Eating your way to good health

Many older people are malnourished – but are not aware of it. June Edwards gets some good advice about ensuring your diet doesn’t adversely affect your well-being

Nutrition

Nothing can halt the aging process, including diet, but it can certainly add to our quality of life and help us fight against heart and digestive illness, all factors of aging.

With the European population aging, resulting in one-third of all Europeans being 60-plus by 2050 (www.euractiv.com), the diet and nutrition of older adults is high on political agendas these days. Policy makers have good cause for concern. While we might be living longer, fuller and richer lives than our parents and grandparents, poor nutrition continues to rear its ugly head.

A survey published last year revealed that 40% of older people admitted to hospitals in Northern Ireland were malnourished on admittance. More shocking is the news that most of them were unaware that they were malnourished.

“Older adults need to follow the rules of the food pyramid just the same as younger people,” says Dr Muireann Cullen, manager of the Nutrition and Health Foundation. “Because you might be less active than you were 20 or 30 years ago, you won’t need to eat as much, but it’s important that the foods you do eat are nutrient rich.”

A report by the Food Safety Authority Ireland (FSAI), Recommendations for a national food and nutrition policy for older people, claims that “unrecognised or untreated malnutrition can lead to disability, reduce the quality of life, increase the need for healthcare and social services, and contribute towards premature institutionalisation and early mortality.”

But poor nutrition in older adults is often more about the practicalities than poverty. “It sounds like common sense, but even getting a lift to the supermarket once a month to stock up and get help with bulky items can make a huge difference to how we eat when we are older,” says Dr Cullen. “Another factor is living alone. Regardless of age, if you live alone it’s very tempting to just have a sandwich for dinner, which is why inviting someone over for a meal can be a great idea because it motivates you to cook,” she suggests.

Bone density, a more sluggish bowel, and gum and teeth issues are other factors that affect how and what older adults eat, says Dr Cullen, who suggests a wide variety of quality foods is the best approach.

Top Tips
Boost your B vitamins, which are found in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, beans, breakfast cereals and fortified grains, to help avoid depression, memory loss and heart disease.

Vitamin D is important for bone health, calcium absorption and muscle function. The British Health Foundation recommends that over 65s take it in supplement form as our ability to absorb it from sunlight declines as we age.

Include oily fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel and fresh tuna, all of which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that can help protect against heart disease and are good for anyone who has had a heart attack.

Eat iron-rich foods, such as meat and green vegetables, to give you lots of energy.

Include dairy-rich food to keep your bones healthy.

If your appetite isn’t good, eat small amounts more frequently.

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Comments

  1. Maureen wrote:
    And the Cretan diet proves that it's true - with Cretan people having less heart diseases, less diabetes and living longer...
  2. carberry wrote:
    Eating your way to good health
    What about some recipes for dinners for one? It can be hard to think of "real" dinners that can be cooked for one in a reasonably short time.
  3. Greeneyes wrote:
    greeneyes
    I know it is difficult to please all the people all of the time for instance I
    love filling one of those cream pottery mixing bowls with the following;

    Apples - peeled and chunky cup. 3/4 sticks Celery held tightly together and sliced thinly including the green leaves. Large Bell
    Pepper colour of your choice, cut in half remove inside including seeds
    then slice lengthways into strips then quarters. Scallions 2 large, slice
    longways then cut into bite pieces. Cherry tomatoes about 6/8 or
    large and cut into quarters. Grill a couple of rashers or low fat sausages and when cooked, let them cool and then use scissors to cut
    into small pieces. Put all in to the bowl then get really good cold -pressed extra Vergin olive oil and a bottle of really good wine vinegar,
    make a mix of both in another bottle shake and sprinkle over your beautiful salad. Just before you eat sprinkle small amount of parmesan over the top and enjoy, I only have one meal a day that is
    my salad meal. Sometimes I use sardines, chic peas and brown rice,
    add uncooked spinach leaves (tear don't cut) and top your salad off with a large glass of pure clear water with a quarter lemon squeezed
    and left in the glass. Heaven and your conscience is clear Happy Days!
  4. Greeneyes wrote:
    How do you make a basic hot meal "tasty"
    I have been asked this question many times and I still haven't got a good enough answer. For instance a person living on ones own wanting to cook a hot mean and is used to the good old fashioned potatoes, veg and a bit of meat. Has anybody any ideas. My mother likes plain food and I would like to add a bit more flavour but I need a
    couple of ideas.
  5. Maureen wrote:
    Adding Spices
    I am far from being a good cook but I experiment a lot.
    I tend to put a lot of herbs everytime I cook vegetables: oregan, basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme. Lately, I've tried giving my vegetables (broccoli, carrots etc) a more exotic taste by replacing herbs with sichuan pepper, a drop of sesame oil and a bit of soya sauce. The already mixed 5 Chinese spices are also great. Healthy and tasty!
  6. Pennywise wrote:
    Use the Oven or Microwave more
    For the people who like their potatoes veg. and meat. Why not put the full potato (jacket), veg. and meat in slow cook oven with a little butter and, as the person above mentioned, some herbs. It is easy to do and is cooking while you are doing other things and only one cooking tray to wash. Bliss.
 

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