Seniors - Healthy South Dakota

Exercising with arthritis (Mayo Clinic)

Eat healthy advice Increasing your intake of potassium along with reducing sodium (salt) may lower your risk of high blood pressure. Fruits, vegetables and low-fat or fat-free milk and yogurt are good sources of potassium. Also choose and prepare foods with little or no added salt.

March is National Nutrition Month® - see the American Dietetic Association web site for information on eating right for older adults.

Seniors

Will Walking Help Me Lose Weight?

woman walking Weight loss happens best when a person increases exercise and reduces the number of calories they eat. Walking may help you to lose weight depending on the length of your walk and how fast you walk.

If you add 30 minutes of brisk walking to your daily routine, you can burn about 150 more calories a day which would help you lose about 1/3 of a pound a week. The more you walk and the quicker your pace, the more calories you’ll burn. You get the most benefit in terms of weight loss from activity that is moderately intense, like walking at 3 to 4 miles per hour. You can gradually build up to that pace if you need to.

When it comes to your diet, you need to eat 3,500 fewer calories to lose one pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, in seven days you would lose one pound.

Once you lose the weight, exercise is even more important because it helps keep the weight off even better than eating fewer calories.

Spinach: A Healthy Green

plate of spinach Spinach is low in calories and high in vitamins A and C and folate. It is also a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, calcium, iron and magnesium. The plant compounds in spinach may boost your immune system and may help keep your hair and skin healthy.

Eating and preparing spinach is simple and easy, since it tastes good raw or cooked. You can buy spinach fresh, frozen or canned. Spinach can be cooked by blanching, in the microwave, sautéed in a pan with olive oil or steamed. Spinach is very versatile as it can be served raw in salads and sandwiches or added to soups, meat, fish or other vegetable dishes.

healthy heart Reduce High Blood Cholesterol

Maintain a healthy weight and have your cholesterol level checked once every 5 years (more often, if needed). The test measures the level of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream.