Sport at any age is of particular importance. Associated with a quality diet, physical exercise provides countless benefits. After fifty years, it determines the quality of your life both metabolically and psychically.
Véronique Liesse, dietician-nutritionist, lecturer and author of numerous books, reviews good practices for living better, longer and in better shape. To your sneakers!
L’Éventail – What are the benefits of a sporting activity following fifty? What sports do you recommend for seniors to stay in shape without the risk of injury?
Veronique Liesse – The sport has been the subject of many studies for each age group. Fighting once morest a sedentary lifestyle is a major challenge because it has deleterious effects in the short, medium and long term. Sport increases life expectancy by reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease but also cancers, diabetes, etc. It allows a better modulation of glycaemia by increasing the sensitivity of cells to insulin which becomes more effective. Blood sugar decreases, less fat is stored and this allows you to keep a healthy weight. Sport also has the great advantage of having recognized anti-inflammatory effects if it is practiced on a regular basis, with moderate intensity. It stimulates the mind and immunity, helps to strengthen muscle mass and bone mass. It helps to sleep better if it is not practiced too intensely or at the end of the followingnoon. So prefer the morning. Note also its anti-stress and anti-depressant action.
After 50, it’s best to combine cardiosuch as Nordic walking, cycling, swimming, with muscle strengthening and stretching. It is important to maintain regularity and a feeling of moderate effort. It is necessary to be a little short of breath, without being out of breath either. After sixty-five years, stability exercises are added to prevent the risk of falling.
– The practice of a sports activity is often guided by the desire to lose weight. Does sport make you lose weight? Can we rely on less healthy foods to eliminate the calories ingested during the sessions and keep the line, or even lose weight?
– The answer is both yes and no. After weight loss, the body has an unfortunate tendency to want to regain its previous pounds. Sport will then be your best ally to stabilize the results.. A sedentary person who starts walking every day for at least thirty minutes will lose some weight at first, that’s for sure. But the body adapts very quickly and will get used to this new effort. Weight loss therefore stops fairly quickly, all the more so if the diet is not balanced. Sport in itself does not make you lose weight, especially if it is practiced irregularly, to absorb the excesses of the day before, for example. Going for a two-hour walk and throwing yourself on sausage, raclette and red wine to compensate for the calories lost during exercise has no impact. One hour of cycling will only burn you 280 calories. If you eat a banana, 30 grams of nuts and a chocolate milk, you consume more than 550 calories. The calculation is quickly done. It is essential to combine a daily sports activity with a balanced and quality diet to have excellent results over time.It’s the key to success.
Menopause is accompanied by a decline in estrogen and, therefore, its anti-inflammatory effects. A fair and appropriate supplementation of vitamin D will be well indicated to limit the inflammatory effects of this lack of estrogen. In addition to this aspect, it is full of advantages, particularly in terms of immunity and bone reinforcement. Magnesium will be recommended in case of cramps. This is to be seen on a case by case basis. The trio of sport, diet and appropriate supplementation will allow you to enjoy life to the fullest with confidence.
Article written by Sylvie Dejardin, published on Eventail.be. Find other articles on the news of the art and culture market, but also that of the elite, gastronomy, fashion and health, decoration and heritage and entrepreneurship on www.eventail.be.
