Attention Women: You’re Not Too Old to Go Vegetarian By Everyday Health Guest Columnist Published Sep 9, 2014 SharonPalmerBy Sharo

By Sharon Palmer, RDN, Special to Everyday Health
Contrary to what you may have heard, a plant-based diet – one that is limited in or devoid of any animal products – is not off-limits for aging women. In fact, this style of eating can offer optimal health rewards for older women, such as promoting healthy weight, warding off heart disease, and protecting against the risks of other chronic diseases.
Vegetarian and vegan diets are not only rich in all of the good stuff, like fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phyochemicals; they’re low in all of the “bad” stuff, like cholesterol, saturated fat, and toxins. Indeed, vegetarian diets have been linked with numerous health benefits, including a lower risk of ischemic heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and type 2 diabetes; as well as lower levels of LDL cholesterol and blood pressure; and decreased BMI.
In the landmark Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), data on different dietary patterns  – including vegan, vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, and non-vegetarian – were analyzed among about 96,000 Seventh-day Adventist participants in the United States and Canada. The study found that the risk of heart disease — the No. 1 killer in women — seems to be lower among vegan and vegetarians, according to the AHS-2.
Another benefit for plant-based eaters? They tend to weigh less, which can certainly be a motivating factor for women as energy needs decline during aging. A new study analyzing data from the AHS-2 found that average BMI was lowest in vegans (23.6) and incrementally higher in lacto-ovo vegetarians (25.7), pesco-vegetarians (26.3), semivegetarians (27.3), and nonvegetarians (28.8).

How to Meet Your Protein Needs if You’re Eating Vegetarian

As important as protein is for maintaining lean body mass, immune function, and bone density, there are a lot of fallacies about how difficult it is to meet protein needs on a plant-based, especially as we age.

Experts call for protein intake of 1 to 1.6 grams/kilogram of body weight daily (compared to the RDA of 0.8g/kg of body weight) as a safe and adequate amount for healthy, older adults.
Vegans do need to put a little bit of extra emphasis on protein-dense foods, making sure they consume at least four servings or more of protein-rich food per day, but it’s not hard to fit this in with a little careful planning. A protein-rich plant food serving is one-half cup of beans, tofu, or soy milk; 2 tablespoons of nut or seed butter; or 1 ounce of nuts or seeds.

Bone Protection: Calcium and Vitamin D

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, almost 60 percent of U.S. adults aged 50 and older are at risk of breaking a bone. And breaking a bone or experiencing a fracture as a consequence of osteoporosis can ultimately affect one’s quality of life if it results in a lack of mobility, depression, or chronic pain.
Dietary components such as calcium and vitamin D that are typically associated with dairy foods are important for bone health and may be challenging to get in vegan diets — though vegetarian diets that include dairy are usually adequate in these nutrients. But vegan diets are typically rich in other key nutrients involved in bone health, such as vitamin K and magnesium.
Keep your bones healthy by feeding them two to three servings of calcium-rich foods each day: fortified plant milks and juices; tofu made with calcium sulfate; and leafy greens such as collards, turnip greens, kale, and bok choy. Also aim to meet your vitamin D requirement, which is 600 IU per day for those 51 to 70 years of age, and 800 IU per day for women older than 70. Consume vitamin D-fortified foods, such as soy milk and orange juice, and consider taking a vitamin D supplement to help fill in the nutrient gaps.

Plant-Based Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat, have been shown to reduce inflammation, lower blood lipid levels and blood pressure, and reduce risk of heart attacks and sudden death for people with coronary heart disease. In addition, omega-3 appears to have other benefits, such as for brain health.
Vegetarians and vegans tend to have good intake of the plant-based, short-chain omega-3 fatty acid ALA, which is found in chia, hemp, and walnuts. Supplements of marine algae (where cold-water fish get their omega-3 intake to begin with), which contain the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, are an option for adequate long-chain omega-3s. As with all dietary supplements, discuss these with your health care provider before taking them.

Get Your Vitamin B12 Boost

This vitamin is probably one of the greatest nutritional concerns for vegetarians and vegans because vitamin B12 is generally found only in animal foods, such as fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and other dairy products.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is serious, as it may result in megaloblastic anemia, which can cause numbness in the arms, difficulty walking, memory loss, and disorientation. Though vitamin B12 is available in fortified foods, it’s recommended that vegans supplement their diet with a daily vitamin B12 supplement. However, even non-vegetarian older women should be concerned about vitamin B12, as older adults may have impaired absorption of this nutrient and suffer from deficiency. Thus, the Institute of Medicine recommends that all adults over the age of 50 get most of their vitamin B12 through supplements and fortified foods.

Finding Balance in a Plant-Based Diet

While there seems to be no doubt that plant-based diets can promote optimal health, it takes thoughtful planning to ensure that you are getting all the health rewards it has to offer. It is possible to crowd out essential nutrients if you’re allowing too much room for junk foods such as snacks, sweets, baked goods, and sweetened beverages. In planning appropriate plant-based meals, a few key nutrients and micro-nutrients merit consideration, especially for vegans and near-vegans. But a balanced plant-based diet rich in legumes, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and healthful fats offers all of the foods you need for optimal health.
Sharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian, is the author of The Plant-Powered Diet and  Plant-Powered For Life, as well as the The Plant-Powered Blog. She has written articles for Prevention, Better Homes and Gardens, Today’s Dietitian, and other magazines, and she is the editor of the award-winning publication Environmental Nutrition. She serves as the consulting dietitian for the Oldways Vegetarian Network, is a Regional Co-Director for the Association of Food Journalists, and is an editor for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic’s website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.