We all know that regular exercise is good for us, but it’s especially good for women over 50. It’s never too late to start exercising, and once you get going some of the negative effects on your health of not having exercised regularly can be reversed.

Exercise can help menopausal symptoms and helps reduce the risk of diabetes, osteoporosis and heart disease, as well as toning the body and controlling weight.

There are valuable social benefits in participating in group exercise activities as you’ll meet likeminded people, and this can be especially important if you’re no longer tied to the workplace and you value some routine in your weekly schedule. And if the thought of spending hours in the gym bores you and seems too much like hard work, there are plenty of fun ways to get the heart pumping and burn up the calories.

There are no age restrictions to cycling and you can go at your own pace. It’s a great form of aerobic exercise which is all the more enjoyable if you do it with a friend.

Active older people reduce the risk of hip fracture by taking part in regular exercise and cycling is extremely good for increasing stamina, strength and coordination. It also offers that wonderful sense of freedom that we often crave.

For the extroverts amongst us, belly dance is incredibly good for the joints and bones and offers an amazing feel good factor. It strengthens the hip and leg joints and stretches and strengthens the muscles, especially those in the lower back. Belly dancers come in all shapes and sizes and most women report that it helps improve their confidence on many levels.

Rowing offers a total body workout. It strengthens the back whilst working the joints and muscles. It’s also great fun to work as a team if you fancy joining a rowing club and have a natural competitive streak.

Once again, there are no age barriers to rowing. You could simply team up with a friend, hire a boat for an hour or two, and take turns to use the oars, whilst the other person relaxes with a healthy drink or snack and takes in the relaxing vibes of the river.

Broccoli is well-known for its health benefits. It’s rich in Vitamin C – just one stalk of broccoli can deliver over 200% of your daily requirement of Vitamin C. Like other dark green and orange veggies, broccoli contains beta-carotene (Vitamin A). Both Vitamin C and Vitamin A are known anti-oxidants which prevent the damage done by free radicals making them cancer-preventative. Add to that the fact that broccoli is high in fiber and you have what seems to be the perfect cancer-fighting vegetable.

Unless you boil it.

Researchers at the University of Warwick say that boiling vegetables such as broccoli can damage their anti-cancer properties, reducing their health benefits.

My mother always told me that if you boil your vegetables, you leave the best part in the water you boiled them in. Turns out, she was right.

Some of the cancer fighting substances in vegetables like broccoli, green cabbage, cauliflower and Bussel sprouts, called glucosinolates, are lost in preparation if the method of cooking is boiling. Cooking fresh vegetables by stir-frying, steaming or microwaving did not have any effect on the glucosinolate levels. Boiling caused a loss of up to 77% of the glucosinolates in broccoli.

The researchers recommend adding these veggies to your diet, but say you will gain the most benefit if you choose to steam, stir-fry or microwave them rather than boiling.

Research Says Boiling Broccoli Ruins Its Anti Cancer Properties

Eggs are getting a second look from nutritionists. Due to concerns about dietary cholesterol, eggs have been on the restricted list for many patients. But new studies have singled out eggs as weight-loss enhancers and state that there is no increased risk of heart disease from the consumption of eggs.

Researchers found that women who ate eggs for breakfast, five days a week or more, lost significantly more weight, up to 65% more, on a 1000 calorie a day diet than those who ate a bagel containing the same number of calories as the eggs. Other studies that recommend increasing choline consumption are cited because eggs are an excellent source of choline. Choline is essential for normal cell and brain function.

Eggs promote weight loss and help close nutrient consumption gap

Researchers from the University of Granada’s Institute of Biotechnology say a study proves that melatonin, a substance naturally found in some foods, reduces oxidative stress on cells and slows the aging process.

Now, I am all for slowing the aging process – the slower the better. The good news is that melatonin can be found in foods easily incorporated into your diet, foods like onions, cherries and bananas, and in cereals like corn, oats and rice, and in red wine.

The researchers found that the first sign of aging, oxidative stress and illness from it, began at 5 months of age in the mice used in the study. That age relates to age 30 in humans! Imagine that you are old at 30; I thought we dispensed with idea from the sixties. In fact, didn’t I see a magazine article once touting that 50 is the new 30? Regardless, age 30 is when it all starts to go downhill apparently, but eating foods rich in melatonin staves off the processes of aging.

I have been keeping a short list of foods that researchers now say carry health benefits and the menu looks a lot more appealing than those boxes of fruit-flavored cardboard in the health food aisle.

How about dark chocolate, strawberry daquiris and red wine? Fresh blackberries on oatmeal? It looks like the food we always knew was good for us, really is. I think I can do this eating healthy thing.