TOMORROW is my birthday and apparently, it’s a Big One. Personally, I think all birthdays are big and worthy of celebration (you’ve enjoyed another year of life!) but when you move from one decade to the next, society considers it quite a landmark.

Care to guess my age? My granddad would say: “I’m as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth”. In real terms, I’ll be 40 tomorrow.

This is causing me to rethink a few things in life, and I’m experiencing what Brene Brown describes as ‘an unravelling’. Not a sudden midlife crisis, but a gradual realisation that I’m well into the mid-point of my life (if I’m lucky) and must do things differently now.

The drama and resilience of my 20s has passed, and I’m grateful for the experiences and learnings of my 30s which have got me to where I am today. Now it’s time to start focusing on maintaining my health and wellbeing to enjoy the next half of life!

Some of the big concerns for both men and women after the age of 40 are bone, brain, and heart health. We all lose bone mass with age, but women start to lose it earlier, and at a faster rate than men which is one of the many reasons why osteoporosis is four times more common in women.

The first nutrient that springs to mind when thinking about bones tends to be calcium but vitamin D, vitamin K, zinc, magnesium, and boron are just as important. Calcium needs team-mates to help it be absorbed properly and locked into the bone matrix. Without them, excess calcium gets deposited in soft tissues and may even contribute to the formation of kidney stones.

The power of vitamin D goes far beyond bone health. Researchers in Brazil studying post-menopausal women aged between 45 and 75 discovered a strong association between low levels of vitamin D and diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome; a cluster of symptoms including central weight gain (fat around the middle), high blood pressure, and insulin resistance, all of which increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. The reason for this link is thought to be the way vitamin D influences insulin activity and inflammation, and the subsequent knock-on effects on blood sugar management and heart health.

Because inflammation is at the root of so many chronic conditions associated with ageing such as heart disease and dementia, including plenty of protective, anti-inflammatory foods is vital from mid-life onwards. Aim to enjoy at least five differently coloured vegetables every day, plus a couple of servings of fresh fruits. Refuse beige bland processed foods and think of antioxidant-rich dark green broccoli, red tomatoes, orange sweet potato, yellow peppers, and white onion plus purple blueberries and pink raspberries. Embrace colour and variety! Your bones, brain and heart will thank you for it.

Sally Duffin is a Registered Nutritionist (MBANT). Find her online at www.nutritioninyork.co.uk or join the Facebook group ‘Nutrition in York’.