One of the best food groups you can add to your diet if you’re dealing with a bloated belly is vegetables.

“Veggies are the lowest calorie food out there, and one of the most nutrient-dense foods too!” says Roxana Ehsani, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and National Media Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. They are jam-packed with nutrients and health benefits.”

“Specifically over 90% of Americans are not eating the recommended amounts each day,” says Ehsani. “Veggies are also high in water content, so they can help hydrate you and hit your daily fluid goals each day as well.”

So thanks to their high water content and dietary fiber, consuming certain veggies can help your gut health, as fiber helps move things through your digestive tract, aiding you in having regular bowel movements and preventing constipation and bloat that’s making your belly a bit rounder than normal.

If you’re looking to decrease your bloat for a flatter belly, the veggie you should add to your diet is ginger.

“Ginger is one root veggie people may not think too much about, but it’s definitely the veggie to include in your diet when you are looking to debloat,” says Ehsani.

She notes that ginger has many medicinal properties than can both flatten your belly as well as soothe your gut from the inside out. Specifically, ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that ease inflammation that can cause a larger belly. It also has enzymes that can help the body digest food more easily, helping to prevent that post-meal bloat.

“If you’re suffering from an upset stomach or nausea, ginger can help calm down nausea as well,” says Ehsani. “It also has anti-inflammatory properties, so it can help reduce muscle pain or other types of inflammation in the body like arthritis. Ginger contains digestive enzymes that help your body break down proteins, so can help you better digest protein-rich foods.”

So next time you’re looking for a flatter belly, reach for some ginger.

Ehsani suggests that you can make a cup of ginger tea or add grated ginger to your next stir-fry. Looking for more ideas? There are so many ways you can get more ginger into your diet for a flat belly.

“It’s so versatile! You can grate it and add it to soups, or add it as a spice when marinating chicken or fish,” says Ehsani. “You could add fresh or dried ginger to smoothies, smoothie bowls, or even your bowl of morning oats. You could add it to pretty much any sauce or marinade or dressing even.”

Fruit has gotten a bad reputation for being high in sugar, but there are many benefits of fruit that impact our health in the second half of life!

Aging has unique considerations from a nutrition perspective. We want to preserve muscle mass, keep metabolism high, and prevent or manage disease as well as we possibly can.

Fruit contains a handful of essential nutrients and vitamins. Primarily, it contains carbohydrates in the form of fructose and fiber. Carbohydrates are a quick source of fuel that get digested quickly in comparison to other macronutrients like protein and fat.

Further, the risk for chronic disease and elevated lab markers is higher in the second half of life. This includes high cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, and blood pressure. Some fruits offer a winning combo of nutrients to help prevent chronic disease!

So, what are those fruits? Let’s dive in! Read on, and for more, don’t miss 5 Best Vegetables To Eat After 50, Says Dietitian.

Raspberries

All berries are especially rich in fiber and low in sugar per cup, but raspberries take the cake with eight grams of fiber per serving.

Raspberries are high in soluble fiber, which is particularly useful in reducing cholesterol. Soluble fiber pulls water into the digestive tract and binds cholesterol during digestion to help remove it from the body.

Lower cholesterol levels are associated with a decreased risk for heart disease and diabetes, and our risk for these two health conditions increases with age.

Incorporate a serving of berries into your day as part of breakfast on oatmeal or cereal or as a snack paired with a handful of nuts.

Green Apples

Apples are a perfect portable snack. High in fiber and low in sugar, this fruit is naturally pre-packaged and ready to go.

Green apples are lower in sugar and have a smaller impact on blood sugar, which is important because balanced blood sugars keep our energy levels stable and may decrease our risk for diabetes or pre-diabetes later in life.

Pairing your fruits with a protein and fiber source, like nuts, is a great way to better influence blood sugar—regardless of the type of fruit you choose!

Oranges

Oranges are another easy-to-pack fruit that offers a key nutrient for our blood pressure: potassium. Potassium and sodium work together to balance blood pressure: sodium can increase blood pressure, and potassium works to decrease it!

Managing blood pressure decreases our risk for cardiovascular diseases like a heart attack or stroke.

Thus, choosing high-potassium fruits may decrease blood pressure over time when combined with other lifestyle changes like exercise, stress management, and nutrition changes.

Melon

Melon is high in vitamin C and water and offers a huge benefit to the health of our skin. Melon is the most hydrating fruit and many types of melon clock in above 90% water.

Vitamin C works together with collagen to keep our skin looking firm as we age. Staying hydrated has a huge effect on our skin by improving its elasticity, preventing dryness, and keeping skin clear. Our skin is helpful in removing toxins from our system, and water helps flush those out.

The benefits of staying hydrated reach beyond our skin health too. Our brain function, nervous system, and joints all function more optimally when we are well-hydrated!

Vegetables are always going to come out on top as a favorite food recommendation from dietitians. Vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, other disease-fighting compounds, carbohydrates, and proteins. Some of the specific diseases that vegetables battle on our behalf are age-related chronic conditions.

Increasing vegetable consumption, especially green vegetable consumption, is referenced repeatedly through research and by nutrition professionals as a primary way to improve your health, including in your 50s and beyond. Here we take a closer look at these green vegetables and ways to boost intake to help you live life fully in your later years.

Spinach

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease that deteriorates the central part of the retina, or macula, and leads to visual impairment. Spinach contains vitamin A and the carotenoid pigments lutein and zeaxanthin, which all play an impactful role in protecting the eye against sun damage and eye changes due to aging. There is evidence that shows the average American diet includes just one to three milligrams a day of lutein and zeaxanthin while about six milligrams per day have been associated with decreased risk of AMD.

You can reap spinach’s eye health-supporting benefit whether you eat the leafy green fresh, canned, or frozen.

Kale

Kale is a low oxalate, calcium-rich vegetable. Oxalate is a compound that inhibits calcium absorption, so finding a veggie that packs in the calcium, while keeping oxalate at bay, is key for bone health. Adequate intakes of calcium and vitamin D are crucial nutrients in building and maintaining strong bones.

After age 50, bone mineral density begins to significantly decline as bone breakdown outpaces bone formation, thus leaving us more prone to bone diseases such as osteomalacia or osteoporosis.

If throwing kale into a salad isn’t your thing, try making kale chips by mixing a couple of handfuls with a tablespoon of olive oil and baking in the oven until crispy, or blending into a smoothie.

Romaine Lettuce

As a dietitian, I like to debunk the myth with my clients that romaine (and iceberg) lettuce doesn’t have nutritional benefits. In fact, romaine lettuce, and other leaf lettuces, contain serious amounts of vitamin A, potassium, and fiber. And because romaine lettuce is so well-liked, accessible, and affordable, it is the easiest “gateway” green to recommend increasing in our diets. Romaine lettuce comes in at under 10 calories a cup and this is especially helpful with keeping weight in check as body weight becomes harder to stabilize after 50 years old. Try using romaine lettuce as a wrap or boat for your next spring roll or taco.

Broccoli

Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic joint disease, and it’s estimated that 40 percent of people over 65 have some type of osteoarthritis. An anti-inflammatory style of eating is the best dietary approach to protecting our joints. Broccoli is a vegetable that is included in this eating pattern and contains a compound called glucosinolate. Some research, like this randomized controlled trial published in 2017 in Scientific Reports, has found glucosinolates can prevent cartilage destruction, thus protecting joints. Increase broccoli intake by dunking it in a ranch dip as a snack solution or mixing it in with your next macaroni and cheese.

Swiss Chard

The last vegetable to make the list is Swiss chard. Dark leafy greens are called out in the “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay” (MIND) diet as a food to have every day. The MIND diet is rooted in eating patterns found in the DASH and Mediterranean Diet, with additional emphasis on foods that have been linked to better cognitive function and delayed cognitive decline. A randomized controlled trial manuscript of the MIND diet published in Contemporary Clinical Trials in 2021 confirms that dark leafy greens are a core piece of the MIND diet that are likely protective against the age-related disease Alzheimer’s dementia. Swiss chard does can be a welcomed addition to a stir-fry or mixed into your next soup recipe.