As you get older, your body and mind change. Your metabolism slows, muscle mass declines, and chronic conditions, like heart disease or memory loss, may become more common. These shifts can affect not only your health, but also your independence and quality of life.
The good news? Choosing one of the best diets for people over 60 can help you support your heart, brain, and muscles — while avoiding eating patterns that may do more harm than good.
Senior nutrition after 60 combines the right amounts of protein and nutrients to nourish and strengthen the body for successful aging. You should also have flexibility and variety in what you eat to encourage your adherence to good nutrition. But it can be hard to know what senior diet plan to follow as diet trends and some healthy eating tips are constantly changing. It’s also important that you talk with your physician before trying any diet plan to know if a certain diet, even the one dubbed the healthiest diet for people over 60, is right for you.
The Mediterranean diet is consistently named the top healthy diet and for great reason — increased longevity. That’s right; studies have shown that following the Mediterranean diet may reduce your risk of early death by 23%. This is due to your ability to maintain a healthy weight, lower inflammation, and improve your heart and metabolic health.
When following the Mediterranean diet, seniors eat a wide variety of nutritious foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, low‑fat dairy, fish, seafood, and poultry, while limiting refined carbs, red and processed meats, and ultra-processed foods. This eating pattern lowers saturated fat intake and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol while providing omega‑3s, polyphenols, and antioxidants that protect heart health, making it one of the best diets for heart health after 60. Studies show it can reduce the risk of all stroke types by 18%, and its benefits to blood flow and vascular health may also help slow cognitive decline, even in people with a genetic risk for dementia, supporting healthy aging over time.
While the Mediterranean diet delivers powerful benefits, its goals are broad. As you plan for the years ahead, the best healthy diet for you may be one that focuses on a specific health concern. This may make one of the following healthy diets for adults over 60 the best for you.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is another top-rated heart-healthy plan. Like the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet emphasizes a balanced and flexible diet of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy, and lean protein. But the difference is the DASH diet narrows its focus on your blood pressure, with its goal to help you avoid hypertension or pair well with blood pressure medications. This can serve to further protect you by preventing strokes and lowering your risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and more.
When adhering to the DASH diet for blood pressure, seniors carefully watch sodium intake, keeping it below 2,300 mg — or as low as 1,500 mg if directed by a doctor — each day. You must also limit or avoid food and drinks with added sugar or saturated fat. You’ll instead choose healthy options that deliver fiber and vitamins and minerals.
If you take blood pressure medication, you may find that the DASH diet works alongside your prescription for bigger impact. For example, a recent study found that type 2 diabetes patients lowered their blood pressure by 10 points through medicine. When adopting the DASH diet, that number dropped another 5 points, further reducing their risk of heart failure by 8% and of stroke by 14%.
Quickly becoming the best diet for brain health, the MIND diet combines the Mediterranean and DASH diets to hone focus on your cognitive and brain health. This is why MIND stands for Mediterranean–DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. It’s a newer diet — introduced in 2015, but it’s fast becoming the best diet for brain health over 60. That’s because studies show you can start this diet at any point, even later in life, to reduce dementia risk.
When adopting the MIND diet, dementia prevention is more possible by eating foods from the Mediterranean and DASH diets that are best for brain health. These include foods rich in omega-3, like fatty fish, walnuts, and seeds, and high in antioxidants, such as dark chocolate and blueberries. They also provide folate via your choice of dark leafy greens.
The intake of these foods helped adults ages 45 to 75 who participated in the MIND diet reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia by 9%. Those who followed the diet for 10 years, even if they weren’t consistent from the start and regardless of older age, lowered their risk by 25%. Another study shows MIND dieters experienced 20% less loss of brain gray matter, which is necessary for thinking, memory, and movement, and slowed their cognitive aging by 2.5 years.
When researching diets to prevent muscle loss after 60, you’ll find that protein is the answer. That’s because, research shows, a protein-forward, whole-food diet contains the amino acids required to preserve muscle mass. It provides the nutrients you need to combat sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) to maintain your balance, avoid accidents, and sustain your independence in later life.
One essential amino acid is leucine, and you can find it in a wide variety of proteins, both animal- and plant-based sources. The highest amounts are in Swiss cheese, yellowtail fish, black beans, and cooked ham.
You’ll want to minimize your intake of red meat, since it contains saturated fats, which can lead to obesity and increase your cancer risk. Instead, give equal weight to lean animal proteins and plant protein. The latter offers different nutrients than animal protein and contains fiber and antioxidants to protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more. You’ll also want to ensure you get the amount needed daily to realize these goals, especially to build and maintain muscle.
As an older adult, you need 1.0 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight each day, unless your doctor suggests more. You’ll reap greater benefits when you spread your protein intake across your meals and snacks since doing so supports your blood sugar and energy level throughout the day.
If you aren’t a big meat eater, you may adhere to a plant‑forward diet while aging. Just be sure to prioritize plant-based proteins. You should also let your doctor know so that they can check you for an optimal vitamin B12 level, which is essential for cognitive health.
Ultra-processed food (UPF), such as packaged snacks, canned drinks, box cereals, and frozen meals, make life easier — until they don’t. Recent studies are showing the damage they can do to you, particularly in later life. A consistently high intake of UPFs is linked to low muscle strength, frailty, cardiovascular emergencies, and other ailments. You can swap those foods for a healthier anti-UPF diet to avoid accelerated aging from these issues.
If you’re unsure which items are ultra-processed foods, you can usually identify them by looking at the ingredient list on the package. The list of ingredients may be long and contain items you don’t know. They’re mostly artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. You may also see added sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
In these cases, you’ll want to look for products that have shorter ingredient lists of items you recognize and would use to cook in your own kitchen. Even better, choose fresh, whole-food items. This means swapping ultra-processed potato chips for popcorn or a protein bar for nuts.
If you believe your budget is an obstacle to eating healthier, you can still make better, affordable choices. Frozen fruits and vegetables and canned beans are examples that allow you to eat foods high in nutrition but low in cost as you eliminate UPFs.
Making small changes now can help you stay active and independent longer. Get more practical guidance on healthy aging and planning ahead when you subscribe to our newsletter.
Making small changes now can help you stay active and independent longer. Get more practical guidance on healthy aging and planning ahead when you subscribe to our newsletter.
If your diet doesn’t look like the ones named above, you’re not alone. Many older adults face barriers to eating a healthy diet, including a lack of knowledge of which foods seniors should eat more and less of. Now that you know the best diets for seniors, it’s important to also know the worst.
As previously mentioned, ultra-processed food brings a host of issues for older adults, and the more you eat, the worse they get. For example, a recent study shows, if you indulge in nine or more servings of ultra-processed foods per day, your risk for stroke, heart attack, or heart disease increases by 67%. Add 5% to that number for each serving you have above nine, even when you seek to balance your diet with nutritious options.
When eating too many ultra‑processed foods, older adults become frail, lose muscle strength, and have a greater risk for falls and accidents. These foods seniors should avoid also typically have added sugar, which increases the risk for diabetes. Both may increase your chances of developing dementia as well. But it’s not only the bad ingredients in UPFs that contribute to issues; it’s also their lack of nutrients, which can accelerate your biological aging.
It’s estimated that more than 70% of your sodium intake comes from processed foods or restaurant meals. That means, if you rely heavily on packaged items for meals or eat out regularly, you’re most likely eating a diet too high in sodium.
Consider the average can of soup contains 700 mg of sodium, one large slice of frozen pizza has 765 mg, and a 2-ounce serving of lunch meat has 497 mg. If you eat only these three things in one day, you would’ve met or well exceeded your recommended intake of sodium, depending on your health situation. Plus, you would’ve restricted yourself from vital nutrients.
The problem with too much sodium is it can cause high blood pressure, and that can lead to a stroke or heart disease. If you already have hypertension and take blood pressure medication, sodium can counteract the benefits of your prescription. Too much salt can cause weight gain and increase your risk for dehydration, which can affect your physical and mental health.
Unless you’ve been directed by your physician to follow a very low protein diet for late-stage kidney disease, doing so is generally not advisable for the sake of your muscles.
Sarcopenia starts as early as your 30s, when you begin to lose muscle at a rate of 3–5% each decade. Once you reach age 50, loss of muscle mass accelerates. At 75, you may lose up to 4% every year. That’s why the amount of protein you need increases in your senior years. It’s crucial to sustain your strength and balance, helping you to avoid falls and bone fractures.
If you follow a plant‑based or plant‑forward diet, be mindful of vitamin B12 intake as you age. While plant‑derived foods offer many health benefits, a B12 deficiency can contribute to slower metabolism, memory loss, and mobility issues.
While fad diets can produce the weight loss you desire, they often create issues in other areas of your health. This is generally because they’re highly restrictive and can result in nutritional deficiencies you don’t need, especially later in life.
Keto diet
Consider the ketogenic (or keto) diet, which encourages a high-fat diet for energy, while restricting carbohydrates, like whole grains, beans, and fruits — all great sources of fiber. At a time when you need increased fiber, not only for digestion, but to balance your blood sugar and cholesterol and to lessen your risk of heart disease, the keto diet can be harmful if you don’t talk to your doctor first.
Juice cleanse
The same can be true for juice cleanses, since the “juicing” process removes most of the fiber from your vegetables and fruits. You’re also at risk of ingesting harmful bacteria when the juice isn’t pasteurized, which can cause serious illness in older adults with weakened immune systems.
Fasting
Prolonged fasting is believed to “reboot” the immune system and enable weight loss. But it’s important to know that any “diet” that results in quick weight loss may not result in lasting weight loss. And if you adhere to the diet for the long term, its nutrient deficiencies may have a lasting impact on your well-being.
Studies show that fasting for days at a time may be too harsh on seniors. One study reports a higher risk of cardiovascular death for older participants who fast longer than 12 hours. Another study finds older adults, after an extended fasting period, have lower concentrations of HDL (the “good” cholesterol) and chloride, as well as higher potassium concentration — all risks to cardiovascular health.
Is intermittent fasting safe after 60? Talk with your doctor to see if intermittent fasting, or shorter periods of fasting, is safe for you. A clinical trial found that participants who fasted for 12 hours and then followed the Mediterranean diet reduced their body mass index and their blood pressure. But these results were likely short-lived since only 20% wished to continue intermittent fasting after the trial. Another group in the trial didn’t fast but also ate a Mediterranean diet. This group experienced improved digestion, less risk of liver disease, and a better overall quality of life, demonstrating the power of a time-tested, balanced diet.
Subscribe to our newsletter for simple tips on nutrition, aging well, and protecting your health and finances.
Photo credit: iStock
When you sign up for Wellabe's monthly email newsletter, you'll receive tips to protect your health and financial well-being in retirement.
Wellabe Rewards was created to thank loyal customers. Every action you take with Wellabe Rewards is a step toward improving your well-being and earning points toward rewards.
Wellabe's Critical Illness insurance is supplemental health insurance that helps fill gaps between what's paid by original Medicare and the overall cost of treatments for cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and more.
Wellabe offers life and supplemental health insurance plans to help you prepare for good days and bad. We’ll always be here to empower you to be well — well prepared, well protected, and well loved.
