Do you know? Open the door ┋ "Reasonable diet, food is good medicine" - Diet for the elderly: Three meals and two snacks are more suitable for the elderly

Expert: Zhang Yajing, chief nutritionist at Urumqi First People's Hospital, director of Xinjiang Nutrition Society, member of Chinese Nutrition Society

Review expert: Yang Lin, chief physician, supervisor of Xinjiang Nutrition Society, and chief scientific communication expert of the autonomous region

Elderly people need balanced nutrition to improve their immunity

Most elderly people have a misunderstanding about eating, that is, eating enough is enough. In fact, for the elderly, eating well is more important than eating enough. Many elderly people will say, how can I eat well if my teeth are not good? I can only drink porridge, drink noodle soup, eat soft noodles, and cook the vegetables. If this continues for a long time, the body will definitely suffer from malnutrition, and problems with blood lipids, blood sugar, and blood pressure are inevitable. According to a random sampling survey of people over 60 years old, nearly 50% of the elderly are malnourished. Moreover, the elderly have a decreasing muscle mass compared to young and middle-aged people, and coupled with malnutrition, they are more likely to suffer from muscle deficiency, increasing the risk of limb weakness, falls and fractures.

In fact, balanced nutrition is the best way to maintain the health of the elderly and improve their immunity. Many elderly people have basically normal organ functions, but their daily diet is monotonous, or they control their diet or become vegetarians because they want to "keep healthy", which leads to unbalanced nutrition intake, eventually causing problems in the body and accelerating aging. In order to ensure good health and delay aging, you need to eat properly and have a balanced diet.

According to the dietary principles of the "Dietary Guidelines for the Elderly (2022)", the elderly need to master 6 key points .

1. Eat three meals a day and two snacks regularly

Eat on time and increase the frequency of meals. The elderly should eat according to their own work and rest rules, eat small meals frequently, and eat three meals a day at two o'clock. This can reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, promote metabolism, and make it easier to supplement the nutrients needed daily through food.

Breakfast should include 1 egg, a glass of milk, and 1-2 staple foods. The staple foods can be varied, such as minced meat porridge, fish porridge, egg porridge, meat buns, wontons, etc. Lunch should include 1-2 staple foods, 1-2 meat dishes, 1-2 vegetables, and 1 bean product; choose 1-2 kinds of livestock and poultry meat, fish and shrimp to eat in turn to avoid monotony. You can also add milk, fruits, and nuts to the morning and afternoon snacks. Sweet potatoes, yams and other whole grains and some vegetables that can be eaten raw can also be used as snacks.

2. Drink milk every day and eat nuts in moderation

Dairy products are a kind of food rich in nutrients, easy to digest and absorb, and can provide calcium and protein. Whey protein in milk is beneficial for promoting muscle synthesis and preventing muscle attenuation. The absorption rate of calcium in milk is very high. Common milk includes fresh milk such as cow's milk and goat's milk. Fresh milk can be further processed into milk powder, yogurt, cheese, condensed milk, etc. The elderly can supplement 300-400 ml of fresh milk or a corresponding amount of dairy products every day according to their eating habits; those who are lactose intolerant can consider yogurt or sour milk. The protein, fat, calcium, vitamin A and riboflavin content of cheese is 7-8 times that of fresh milk, which is more suitable for elderly people with small appetite.

Nuts are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, protein and dietary fiber, which can lower cholesterol and have antioxidant and free radical scavenging effects. Daily supplementation of 10g of nuts can help the elderly improve brain cognitive function and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

3. Eat enough animal food and soy products regularly

Animal food is rich in high-quality protein, and has high absorption and utilization rates of micronutrients, which is beneficial for reducing anemia in the elderly and delaying muscle attenuation. Try to consume 120-150g a day, and choose different types of animal food, including 40-50g of fish, 40-50g of poultry meat, and 40-50g of eggs. There should be a certain amount of animal food in all three meals, and try to choose lean meat, and eat less fat, animal skin and offal.

Soy products are soft and delicious, and are rich in variety, making them popular among the elderly. You can eat different types of soy products, such as tofu, dried tofu, bean curd skin, tofu pudding, soybean sprouts and soy milk. The average daily intake of soy products is equivalent to 25 grams of soybeans. 25 grams of soybeans is roughly equivalent to 77 grams of old tofu or 150 grams of soft tofu.

4. Choose fresh fruits and vegetables

Different types of vegetables contain different nutrients, so you should eat them in different ways. Pay special attention to choosing more dark leafy vegetables, such as rapeseed, green vegetables, spinach, purple cabbage, etc. You can eat different vegetables together, such as stir-frying shredded potatoes with shredded green peppers and carrots. This way, you can eat a variety of vegetables in one meal and take in different nutrients. Elderly people with bad teeth can chop them up and make stuffing.

It is best for the elderly to eat a medium-sized fruit every day. Those with bad teeth can choose softer fruits, or use a small spoon to eat. Fruit supply is very seasonal, but it is not advisable to eat only one kind of fruit in a period of time. Try to choose different kinds of fruits, such as oranges, apples, bananas, strawberries, pears, etc. Eat less of each kind and more kinds. Fruits contain more fruit acids, fructose, pectin and other substances than vegetables, and can also adjust the taste and increase appetite. Therefore, vegetables cannot replace fruits. Taste local specialties for dinner and stroll in the beautiful mountain and water city at night.

5. Don’t eat noodles or porridge every meal

Noodles are a refined staple food. Not only do they raise blood sugar quickly, they also easily lead to excess energy. In particular, dried noodles usually contain salt. If you eat them frequently, you will unknowingly consume too much salt. If the elderly love noodles, they can eat them two or three times a week. Don't cook them too soft. It's best to eat noodles with stewed meat, eggs, and vegetables. Try to have as many varieties as possible.

Elderly people have limited food intake, and white porridge is only a single nutritional supplement and can quickly raise blood sugar. If you like to drink porridge, try to make it more complicated, add various whole grains, beans, red dates, nuts, etc., or make it into vegetable and meat porridge, increase the variety of food as much as possible, and take in different nutrients.

6. Create a good atmosphere and enjoy delicious food

Making and sharing food has become an important way to improve and adjust the mental state, which is conducive to helping people maintain a positive and optimistic mood. Families should encourage the elderly to select, make, taste and evaluate food together, so that the elderly can feel the care from their family, relatives and friends and maintain a good mental state. Use different cooking methods, choose colorful food, and use the color and flavor of food to increase the attractiveness of eating for the elderly. Let the elderly better experience the delicious taste of different types of food and enjoy every meal in a happy mood.

References:

[1] Malnutrition incidence among the elderly[J]. Tan Dunmin. Health Care and Medical Garden. 2022(09)

[2] WEI JM, LI S, CLAYTOR L, et al. Prevalence and predictors of malnutrition in elderly Chinese adults: results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study［J］. Public Health Nutr.

[3] Wang Wenqiang. Key points of the Dietary Guidelines for the Elderly in China[J]. Kaijuanyi-Qiuyiwenyao, 2023, 04: 52.

[4] Jiang Yugang, Huang Chengyu, Huang Guowei, Xiao Rong. Expert consensus on nutrition for maintaining cognitive function in the elderly[J]. Journal of Nutrition, 2022, 06: 523-529.