Healthy Eating

Eating well as you get older can help your body stay strong and your mind sharp, and can actually help slow the aging process. A nutritious, balanced diet can also reduce your risk for health problems like high blood pressure, heart and respiratory disease, and some forms of cancer.

Would You Like to Improve Your Diet?

Take a Close Look at What You are Eating

We often think we're eating healthy foods until we really look at what is in our meals and snacks. According to the British Columbia Nutrition Survey, most seniors would benefit from eating:

• more vegetables and fruits,
• more protein (e.g., nuts, tofu, fish, lean meats), and
• less fat and salt.

How does your current diet measure up? Where could you improve?

To find out how much and what kind of foods you should be eating each day, read:

• Canada's Food Guide

More data about seniors' nutrition in B.C. is available in the:

• British Columbia Nutrition Survey: Report on Seniors’ Nutritional Health (PDF, 1.7MB)

Talk to Your Doctor, Health Care Provider, or Dietitian

Some people need specialized diets as they age, especially if they have specific health concerns. Talk to your doctor, health care provider, or dietitian about what dietary changes might be right for you.

Did you know you can phone or email a registered dietitian for free advice at HealthLinkBC?

Call 8-1-1 on your telephone.

TTY (Deaf and hearing impaired), call 7-1-1. Interpreter services are available in over 130 languages upon request.

Or for more information, go to:

• Healthy Eating at HealthLink BC

Check out These Great Healthy Eating Resources

Healthy Eating for Seniors Handbook

The Healthy Eating for Seniors Handbook includes recipes, menu plans, and information on good nutrition. Healthy Eating for Seniors is available as an online and print handbook in English, Chinese, Punjabi and French, as well as an audiobook and a series of videos.

• Healthy Eating for Seniors Handbook

HealthLink BC

HealthLink BC is the province's gateway to access non-emergency health information and services in British Columbia. It is a phone number and a website available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. On the HealthLink BC website, you can read great healthy eating information for people of all ages and some articles specifically for seniors.

• Healthy Eating for Your Age and Stage
• Healthy Eating and Healthy Aging for Adults

Healthy Families BC

Healthy Families BC is an online resource for health and wellness information. You can find tools and information to help you make healthy eating choices.

• Search Healthy Families BC for "Seniors" to find resources specifically for older adults.

The Senior Chef: Cooking for One or Two

The Senior Chef contains recipes for preparing and serving nutritious, economical and easy to prepare meals.It also features suggestions for modifying recipes for variety; information on buying and storing food; hints taken from traditional kitchen lore to help you with food preparation; and an explanation of the four food groups and other aspects of nutritious eating.

• The Senior Chef: Cooking for One or Two (PDF, 355KB)

Better Together BC

Better Together BC is a resource for, and a network of, people sharing their stories and tips around eating together.

The goal is to help people experience the joys of eating together - whether in your family or with other groups of people. Research tells us that the benefits of eating together include better nutrition, better school performance, and better social adjustment for everyone involved: kids, youth, and adults.

• Better Together BC

Canadian Diabetes Association Food Skills for Families

The Canadian Diabetes Association Food Skills for Families is a fun way for people of all ages, including active seniors, to learn how to cook nutritious and delicious meals.

• Canadian Diabetes Association Food Skills for Families