by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WESTMEATH — Life after a certain age for women does change, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the worse.
In Westmeath this past Friday, many women over the age of 50 gathered in the community hall in the upstairs of the arena to learn about nutrition for older women, as well Women’s Health in Later Life, with guest speaker Dr. Katie Forfar.
It was an interesting hour in the morning, starting with a question from event co-ordinator Gayle Stewart – Are we (women) kind enough to each other as older women? Do we say a kind word to one another enough?
She noted, “There is great power in a compliment and do we give enough compliments?”
Answering her own question she said, “We women usually are so hard on ourselves, often we are our own harshest critics and I think the power in a compliment comes from having an outsider’s opinion.”
As part of the program, she encouraged each woman at the event to write down a compliment for at least one other woman who was attending the event. The writer was to remain anonymous. At meeting’s end, she would reveal what was written on each compliment paper she received.
Ms. Stewart’s main topic was on nutrition, because “good health can only occur if a person is well nourished.” She wanted to cover the whole spectrum of healthy eating, such as the nutrients in foods and how the body uses them and what bodies need and don’t need for optimal health.
“This whole field of study has grown by leaps and bounds,” she said.
Research has shown the importance of certain nutrients that will help fight inflammation and boost immunity, she said. A good quality of life will be best if your immune system is as strong as it can be, she added.
Change is difficult for many people, but if it can be proven it will help your health, then change is a “very small price to pay,” Ms. Stewart stated.
She noted that better eating habits and giving the body the nutrients it needs means a healthier body. However, if a person chooses not to eat healthier or change how and what they are eating, they could be sicker for longer or even need medical interventions, along with taking prescription medicines.
“I would like this morning to be a call to action for us all to try to use this new information,” she said. “If we can make our immune system as strong as we can make it, then our health will be good and quality of our life will be high.”
Ms. Stewart spoke about six myths and why they aren’t true — whole grain and multigrain are synonymous; super foods are our saving grace; a low-fat diet is good for you; agave, honey and brown sugar are better than regular sugar; frozen foods and vegetables aren’t as good as fresh and gluten-free diets help you lose weight.
There are 41 power-house fruits and vegetables and they are beneficial in fighting chronic diseases, she said. She also provided a list of these 41 fruits and vegetables, suggesting they keep the list with them when they go shopping.
She focused on the importance of pulses, which are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family, which includes peas and beans, lentils, etc., so many varieties, so many uses. She noted pulses are filled with fibre, which is very important to a person’s diet. They have been known to lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar.
Ms. Stewart encouraged the women to ensure they have protein at every meal, and one way to do that is to keep hummus in the refridgerator to use as a spread or dip.
Another important super food is leafy greens, such as collards, kale and beet tops.
“They are tasty and easy to do up, especially for salads,” Ms. Stewart said.
“Greens provide the daily allowance of vitamins A and K,” she said.
Vitamin A is good for bodily functions and eye sight while K helps with declotting blood, she explained adding both vitamins are fat soluble, which means they need to be used with oil, such as butter, for better digesting.
Apples may not be on the power-food list, however they are important, she said. Ms. Stewart stressed the whole fruit must be eaten, including the seeds and core.
Kiwi is another important fruit and is grown in British Columbia.
“They are little powerhouses of Vitamin C,” she said. “Two kiwis provide 300 percent of the daily Vitamin C, which is double that in an orange.”
Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant, which is necessary for good skin, she said. An anti-oxidant will help stop the damage caused by the sun and pollution.
Tomatoes are a very versatile fruit and contain a licopein. Cooked and canned tomatoes are equally as important, she said. They are linked to decreasing various cancers, she said. The gel around a tomato seed helps prevent blood clots, she said.
Blueberries are another powerhouse fruit, Ms. Stewart said. They also have anti-oxidants and can be good fresh or frozen.
When talking about the expense of fruits and vegetables, as compared to other foods, Ms. Stewart said what is purchased can usually be used for two to five meals, depending on which fruit. As an example, she noted she only uses eight blueberries on top of her cereal.
Mushrooms may seem bland and boring, but she said there are many different kinds and very healthy.
“Give your body what it needs to really be working against these things, like cancer, and studies are suggesting mushrooms can help against breast cancer,” she said.
Barley can be eaten cooked or raw, she said. It can be sprinkled on salads and berries or in cooked foods, such as chili, stews and omelettes.
“Barley defends against heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers,” she said. “It’s a whole grain, so use it to lower your cholesterol and regulate your blood sugar. It’s not as popular as quinoa, but, it’s also not as expensive as quinoa.”
Barley is full of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium and selenium.
Ms. Stewart then spoke about the numbers required for a healthy body. A woman needs 2,000 calories, which is the body’s fuel, and should include 50 g of protein; 260 g of carbohydrate; 90 g sugar, 70 g fat, 20 g saturated and 6 g of salt.
However, the calories are dependent on what each person does and as a woman ages, the body burns less. After age 50, a pound of muscle-burning tissue is lost each year, Ms. Stewart added.
She noted that regardless of what a person is doing, calories are being burned, but how many is dependent on what you are doing, whether it’s enjoying coffee with a friend, talking on the telephone, reading a book or going for a walk.
Ms. Stewart suggested that when eating, half the plate be fruits and vegetables; one-quarter be carbohydrates and the other one-quarter should be proteins. She said when looking at your plate, look at the amount of food, and even though it may be the correct size on the plate, the plate could be much larger, which means the size portion is much more than needed. She noted at one time, the diner plates were nine inches – now they are 12.
She said a person can use their hand to know how much to eat. A fist equals a cup; your thumb is a tablespoon; tip of index finger is a teaspoon; a cupped hand is one to two ounces of nuts or pretzels and three ounces of meat, fish or poultry would fit on your palm.
Ms. Stewart questioned the audience as to where does good nutrition start?
“It starts at the grocery store,” she answered, adding, “The main thing to do in a grocery store, and tell your daughters-in-law and sons and everybody, shop the perimeter. You’ll notice that the fresh fruit section, meat, dairy case, all on the outside walls.
“So you need to concentrate most of your shopping time on the outside walls. You get to control what goes into your meals,” she said.
The middle aisles are filled with the ready-to-eat foods, and while not horrible to eat, the more non-processed foods a person eats, the healthier a person will be, Ms. Stewart said.
There will be times when you need to go into the centre aisles, such as for peanut butter, dried and canned foods, just don’t go into the aisles that you really don’t need to take from, such as cookies and chips, she said, bringing laughter from the crowd.
Living in a farming area, Ms. Stewart wanted to draw attention to Canadian farmers, because they are feeding the world.
Ms. Stewart noted that in this area, during harvest season, there are 18-wheelers being loaded with cash crops and many in the room don’t even know what will happen to those harvested grains and seeds.
“That pretty yellow canola in bloom that is really stinky at harvest time will show up again in our kitchens,” she said. “Or the soybeans will be in our margarine put on the table.
“Canada sells to the world, the finest home-grown corn oil, soybean oil and canola oil. And every Canadian needs to know what the word canola means,” she added.
Canada accounts for approximately 35 percent of global pulse trade each year. Breaking it down, Ms. Stewart noted, one in every three pulse seeds in the world is grown in Canada and one in every three beans in the world is grown in Canada. Over one in every two peas in the world is grown in Canada and one in every two lentils in the world is grown in Canada.
“In 2015, Canada exported six million metric tonnes of pulses worth more than $4.2 billion,” she said.
In the afternoon, Dr. Forfar spoke for just over two hours on women’s health in later life. There were several topics discussed, including life expectancy of women today; retirement living; planning for when you can no longer make decisions for yourself; menopause; cancer; sexuality; and vitamins.
Dr. Forfar was forthright in answering any questions the women had – and there were a few. The discussions also caused many women to laugh, which helped ease the seriousness of the topics.
It was noted there were many other topics that could have been discussed, but there was no time.
Ms. Stewart noted this talk was courtesy of the Riverview Seniors Social Club with a grant from the New Horizons Senior funding. There have been several talks throughout the fall and winter, with a few more scheduled.
