Eating of the elderly

Elderly nutrition has a number of characteristics due to changes in the digestive system and the needs of an aging organism, a decrease in the social and motor activity of people of the "third age".

The main principle is the energy balance of the food ration, ie, the caloric content of the food consumed by the energy expenditure of the organism. For each person this value is individual, but on average in the elderly it should be 2100 (women) - 2300 (men) kcal / day, in the elderly - 1900 (women) - 2000 (men) kcal / day.

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

• reduced consumption of animal fat, cholesterol-rich - no more than 35% (this is achieved by replacing animal and poultry meat with fish meat, containing a large number of unsaturated fatty acids (in particular, the "omega" -3 and -6 families), using various vegetable oils );
• inclusion in the diet of an increased amount of lipotropic substances: choline, methionine, lecithin;
• compliance with the following requirements for the incoming protein: not more than 0.8 g per 1 kg of ideal body weight mainly due to proteins of animal origin (low-fat varieties of cottage cheese and cheese, other dairy products, fish, lean meat);
• sufficient use of vegetable fiber, pectins 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;
• nutrition of the elderly requires the introduction of increased amounts of calcium with yoghurt, cheese, sardines, green leaves of vegetables, etc .;
• enrichment of the diet with trace elements such as iodine, selenium, copper, zinc, magnesium (this is achieved by using aromatic herbs, marine products for cooking). It is necessary to match the chemical composition of food to the age-related metabolic changes-for example, the reduced activity of digesting proteins of the gastric enzymes, lipase, increased activity of amylase, and so on.

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 of the elderly is recommended, as one third of patients have acidosis. The leaching of the internal environment of the organism is facilitated by the observance of the milk and vegetable diet, the restriction of proteins and fats of vegetable origin.

To normalize the composition of the intestinal microflora, the use of fermented milk products enriched with acidophilus rod, bifidum bacterium, etc. It is useful to use bran (about 1 teaspoon per day) in bread, cereal.

Elderly nutrition should contain geroprotectors and natural antioxidants: vitamins A and C, gyutamine acid, rutin, phytic acid, cysteine, etc. Many such substances in aromatic herbs, garlic, beets and other vegetables.

Culinary processing of food should make it available to the chewing apparatus of an elderly person and the action of digestive enzymes. We recommend shallow heat treatment, the elimination of frying, the wide use of steaming, baking.

Great importance in gerodetics has a diet: eating 5-6 times a day in small amounts and no later than two hours before bedtime. This avoids the increase in body weight, the overload of aging digestive organs and associated dyspeptic phenomena. The following distribution of calorie content of the daily ration is recommended for meals: first breakfast - 20%, second breakfast - 10-15%, lunch - 35%, lunch - 10%, dinner - 20% {maybe two meals).

In the daily diet should be used from 7 to 10 grams of iodized salt per day, depending on the intensity of sweat secretion. Eating elderly people should also include such substitutes for table salt as "Sanasol" and "Panacea" containing potassium chloride.

The total amount of fluid consumed per day is 1.0-1.5 liters, provided that the normal water balance is maintained. Drinks are excluded from strong coffee and tea, recommended herbal teas, rose hips, etc.

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