Do you want to be happy when you are older?

If you chat with a member of our oldest generation and ask what makes them happy in their dotage, you will get a few very common responses. Someone to love and share experiences with. Freedom from debt and a little money to spend on travel and trivia. But by far, the most frequent answer is “health.” Without your health, it is very difficult to remain happy.

As we age, there are a number of afflictions which may trouble us. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and more are common confidantes to the elderly.

To some extent, we are victims of pure chance, playing the genetic lottery. Unfortunately, the odds of “winning” this lottery are spectacularly greater than winning the Powerball.

But there are some lifestyle things we can do to promote a healthy body and significantly reduce the risk of debilitating disease. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have a plethora of information on diet, exercise, accident and fall prevention, and other excellent advice calculated to improve your health and happiness. Your tax dollars at work: https://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/index.htm. And here is an important thought. If you are young or middle-age, and the infirmities of the elderly seem remote to you, now is the time to head them off. Good habits while young will pay great dividends later, much like saving for retirement in a 401(k).

But for this brief moment, let us focus on diet. Healthy eating can greatly reduce the incidence of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even reduce cancer rates. Along with quitting smoking and regular exercise, diet is the most important thing you can do to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Here is the awful truth. The American diet is terrible, and it’s driven by the marketing of restaurants and agricultural trade groups and huge food companies. Their goal is to get you to buy their wares, your health be damned.

Fifty years ago we went out to eat far less often. We ate much less added sugars and salt. We bought simple ingredients from local stores and prepared fresh meals. We may have even gardened and canned and consumed our own fresh produce. But in the interest of convenience, we have turned over the reins of our health to those driven only by the bottom line of profit.

Imagine if the restaurant, agricultural trade groups, and giant food conglomerates were forced to underwrite our health insurance premiums. That, friends, would be revolutionary. The sugar industry would stop pushing added sugars. Restaurants would reduce the salt in prepared meals. Food packagers would increase fiber and reduce saturated fats in convenience foods. And we would all be the healthier for it.

But that is a pipedream. We must be responsible for our own diet.

Here is an idea. Consumer Reports is the monthly magazine of Consumers Union. They accept no advertising and are completely supported by their subscribers. As a result, their findings and recommendations are wholly unbiased. The latest issue of Consumer Reports (November 2017) contains special coverage on healthier eating. It is highly recommended reading. Find it in a magazine rack, a library, or subscribe for online access. This is literally a lifesaver. Here are a few highlights:

1.       A healthy hamburger is possible. It is more colorful, including red onion, tomato, avocado, low-sodium mozzarella, romaine lettuce, and lean ground beef. And, by the way, a high-fiber multigrain bun.

2.       Added sugar is unhealthy and can be safely consumed in very limited quantities – 9 or fewer teaspoons per day (6 for women) compared to our average intake of 17 teaspoons (20 for teens). And it comes from surprising sources – cereal, ketchup, salad dressing. You must learn to read labels.

3.       Too much sodium is bad. Prepared and restaurant foods are loaded with it. Pizza is high on the list. Eat at home more often. Demand low-sodium recipes and prepared foods.

4.       Fats. Conflicting advice has left us conflicted. Truth is, healthy, unsaturated fats (such as olive oil) are vital to health. But saturated, or worse, trans fats, raise the risk of heart disease.

5.       Gluten free diets are a fad based on nonsense. Only a few of us suffering from celiac disease should avoid gluten. High-fiber carbohydrates are beneficial to our microbiome (gut bacteria), and gluten-free diets tend to starve our little buddies. Increase the fiber in your diet.

6.       There is nothing wrong with lean red meat. But treat it as a treat, not a main course in every meal. Protein can be had from fish, chicken, beans, lentils, and other legumes. Eat like a peasant.

Please, educate yourself. This single issue of Consumer Report is a great place to start, but don’t stop there. The CDC, NIMH, Harvard Health, and local councils on aging have an enormous repository of researched, proven advice. Don’t trust your future health to a Facebook fad.

Your happiness in retirement, should you get there, depends on it.