Old age is a phenomenon programmed by nature. With its normal physiological course, this process is not complicated by the sharp emergence of a whole bunch of diseases. Such old age is observed in practically healthy people who are considered elderly (at 60-74 years old), as well as old (at 75-90 years old). However, in most cases, this phenomenon occurs prematurely and is complicated by various kinds of ailments. But in either case, a person experiences a change in metabolism and the condition of all systems and organs. Is there any way to fix the situation? A change in the nutrition of an elderly person will allow to influence the nature and pace of physiological age-related changes. If it is rational, it will be an important factor in the prevention of pathologies that appear in the process of physiological aging. There is a whole scientific discipline that studies the nutrition of people in the older age group. It is called herodietics.
Why is it important for older people to eat right?
In the process of aging, the body undergoes multiple psychological and physiological changes. Nevertheless, such a phenomenon never has clear age limits. That is why some people even at 70 will look like 40-year-olds, while others at 50 will not be distinguished from pensioners. Why is this happening? The aging of the body depends primarily on the quality of life, the basis of which is proper nutrition. This is the main factor that affects the compensatory and adaptive capabilities, metabolism, the prevention of many ailments, etc. During the aging process, an accumulation of various age-related changes takes place in it. They appear at the tissue, molecular and cellular level. There are changes in the digestive system. The mucous membrane of the stomach becomes thinner. At the same time, the ability to divide is reduced in all cells. Such changes deactivate the motor and secretory functions of the stomach. But that is not all. Along with these changes, there is a decrease in the acidity level of gastric juice, which worsens the state of intestinal microflora. In the pancreas, much less active enzymes become. Accelerates the aging process and overweight.
A balanced diet of the elderly will help maintain the health of the body and its normal condition. This will significantly reduce the rate of aging processes. Healthy nutrition, as well as physical activity are key components that help maintain health and avoid diseases at any age. It is especially important to adhere to such a lifestyle for those who have crossed the 60-year milestone. Such people just need to know the basic principles of nutrition of the elderly, which are considered by the science of herodietics.
The energy value of the diet
In older people, in direct proportion to their age, the metabolic processes of the body decrease. The change concerns the work of the nervous and endocrine systems, the nutrition of each individual cell.
For the elderly, a decrease in energy consumption is characteristic. A person reduces his physical activity, because of which he has a decrease in muscle mass. In this case, the body no longer needs so much energy and nutrients. In this regard, according to the science of herodietics, the caloric intake of an elderly person over 60 should be 1900-2000 kcal for women. The norm for men is 2000-3000 kcal.
Variety of Daily Diet
What should be the nutrition of an elderly person? One of the principles of its organization is the diversity of the grocery set. This will give the body everything that is needed for its life.
Among the nutritional aspects of the elderly is the restriction of the use of strong broths (fish and meat). Less should be on the table offal, fatty meat, eggs, fatty dairy products (due to the large amount of cholesterol contained in them). Older people should not consume a lot of pasta, rice, legumes, salted and smoked products, sugar, cream, confectionery, pastry flour and puff products, as well as chocolate. In addition, cooked dishes should be sparing for the digestive tract and chewing apparatus.
Acceptable in the diet of an elderly person are sweet and sour or water-diluted juices of berries and fruits, as well as tomatoes. The inclusion in the daily diet of low-fat and weak broths, vinegar and citric acid, spicy vegetables (garlic and onions, dill and herbs, parsley, etc.) is welcome.
The diet of an elderly person should include products that contribute to the normalization of intestinal microflora. These are pickled and pickled vegetables, sour-milk drinks, as well as everything that is rich in dietary fiber. In the diet of the elderly should include such dishes that will be easily digested by the digestive system. Also needed products that stimulate the motor and secretory functions of the digestive tract. In the daily menu, it is important to provide for the presence of food that normalizes the intestinal microflora.
Meal mode
What are the nutritional characteristics of the elderly? The next principle of gerodietika is the observance of a proper diet. Compared to the one that was at a young age, it should be more uniform. The nutritional regime of an elderly person needs to be done regularly. At the same time, the gaps that take place between meals should not be made long. Also, heavy eating is not recommended. An aged person should eat four times during the day. His breakfast should contain 25% of the total daily energy value of food, lunch - from 15 to 20%. At lunchtime, this figure increases from 30 to 35%, and at dinner it is from 20 to 25%. Before night rest, fermented milk drinks or raw fruits and vegetables are advisable.
If there is a recommendation of doctors, an elderly person should arrange fasting days for his body with the inclusion of fruits, vegetables, kefir and cottage cheese products in the diet. Complete fasting is not recommended.
Proper nutrition for the elderly with their diseases involves a 5-time food intake. The distribution of food value in this case looks like this:
- breakfast - 25%;
- lunch - 15%;
- lunch - 30%;
- first dinner - 20%;
- second dinner - 10%.
In addition, a 5-time regimen is recommended in the diet of an elderly person after 80 years. People of this age are prone to weight gain, which negatively affects the health of the body.
The nutrition of a lying elderly person should also be 5-6 times a day. It is better if a meal for such a patient will be made at certain hours. This will allow the body to start producing gastric juice at the same time, which will improve appetite and digestion.
Individualization of nutrition
This is another principle that older people should adhere to when developing their daily menu. It consists in taking into account the features of metabolic processes, as well as the state of certain systems and organs. In addition, older people should take into account their long-term eating habits. So, the nutrition of people at an age who do not have special health problems does not include a ban on the use of certain products. In this case, you can talk about more or less preferred food.
Unacceptable food is monotonous. It will certainly cause a shortage of certain substances in the body. It is physiologically impossible to justify the transition of people in age after their usual diet to strict vegetarianism. The same applies to separate nutrition, to the use of only raw food, as well as to other non-traditional methods.
Squirrels
What should be the proper nutrition of older people? As for the protein composition of food, scientists have not yet decided this question unambiguously. In an aging body, there is a decrease in the synthesis of hormones, enzymes, protein structures, and tissue regeneration is not so active. Which of these can be concluded? The body of people aged is very difficult to absorb proteins from meat. This is due to a decrease in the performance of digestive enzymes. At the same time, protein breakdown increases. Their loss by the body also increases.
Scientists also found that limited nutrition, which in youth reduces the human immunity, in old age has the opposite effect. That is why, over the years, protein intake is recommended to be reduced to 1 g / 1 kg of weight. On the other hand, the regeneration of obsolete, worn cells is important for older people. And for this process, the protein in the body must be supplied in sufficient quantities. Otherwise, those age-related changes associated with metabolism will be aggravated.
Animal squirrels
Of those products that contain animal proteins, people aged are recommended to give preference to milk, fish, as well as lean meats. As the first dishes, it is advisable to cook vegetarian soups (vegetable, dairy, cereal and fruit). But fish and meat broths must be included in the menu of an elderly person’s food no more than two or three times a week. Recommended for older people carp, pike and zander. In addition to river fish, their menu can also include sea fish. These are cod varieties (pollock, hake, saffron cod, cod, etc.). Fish in the diet should not be more than 75 g per day.
As for eggs, an elderly person can eat them only 2-3 in a week. It is also desirable that they are served soft-boiled or like an omelet. However, the recommendations of nutritionists to reduce the number of eggs for older people are most associated with cholesterol, which is part of the yolk. But protein can be attributed to products that are most optimal in amino acid composition. That is why older people can eat an egg without a yolk daily.
In the diet of a middle-aged person, dairy products must also be present. They will provide the body with not only protein, but also calcium, necessary for the prevention of osteoporosis. Older people are advised to include daily 100 g fat-free or a maximum of 5% cottage cheese in their menu, as well as low-fat cheeses in an amount of 10-30 g. If the body is well tolerated, milk should be 300-400 ml in the daily menu.
Of particular benefit for maintaining health will bring yogurt, kefir and acidophilus. These products include lactic acid bacillus, due to which the normal composition of the intestinal microflora is maintained and the development of putrefactive processes is blocked. Kefir for older people should be consumed daily. Nutritionists recommend one glass at bedtime. In addition, it is recommended to include kefir in the diet for constipation in the elderly. The treatment of this unpleasant phenomenon is especially effective when one tablespoon of any vegetable oil is added to a glass of fermented milk drink. Such a tool quickly fixes problems.
Vegetable proteins
They should also be present on the menu of an elderly person. Plant proteins should be ingested through legumes and grains. However, the first of them often cause rumbling in the abdomen, heartburn, belching, increased gas and even upset stools.
It is recommended to include green peas in the diet for diarrhea in the elderly in such cases. As for cereals, the most useful of them are oat and buckwheat. It is advisable to add milk to the cereals prepared from them, which will improve their amino acid composition. Barley and millet cereals are included in the diet when they are well tolerated. But the use of rice by older people should be limited in connection with a decrease in motor activity of the digestive tract. Semolina is recommended only to those people who feel the need for a sparing diet.
The intake of vegetable protein in the body is carried out when eating bread. It is better if it is rye, from whole grains, from wholemeal flour or with bran. These types of bread contain many vitamins, minerals and fiber, which improves intestinal motor function.
Fats
What should be a balanced diet for the elderly? In addition to proteins, fats should be present in their daily diet. However, their use decreases with age to 30% of the caloric value of all products. Only in this case can a balanced diet be provided without causing any negative consequences for the body. In addition, by reducing the intake of fats, the daily menu becomes healthy. Adhering to it, the elderly carry out excellent prevention of the development of atherosclerosis. However, the main thing in this matter is not to overdo it. With an excessive restriction of fats (less than 20% of the daily requirement), the quality of food significantly deteriorates.
Animal fats
The intake of natural fats in the body of the elderly should be carried out with the use of butter. It is easily absorbed. During the day, an elderly person should consume 15 g of butter, adding it to the finished food before serving.
It should be borne in mind that patients with hyperlipidemia, the intake of this product, as well as other animal fats, should be limited.
Vegetable oils
What should be the nutrition of an elderly person? In the daily diet of older people, the presence of vegetable oils must be increased in proportion to age. However, this must be done with caution, because with an uncontrolled increase in the volume of vegetable oils in the menu, you can significantly weaken the intestines. It is also important to ensure that there is no shortage of this product in the diet.
The result may be a "fat" liver. In addition, it should be borne in mind that vegetable oils have an antioxidant effect, slow down the processes of degenerative organ changes, reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and have a choleretic effect, which is extremely important for all older people.
Carbohydrates
The amount of these substances in the dishes of the elderly should be limited. This is due to the general reduction in energy consumption for the age in question.
Simple carbohydrates
The restriction of this element in the diet of an elderly person should be carried out at the expense of sweets and sugar. At the same time, fruits, vegetables, as well as crops are welcomed in the diet of an elderly person in sufficient quantities.
Excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates in old age can cause stress in the functioning of the pancreas. The consequence is the development of diabetes. Also, simple carbohydrates adversely affect the functions of the biliary tract and liver. That is why an elderly person should consume sugar from 30 to 50 g for one day. Doctors recommend giving preference to honey, berries and fruits, in which sugar is represented by fructose.
Alimentary fiber
What should be the nutrition in the elderly? Aged people are advised to develop their daily diet with a large number of foods with complex carbohydrates, and this is primarily dietary fiber. These substances will satisfy the body's need for energy by 5%. Soluble dietary fiber promotes intestinal motility and normalizes stool. Due to this, they are an effective measure for the prevention of dysbiosis, diverticulosis, and colon cancer. Dietary fiber adsorb toxic substances perfectly and also improve intestinal microflora. In addition, their work reduces the level of bile and cholesterol in the blood.
Aged people need to eat so that their body receives from 25 to 30 g of fiber per day. To do this, they need to eat apples and cabbage, cereal bran, carrots and oranges. These foods are essential in the diet for constipation in the elderly. They treat them by activating the intestines.
Vitamins
These useful substances are necessary for a person at any age. However, older people experience an increased need for vitamins. Why is this happening? Yes, because an aging body absorbs them much worse. But vitamins are necessary to stimulate redox processes. They are also designed to improve the processing of cholesterol and fats in the body. In addition, vitamins P and C help strengthen the walls of arteries. This allows you to maintain healthy vessels and heart. To replenish the supply of these elements, older people should include cabbage, citrus fruits and sweet peppers in their diet.
Vitamins of group B, E and others are important for human health. To maintain a healthy diet, older people should eat fresh fruit. It is also recommended to take multivitamin preparations.
Minerals
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Iodine, which is sufficient in seafood, activates the process of cholesterol breakdown.
The use of selenium products is a preventive measure to prevent cancer. The source of this mineral is wheat bran and yeast, seafood and barley, as well as pearl barley, offal and yolk. The absorption of selenium by the body can be largely hindered by flour and sweet foods that contain simple carbohydrates in their composition. This must be taken into account when preparing the menu for an elderly person.
Zinc is also important for the health of an aging body. It is an indispensable component in the processes of bone formation, makes people more resistant to stress, colds, positively affects the condition of the skin. This element is especially important for older men. It helps prevent prostate cancer and the development of prostatitis. The most affordable sources of zinc are mackerel and herring, mushrooms and oatmeal, garlic, wholemeal bread.
Drinking mode
In the diet of people aged 1.5 liters of fluid should be present in laziness. And only if there is evidence for that, it should be limited. Young people are recommended to drink stewed fruit and juices, a rosehip broth, weak tea with lemon and milk. However, many of them are accustomed to another. Most people have consumed strong tea and coffee throughout their lives, and it is quite difficult for them to give up this eating habit. Depriving them of such a need is not necessary. To maintain health, older people should drink no more than 1 cup of coffee daily with milk or chicory, as well as strong tea in the same amount, but only with milk or lemon.
For those over 80
It is especially important to properly organize meals for the elderly after 80 years. Due to changes in the chewing apparatus, completely different requirements arise for the selection of products, as well as for their culinary processing. People of old age should give their preference to easily absorbed and digestible food. This list includes fish, minced meat and cottage cheese. People over 80 years old should eat more carrots and beets, pumpkin and zucchini, tomatoes and cauliflower, as well as mashed potatoes.
They recommend sweet varieties of fruits and berries, apples and citrus fruits, lingonberries and black currants. But the use of cabbage should be limited, because this product leads to increased fermentation processes. In case of disorders of the digestive system, as well as exacerbations of colitis, cholecystitis and gastritis, the prepared food should be in a pureed form. Of great importance will also be its temperature. Food for the elderly should not be too hot or too cold.