Seven Foods to Add to your Diet

As we get older, there’s less room for empty calories from sugary drinks, desserts, and snacks, and greater demand for foods with a high nutrient-to-calorie ratio.

Eating a variety of whole foods really is the key to a healthy diet, but some foods — including those highlighted below — offer more nutritional bang for your buck than others.

Beans - Research shows that eating a daily serving of beans or lentils (3/4 cup) can help to lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol by 5 percent.

Oats - The risk for heart disease increases dramatically for women over 55, so incorporating more cholesterol-lowering foods like oats into your diet is a smart move. Oats are rich in a type of soluble fiber called beta glucan, and consuming at least 1.5 cups cooked oatmeal has been shown to reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels. Plain oats are a perfect conduit for other healthy ingredients, like nuts, seeds, and fruit.

Apples - A large apple supplies 5 grams of heart-healthy fiber, and research shows that eating apples daily can lower both total and LDL cholesterol to help keep your ticker in tip-top shape. Slice one up and add a smear of almond butter for a classic snack that never gets old.

Nuts - Snacking on nuts instead of chips, crackers, and cookies is an easy way to give your diet a major upgrade. Another easy way to get in a daily serving: Use chopped, toasted nuts as a garnish for roasted vegetables or whole grain sides like brown rice and quinoa.

Leafy Greens - Piling on the spinach, kale, collards or other leafy greens at meals may help to keep your mind sharp as you age. People who ate one to two servings per day had the same cognitive ability as people 11 years younger who rarely ate greens. For a hassle-free side dish, pick up a bunch of organic baby spinach and saute the leaves whole in a drizzle of olive oil with optional chopped garlic.

Berries - You also want to get your fill of berries, another potential brain booster. Strawberries, blueberries, and their sister fruits are rich in phytochemicals that may help slow age-related memory decline by increasing blood flow to the brain and reducing harmful inflammation. Fresh berries aren’t always an affordable option, but you can find frozen varieties at supermarkets for around $10 year-round. Add a scoop to plain yogurt, oatmeal, homemade muffins, or even the occasional bowl of ice cream to give your diet a berry boost.

Yogurt - Yogurt, especially Greek varieties, can provide a generous dose of high-quality protein at breakfast and snack time. The beneficial bacteria that gives yogurt its tang may help to nourish the gut. To keep added sugar to a minimum, buy the plain stuff and doctor it up with healthful mix-ins like fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, whole-grain cereal, or (for a treat) dark chocolate chips.