Nutrition for the elderly

The nutrition of elderly people has a number of features due to changes in the digestive organs and the needs of the aging body, and a decrease in the social and physical activity of people of the “third age”.

The main principle is the energy balance of the diet, i.e. the correspondence of the caloric content of the food consumed to the energy expenditure of the body. For each person this value is individual, but on average for elderly people it should be 2100 (women) - 2300 (men) kcal/day, for old people - 1900 (women) - 2000 (men) kcal/day.

Great importance is attached to the therapeutic and prophylactic orientation of the diet. Nutrition for the elderly includes:

• reduced consumption of animal fats rich in cholesterol - no more than 35% (this is achieved by replacing animal and poultry meat with fish meat, which contains a large amount of unsaturated fatty acids (in particular, the omega-3 and -6 families), and by using various vegetable oils);
• inclusion in the diet of increased amounts of lipotropic substances: choline, methionine, lecithin;
• compliance with the following requirements for incoming protein: no more than 0.8 g per 1 kg of ideal body weight, mainly due to proteins of animal origin (low-fat cottage cheese and cheese, other dairy products, fish, lean meat);
• sufficient consumption of plant fiber, pectin contained in vegetables and fruits;
• reducing easily digestible carbohydrates, replacing part of the daily amount of sugar (50 g) with a small amount of honey (no more than 2 teaspoons per day) or fructose;
• the diet of elderly people requires the introduction of increased amounts of calcium with yogurt, cheese, sardines, green leafy vegetables, etc.;
• enrichment of the diet with such microelements as iodine, selenium, copper, zinc, magnesium (this is achieved by using aromatic herbs and seafood in cooking). It is necessary to match the chemical composition of food with age-related changes in metabolism - for example, reduced activity of protein-digesting enzymes of the stomach, lipase, increased activity of amylase, etc.

The ratio of the main nutritional factors in the diet of an elderly person should be as follows: 1 part protein, 0.8 parts fat and 3.5 parts carbohydrates.

Alkaline nutrition is recommended for elderly people, since one third of patients have acidosis. Alkalinization of the internal environment of the body is facilitated by adherence to a dairy-vegetable diet, limiting proteins and fats of plant origin.

To normalize the composition of intestinal microflora, fermented milk products enriched with acidophilus bacillus, bifidobacterium, etc. are used. It is useful to use bran (about 1 teaspoon per day) in bread and cereals.

The diet of elderly people should contain geroprotectors and natural antioxidants: vitamins A and C, glutamic acid, rutin, phytic acid, cysteine, etc. There are many such substances in aromatic herbs, garlic, beets and other vegetables.

Cooking of food should make it accessible to the chewing apparatus of an elderly person and the action of digestive enzymes. Shallow heat treatment is recommended, excluding frying, extensive use of steaming, baking.

Of great importance in gerodietetics is the diet: eating 5-6 times a day in small quantities and no later than two hours before bedtime. This helps to avoid weight gain, overloading of the aging digestive organs and associated dyspeptic phenomena. The following distribution of the daily caloric intake by meals is recommended: first breakfast - 20%, second breakfast - 10-15%, lunch - 35%, afternoon snack - 10%, dinner - 20% (it is possible to consume in two meals).

The daily diet should include 7 to 10 g of iodized salt per day, depending on the intensity of sweat secretion. The diet of elderly people should also include such substitutes for table salt as "Sanasol" and "Panatseya", which contain potassium salts.

The total amount of liquid consumed per day is 1.0-1.5 liters, provided that normal water balance indicators are maintained. Strong coffee and tea are excluded from drinks; herbal teas, rosehip infusion, etc. are recommended.

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