Diet and Nutrition of the Elderly When people enter old age, their physiological functions begin to decline, such as slow metabolism, decreased gland secretion, decreased chewing, digestion and absorption ability, weakened muscle activity ability and decreased body resistance, which may easily lead to cardiovascular diseases, metabolic and endocrine disorders, bone and joint diseases, constipation and muscle atrophy. Changes in physiological functions of the elderly have prompted changes in their nutritional and dietary requirements. We must take enough nutrition to maintain the normal operation of the body. Nutritional requirements in old age With the increase of age, various functions of the human body will be degraded to varying degrees. Because of the physiological characteristics of the elderly, the demand for nutrients is very different from that of adulthood, so it is necessary to supplement various nutrients that meet the physiological conditions of the elderly. According to the physical characteristics of the elderly, the principles that should be followed in diet are: reducing calorie supply, eating less sugar and salt, eating more high-protein foods, eating more fruits and vegetables, and paying attention to calcium supplementation. The basal metabolic rate of heat energy in the general elderly is 65,438+00% ~ 65,438+05% lower than that in young adults. In addition, the physical activity of the elderly is reduced, so the energy consumed is also less, and the heating should be reduced appropriately. The total heat supply of people over 65 years old should be controlled at 1900 ~ 2400 kcal. Therefore, if the elderly want to stay healthy and strong, they can't consume too much heat energy, so as not to turn it into fat and store it in the body. Obese people are prone to diseases such as arteriosclerosis and diabetes, which will affect people's life span. In order to maintain the vitality of the elderly in protein and delay aging, the supply in protein must be sufficient, especially pay attention to food consumption and digestion and absorption rate. Protein has a good nutritional status, which can also enhance the ability of the elderly to resist diseases. Old people can eat some animal foods, such as meat, eggs, milk and bean products. Protein is rich in amino acids, easy to digest and suitable for the elderly. According to China's diet, the elderly's demand for protein is generally 1g per kilogram of body weight, accounting for 12% ~ 14% of the total dietary calories. Eating too much will increase the burden on the kidneys. Carbohydrate Carbohydrate is the main source of calories, and starch and sugar in rice, flour and miscellaneous grains are common carbohydrates. The diet of the elderly should not contain too much sucrose, because it will promote the increase of blood lipid content, which is not good for the health of the elderly. Besides providing calories, sucrose contains almost no other nutrients. If you eat too much, it will also affect the balance of other nutrients. Fructose is most suitable for the elderly. Therefore, the elderly should properly ingest various fruits and honey containing more fructose. Fat for the elderly, eating too much or too little fat is not good, but it is not easy to digest, which is not good for cardiovascular and liver; Less will affect the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and dietary distribution. The daily fat intake of the elderly should be limited to 20% ~ 25% of the total energy. Try to give foods with less cholesterol and more unsaturated fatty acids, more lean meat, fish and poultry, and less vegetable oil and saturated fatty acids. Try to reduce the consumption of high cholesterol foods such as egg yolk, animal brain, liver and fish. Old people with water should drink water in moderation. Generally, it is better to control the daily water consumption at around 2000 ml. In order to replenish water for the elderly, foods such as soup can be added appropriately, which can not only help digestion, but also replenish water. For the elderly who have a lot of drinking habits, we should appropriately reduce the amount of drinking water to avoid drinking too much and increase the burden on the heart and kidneys. Trace elements should be supplemented with trace elements such as calcium, phosphorus, iron and iodine. Milk, shrimp skin and kelp are rich in calcium; Fish, meat, eggs, milk and beans have high phosphorus content; Animal liver, egg yolk, fish and aquatic products contain more iron, which can be selected according to the situation; Kelp and laver are rich in potassium, iodine and iron, which is beneficial to the prevention and treatment of hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Mussels, kelp, mushrooms, peanuts, walnuts and sesame seeds are often used. Can increase the intake of essential trace elements such as zinc, selenium and copper. It is helpful to prevent and treat hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Vitamins The elderly should eat more foods rich in vitamins, which play an important role in maintaining the health of the elderly, enhancing resistance, promoting appetite and delaying aging. Eat more fresh colorful leafy vegetables or fruits and eat some coarse grains every day; In addition, fish, beans and lean meat can provide high-quality protein and vitamin B2. However, according to the dietary structure and characteristics of China people, the intake of certain vitamins, such as vitamin A and vitamin B2, is difficult to reach the standard. We can consider supplementing a certain amount of vitamin preparations in addition to the diet. However, it should be noted that when supplementing vitamins, the dosage of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E should not be too large to avoid adverse reactions. The diet structure in old age should generally include whole grains, beans, fish, eggs, milk, seafood, vegetables and fruits. Attention should be paid to the collocation of daily food varieties and the renewal of patterns to prevent the elderly from being partial to food because of monotonous food. When matching varieties, we should not only keep the balance of various nutrients and the proper proportion of nutrients, but also pay attention to the digestive function suitable for the elderly, so that it can be easily digested and absorbed and form a scientific and reasonable dietary structure suitable for the elderly. In our country's dietary tradition, we have the habit of eating stuffed food. According to the research of nutrition experts, the elderly often eat foods with stuffing, such as steamed stuffed buns, jiaozi and wonton. This can not only increase nutrition, but also benefit their health. Stuffing food consists of various foods (including meat, fish, shrimp, beans, eggs, vegetables and condiments, etc.). ), which can not only prevent the monotony of food varieties, but also provide a variety of nutrients. After careful processing, stuffing food is not only beneficial to digestion and absorption, but also suitable for the elderly with weak chewing function. Most vegetables in stuffing foods contain a lot of cellulose, which can increase gastrointestinal peristalsis, help to relieve constipation, reduce blood fat, lower blood sugar, prevent arteriosclerosis and prevent cancer. Dietary principles in old age Good diet nutrition is a magic weapon for the elderly to prolong life, which can not only delay the aging speed, but also reduce the probability of suffering from various chronic diseases. To make a good diet for the elderly, it is necessary to improve their physical fitness by improving their diet and nutrition according to their physiological characteristics. The elderly should pay attention to the following points in their daily diet: ◎ Eat less and eat more. The elderly should eat regularly and quantitatively to prevent "hunger" or overeating. Old people should eat less and eat more to prevent obesity. ◎ Mainly soft food. Some elderly people's teeth are loose or fall off, and their digestive function is reduced. Therefore, it is mainly based on foods that are easy to chew and digest, such as milk, soybean milk, thick porridge, wonton and so on. Eat less fried foods and hard foods, such as oil cakes and barbecued pork. Eat more vegetables and be less greasy. Fresh vegetables contain vitamins and minerals necessary for the elderly. Oily food is not only difficult to digest, but also high in fat. In order to prevent hypertension and coronary heart disease in the elderly, it is best not to eat greasy food. Eat more light food and less salty food. The elderly should not eat salty food, so as not to increase the burden on the kidneys and prevent hypertension. ◎ Try to diversify your diet. Old people should not be partial eclipse, otherwise they will get sick due to some nutritional deficiencies. ◎ Diet should be hot. Old people like warm appetite and are afraid of cold, so they should eat hot food, not too much cold or cold food. Drinking tea in moderation and not smoking can enhance the elasticity and permeability of blood vessels and prevent hypertension. But tea should not be too strong to prevent insomnia. Old people often suffer from respiratory diseases, so they must also avoid smoking. Five types of foods that the elderly should carefully eat ① fried foods: the taste of the elderly is obviously reduced, and they all like to eat fried foods with strong flavor. However, this kind of food contains too much fat, and it is unbearable for the gastrointestinal tract to eat more high-fat food at one time, which is easy to cause indigestion and easily induce the recurrence or aggravation of biliary and pancreatic diseases. In addition, fried food produces high heat, and the elderly often eat it, which will lead to excess heat in the body and lead to obesity, which is not good for the body. In particular, eating fried food often increases the risk of cancer, because the oil used many times contains more carcinogens. (2) Smoking and baking: In the process of smoking and baking food, some carcinogens can be produced. The resistance of the elderly is declining. If you eat smoked and baked food regularly, you will increase the possibility of cancer, especially the risk of gastric cancer. 3 Pickling: Pickled food is generally high in salt content and low in vitamin content (vitamin C is mostly destroyed in the pickling process), so it is not suitable for the elderly. In particular, some pickled foods produced by processing plants with poor sanitary facilities and irregular operation are more likely to be contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms and cause gastrointestinal diseases to the elderly. Sauce products: including soy sauce and various pickles, generally with extremely high salt content. Old people often eat this kind of food, in fact, they unconsciously consume more salt, which increases the burden on cardiovascular and kidney, which is very unfavorable to health. ⑤ Frozen food: In hot summer, the elderly sometimes eat some cold drinks and food, which is actually very bad. Because chilled food will lead to the decrease of gastric juice secretion after entering the stomach, it is easy to cause gastrointestinal diseases, and even induce angina pectoris and myocardial infarction, which is especially unfavorable for elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the elderly should try not to eat cold food and cold drinks.