DailyOM: Why does food seem to affect us differently after 40?
Jacqui: After 40, food has a profound effect on how we feel, how we look, and our wellness in general. Our bodies just don't process food the way they used to due to hormonal changes that affect our metabolism and digestion. For example, our muscle mass decreases, our body fat increases (especially around our middles), and we naturally become more insulin resistant (have a harder time burning off carbs).
In addition, our stress hormone, cortisol, increases (causing more belly fat), and our digestive enzymes decrease (causing gas, bloating, and acid reflux). If we want to be at our best in our forties and beyond, we need to manipulate our diets to reflect these changes and effectively meet our wellness goals.
DailyOM: Why do people over 40 gain weight even though they are eating and exercising the same as they always did?
Jacqui: Our metabolism (defined as all the biochemical processes that convert carbs, proteins, and fats from our food into energy that your cells need to function) starts to dip as early as our twenties and then continues to decline approximately 5 percent for each decade over 40. This is mainly because our lean body mass, which is more metabolically active, decreases while our body fat increases naturally as we age.
Also, hormonal fluctuations cause our hunger to increase and our metabolism to become more sluggish, which ends up with weight gain, especially around our middle area. The good news is that this can all be avoided. By modifying our diets and lifestyles a bit, we can turn back the metabolic clock and flip that muscle-to-flab ratio in our favor!
DailyOM: Why is sleeping through the night such a struggle for some people after age 40?
Jacqui: It is not uncommon for our sleep quality to take a bit of a hit after 40, for some of us more than others. This is due to our fluctuating hormones and, for most of us, elevated stress levels. Our bodies are becoming increasingly sensitive to sugar, so consuming foods that contain or turn to sugar in the evening, especially wine, will result in elevating and then crashing your blood sugar, hence the 2 a.m. wake-up call. By making small but powerful changes in our diets and lifestyles, we can make a profound difference in our sleep quality that will positively affect every aspect of our lives.
DailyOM: What are the major health issues we should be aware of and working toward preventing over 40?
Jacqui: I know this is quite a long and alarming list, but the good news is that by tweaking our diets and lifestyles a bit, we can greatly improve our outcomes and help to reverse or prevent these chronic health conditions: heart disease, osteoporosis, certain cancers, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. By following the advice provided in this course, you will make great strides to improve your wellness exponentially.
DailyOM: Can we do anything to naturally help our skin from aging poorly?
Jacqui: I am happy to say yes, we absolutely can. After 40, hormonal changes and the slowing down of the natural life cycle of skin are causative factors in the appearance of discoloration, wrinkles, and sagging. Of course, genetics play a part as well, but it's our dietary choices that can either slow down the aging process and help us maintain our youthful glow or accelerate the aging process, causing us to appear older than our age. For example, sugar, through a process called glycation, causes accelerated aging of the skin, whereas collagen-rich foods help to keep our skin looking young and vibrant.
DailyOM: A lot of people start to notice a decrease in their libido after 40. Is there anything people can do about that?
Jacqui: Yes. Hormone fluctuations in our forties are the main cause of our libidos suddenly flatlining, but there are some dietary and lifestyle factors that, if left unchecked, can definitely result in putting the kibosh on our libidos. Taking steps to eliminate these factors, as well as incorporating some libido-loving foods that enhance testosterone production (yes, women have testosterone too), into our daily diets is essential to resurrecting and enhancing our suddenly lacking libidos.
DailyOM: Is there anything that can help improve memory so that we think more clearly again?
Jacqui: Cognitive decline is perceived to be the most disturbing of all the physical changes that take place in our forties, even more so than withering muscle mass, declining libidos, or wrinkling, sagging skin. Here's the good news though: We have the power to slow, stop, or even reverse this trend with dietary and lifestyle changes that we can implement right now to power up and defog our precious brain cells. It all starts by enhancing our gut health (our gut is our second brain) and then incorporating specific "brain foods" into our daily diets.
DailyOM: So many things change in our forties. Is there any hope for people feeling like themselves again?
Jacqui: Absolutely, but it's all up to you. After 40, things get real, my friends, and it is mainly our dietary and lifestyle choices that determine how our wellness story will play out. In other words, we have the choice of whether we age well or whether we age poorly by deciding how to live our lives. If we want to remain vibrant and healthy through our forties and beyond, we need to make some dietary and lifestyle adjustments. And that's what this course is all about!
DailyOM: Thank you, Jacqui. Aging well is a win-win! This course will give you valuable information and tips you can use for a lifetime. Until next time, be well.
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