I want to share a bit about what I see as the advantages of Whole 30 eating for people over 50, with one possible caveat.
A while back when I was a lithe young thing in my thirties, a friend of mine in his mid-fifties sat down heavily on a bench and said to me, "You see, this is what happens when you get older--your muscles get all achy." I remember thinking, Oh, no, I don't want that to be me. Cut to me in my late forties and early fifties--sure enough, I'd wake up in the morning, shuffle my sore limbs to the bathroom, and look back at a puffy face. I just thought it was normal. Then I started a paleo-style diet, and the achiness almost immediately went away. It was dramatic: I could bend over and place my palms on the floor first thing in the morning, which I couldn't have dreamed about before.
Recently, my sugar habit came back, with a vengeance. I would feel tired and creaky just walking up the stairs. So I did a Whole45, just to really keep the sugar demons at bay. It was a joy to feel the litheness I had felt in my limbs at a young age return. I felt like someone had literally oiled my joints. I am emphasizing this because so many people believe that soreness and lack of flexibility are an inevitable product of old age. It ain't so.
Another great advantage of Whole30-ing for older people is the way it changes your habits. By the time you've been on the planet for half a century or more, your manner of thinking about food and your style of eating have become pretty well engrained. Your mind may try to be as inflexible as your body once was. We all know from research and from the examples of people around us that changing habits and learning new skills are both an important part of aging well. With Whole30 you have to rethink a lot of things you may have been doing automatically that no longer serve you. This in itself is freeing.
What's the caveat? My lipids level zoomed up along with my adoption of the paleo diet--both HDL and LDL increased; my doctors have been pestering me to go on statins. Women lose the protection that estrogen previously gave to their heart when they go through menopause, so heart-released problems often show up at this stage. I am not sure how much this increase in cholesterol had to do with my change in diet or with menopause itself. Probably a combination of both. Now that I have completed my Whole45 I am experimenting with a Mediterranean-style diet--still grain-free, but veering in the direction of fish and lowering my intake of red meat, which is problematic anyway (increases cancer risk in many studies, high carbon footprint).
I have learned so much from this Whole45, including how much the foods I eat influence my cognitive and concentration skills. (Hint: much more than I previously thought!) Again, eating the foods that work for me help me to preserve that most precious resource. Good luck to all you at all ages.
