What kind of milk is better for the elderly?

These two days, my neighbor Aunt Wang quietly asked her that her good friends around her did not drink milk, but instead drank some niche milk powder. I heard that niche milk powder is very nutritious and can also treat diabetes. Aunt Wang is hesitating whether to follow her good friend and buy niche milk powder, after all, the price is still quite high.

Most elderly people do not have the habit of eating dairy products. The energy demand of the elderly decreases with age, but the demand for most nutrients does not decrease. On the contrary, the demand for some important nutrients (such as protein and calcium) increases. Milk is a nutrient-rich food, especially rich in high-quality protein and calcium, and easy to digest and absorb. The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" recommends a daily intake of 300-400 ml of milk or dairy products with equivalent protein content (equivalent to 30-36 grams of milk powder). Aunt Wang and her friends can persist in consuming dairy products for a long time, which is a good eating habit.

However, there are various types of dairy products on the market, including fresh milk such as cow's milk, goat's milk, camel's milk, and dairy products. How should the elderly choose? First of all, it is recommended to buy products from regular, well-known and large-scale companies to ensure product quality. Secondly, before buying dairy products, you need to read the product logo, product description, production date, shelf life, and the true attributes of the product, that is, whether it is pure milk, fresh milk, flavored milk, milk beverage, or other types. In addition, learn to read nutrition labels.

What should we look for on nutrition labels? Mainly look at the ingredient list, nutritional information table and nutritional claims. Among them, the nutritional information table shows the energy provided by every 100g or 100ml of food, as well as the content values ​​of nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, sodium, and their percentage of the nutrient reference value. The more important indicator NRV% is the proportion of this nutrient content in this food to the amount that should be consumed every day under normal circumstances. And we should focus on comparing the protein and calcium NRV% of different dairy products. Comparing the nutritional components of cow's milk, goat's milk and camel's milk, milk has a higher cost-effectiveness.

Some dairy products claim to treat diabetes. After reviewing the literature, hypoglycemic drugs combined with certain milk powders to treat type 2 diabetes can improve the symptoms of 48 patients in the study to a certain extent, and reduce fasting blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin. However, there is no clear evidence that these dairy products can treat diabetes, so they cannot replace drugs.

As for the problem of lactose intolerance, some elderly people will experience abdominal pain, flatulence and other lactose intolerance symptoms when drinking a lot of milk, but if you drink a small amount, most people can drink it without worry, and you can also consider drinking yogurt or drinking it with meals. For those who are really allergic to milk, it is safer to choose deep hydrolyzed milk powder.

It is recommended that young people accompany the elderly to choose suitable dairy products and encourage them to eat them for a long time, so that the elderly can experience the wonderful taste of dairy products more and enjoy their later years happily. If the elderly have special diseases, they can go to the nutrition department of the hospital for consultation and arrange meals reasonably.