Father’s Day 2021: Benefits And Dietary Guidelines For Men Over 50 On Keto Diet

Every year on the third Sunday of June, Father's Day is celebrated to honour fatherhood and the influence of fathers in society. This year the day falls on 20 June.

A keto diet is among the most popular weight loss diets that focus on high consumption of fats, moderate consumption of protein and low consumption of carbs. Our body primarily takes glucose from carbohydrate foods and uses it as fuel to provide energy. In a keto diet, we reconfigure our body to use fats as a fuel and provide us energy, losing weight in the way.

We know the ability to burn fat declines with age. However, ketogenic or keto diets can help those over 50 to lose weight efficiently and in a healthy way.

To be more specific, some studies say that men tend to lose weight easily and effectively through keto diet, compared to women. [1]

Therefore, this article might help your father who is 50 or above to know about some useful dietary guidelines if he is on or going to start a keto diet. Take a look.

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Keto At The Age Of 50 Or Older, Is It Safe?

Any type of diet, when done in the right way, can be beneficial for people of all age groups. True in the case of a ketogenic diet.

A keto diet, which is a diet of more fats and low carbs, requires major changes in daily eating habits. It could be challenging if not done carefully, as it can increase the risk of constipation and triglycerides levels in the body.

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People over 50 could benefit a lot from keto diet if they adhere to its rules and follow them strictly and under medical guidance.

A keto diet can benefits people over 50 in multiple ways:

• It can help maintain a healthy weight in obese older adults. [2]
• The risk of diabetes increases with age. A keto diet can help keep a check on your glucose levels and manage diabetes in much better ways. [3]
• Prevent the risk of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's disease. [4]
• It can help prevent heart-related diseases like heart failure that comes with age. [5]
• It can help provide more energy as ketone bodies (a by-product of fats) are suggested to be more energy efficient than glucose (a by-product of carbohydrates). [6]

Keto-Based Dietary Guidelines For People Over 50

1. Increase DHA consumption

In the keto diet, fat consumption increases. Sometimes, people end up consuming more unhealthy fats, in spite of healthy fats, causing disbalance in their ratio in the brain. To maintain that, experts suggest increasing the consumption of Docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acids found mainly in oily fish like salmon and mackerel. People over 50 and who are on keto diet are often recommended to take DHA to prevent the risk of cognitive decline, memory problems and conditions like Dementia and Alzheimer's. [1]

2. Turmeric could be beneficial

Studies that suggest that turmeric could help prevent or treat Alzheimer's or dementia are limited. However, many clinical studies on mice suggest that curcumin in turmeric has anti-inflammatory effects that may help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress and prevent the formation of amyloid-beta plaques, which is the main cause of Alzheimer's. [2] Turmeric is easy to incorporate into a ketogenic diet.

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3. Consume more vitamin D

Telomeres are ends of the chromosomes that get short with age and reach a point where they can no longer divide, thus causing cells to age and function improperly. Inflammation and oxidative stress also shorten telomeres. A study has shown that vitamin D can help increase telomere length that can, in turn, reduce ageing and related risks like prostate cancer and heart diseases. [3]

4. Vitamin A Is Essential

Vitamin A sources might get reduced when you are on a keto diet. Never forget to add this essential vitamin to your keto diet. Vitamin A may help prevent the ageing disorders such as visual problems, cognitive impairment, poor wound healing and infections. Therefore, increase the intake of vitamin A in your keto diet by adding foods like fish, spinach, carrots and egg yolks. [4]

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5. Don't miss out on proteins

Some studies might suggest consuming less protein and less carbs while you are on a keto diet. However, the standard keto diet is about the consumption of high fats along with moderate protein. As we age, protein demand increases to maintain muscle mass. Therefore, totally missing out on proteins can cause your muscle mass to decline very low, causing problems like weakness and less mobility. Therefore, increase the amount of protein to around 1-1.5 g/body weight to get the maximum benefit of keto diet. Remember that protein consumed should not be more than fats.

To Conclude

Keto diet has amazing health benefits along with many downsides such as keto flu, reduced performance, diarrhoea, decreased metabolism and weight regain instead of loss. It is also not recommended for people with certain chronic conditions.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to start or perform this diet after consulting a medical expert or a dietician.

Also, don't forget to share this article with your father or fatherly figures and help them know the importance of keto diet, related benefits and effective dietary guidelines to help them stay fit and healthy.

Happy Father's Day!