that type of medication as it considerably hinders digestion & absorption of nutrients, especially minerals, & leaves the stomach vulnerable to Heliobacter pyllori infection. Stomach acid lowers as we age, so what you've been taking as a cure could now be the cause.
scdlifestyle.com/2012/03/3-...
avogel.co.uk/health/digesti...
Perhaps try testing yourself, or give the ACV a go to see how you feel. Start with half a teaspoon, diluted, then built up if it helps. If you know what triggers your reflux issue, you can avoid any problem foods or drinks. Sometimes it takes a few days excluding something to know. My triggers are often fairly fast, so I've learned not to touch poor quality bread, white wine, or milk chocolate, though the very worst thing for me is raw or under cooked onions.
I use my apple cider vinegar as part of a salad dressing with olive oil. If you have it as a drink in water , be sure to dilute it well.
It rather depends how much of it you’re having. But in food group terms it is fine. Most of my meals are chicken, steak or fish with a big pile of steamed, roasted or raw vegetables
Today I am having Mackeral fish and lots of roasted veg. (mug full of veg)...between meals I have fruit.
I tend to work on a rough visual gauge of 3/4 of my plate being veg and the remaining quarter protein
Huge congrats on giving up the sweet stuff. It'll make a big difference to your health and well-being, I'm sure.
Your typical meal sounds fine to me. As Rignold said, it really depends how much of it you're eating. Make sure you're full, although aim to fill up on the meat and veg rather than rice.
Do you do some exercise? Muscle wasting is a big problem as we get older, but activity + adequate protein can keep it to a manageable level.
Thank you for your reply.....Do you think rice is not so good....or maybe in small amounts.
It's not "bad" exactly. You just don't need a lot of it. It provides a lot of energy very quickly, so if you eat a big plateful of rice, your body has to find somewhere to put all that energy that it doesn't need - generally, that means it'll make you fat.
Rignold 's rule-of-thumb is pretty much the way I measure things out, too. However, it's worth mentioning that I don't eat any carbs at all (I eat fat instead) and I think Rignold has a very similar diet. In your case I'd aim for no more than 250g of (cooked) rice per meal; you should be getting the rest of your calories from the meat and the veg.
Don`t understand by saying You eat fat instead.
Lots of people would say that, but I bet people still eat potatoes, and/or high-carb root veggies (carrots, swede, parsnips, sweet potatoes. pumpkin etc) as well as fruits which are all carbs. What you mean is "I don't eat highly processed carbs/food like baked goods, pasta, bread, noodles, rice and so on (?). Not sure if you eat grains. I guess not. I get to hear there are the different variety of keto diets. Never heard of Keto-Vegan crossover, though.
The ultimate question for keto dieters would be: "wouldn't you get bored by eating loads of green vegs?" What is the reason, why did you go on keto? to lose some weight. Sharper cognition, Improved physical performance, or nice hair/skin/nail etc?
Yes, I should have been clearer there. I should have said I don't INTENTIONALLY eat carbs, but "not at all" isn't quite right. It's actually impossible to eat a zero-carb diet, and very difficult to eat <30g per day. I'm probably averaging 100g/day from various sources. I'm not obsessive about it. I'm doing LCHF, not keto.
I don't eat grain-based food at all (except on rare occasions where it would be rude not to - say, a meal at someone's house). However I don't eat root vegetables or fruit in any significant amount either. A meal might have a couple of pieces (20g?) of carrot or radish or winter melon or sweet potato, so I'll eat it. I might have a banana once or twice a week. Pumpkin, surprisingly, is quite low carb, similar to beans.
As for getting bored by eating veg ... well, no, you don't. Ask andyswarbs . Your tastes change. Also, you get better at cooking. I have a lot of interesting vegetables to choose from; ever tried green papaya, butterfly pea flowers, or yardlong beans? And the fat content of your meals makes things taste better. I use a lot of butter, cream and coconut oil.
I mentioned elsewhere that my typical post-workout meal is this:
It's basically boiled vegetables. In a meat stock. With meat.
As for the benefits, I'd say "all of the above". It's just all-round healthier. You missed out the cardiovascular benefits, btw; high-carb diets are a big factor in heart disease.
Tunisia1 : none of this is really relevant to you because, I assume, you're not interested in radically changing your diet. I get my energy from the fat content in my diet rather than carbohydrates.
I was simply pointing out that it's very easy to overeat carbohydrates (which is why some people avoid them altogether) and that it's important to portion-control them, especially for older men who are more at risk of heart disease than most.
Those "Hot Pot" looks deeply exciting.
I was imagining something a little different, raw/bland/no flavour. Food culture in Asia, I must admit, is truly outstanding. I have been a veg. over decades and have come to a point where I ought to have some makeover. As for the logistics of portion control, the hot pot looks like it can feed the entire family. Thanks for sharing.
I walk about 1 hr. a day...got a dog and I take him out for walks very often....but I am thinking of going to the gym again like I used to do.
To reply to the OP, if you are eating a similar type of dish every eve. Roast vegs & fish or poultry over and over, there ought to be enough room to diversify.
You could work with functional Dr/holistic nutritionist who could help check essentials. There are a few similar threads started by other ladies.
I personally wouldn't suggest any brassica veggies except young, tender broccoli stems. Brussels sprouts would be one of the hardest to digest if you have a slow transit in later years even if you managed to stay active. They say it's good for you, but what we read and the reality, two different things. These things do require an individual approach than one size fits all method. Nobody knows your BMI, size, build, health status etc. always best to consult a qualified specialist and above all, apply some common sense..
Thank you for that Anothermember.
Hidden The fibre in brassicas & any plant foods is hard for us to digest, but it's what provides our healthy gut bacteria with a source of nutrition, & in turn improves our absorption of nutrients. Sprouts have anti-inflammatory & anti-carcinogenic properties, so they're extremely good for us. too. Fibre fills us up, lowers the GI of foods we eat, & improves transit time, as well as reducing the risk of colon cancer.
So pleased sprouts are good as i love them....i have learned so much since joining this group. Thank you Badhare and the others who have replied.
You're welcome!
The only veg I stick to eating occasionally are spinach & chard due to the oxalate content, though I consider a few times a month to be fine.
What is chard.?
bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/sw...
theguardian.com/lifeandstyl...
I like rainbow chard in stir fries & ribbolitta. It shrinks a lot when cooking as it has a high water content. It's nutritious, though as I mentioned, it's high in oxalate, so I buy it irregularly. If it's steamed or boiled, I think some of the oxalate ends up in the cooking water.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
Beetroot
Porridge Sweetener 
