Because of poor chewing and swallowing ability, the elderly often can't eat much at a meal and eat for a long time. In order to get enough calories and nutrition for the elderly every day, nutritionists suggest that the elderly eat 5-6 meals a day, and prepare some simple snacks between meals, such as low-fat milk soaked biscuits (or nutritious oatmeal), low-fat milk oatmeal, or bean curd, soybean milk and eggs, or eat small pieces of fruit or fruit paste mixed with yogurt.

2. Replace some animal proteins with bean products.

The elderly must limit the intake of meat, and some protein sources should be replaced by beans and bean products (such as tofu and soybean milk). In the diet of the elderly, each dinner should contain at least 170g of high-quality protein (such as lean meat, fish, eggs, tofu, etc. Vegetarians should get high-quality protein from beans and nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.). ).

The staple food is made of vegetables.

If the elderly usually take porridge or noodle soup as their staple food, they can add 1-2 kinds of vegetables and cook together at a time to ensure that they eat at least 500 grams of vegetables every day.

4. Eat 350 grams of fruit every day

Fruit is a food that the elderly often ignore. Some soft fruits, such as bananas, watermelons, peaches, papayas, mangoes and kiwis, are very suitable for the elderly.

Vitamin b supplement.

Recent studies have gradually shown that vitamin B is closely related to cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, cataracts, brain function degradation (cognition and memory) and mental health that are prone to occur in the elderly. Unrefined grains and nuts are rich in vitamin B, so when preparing three meals for the elderly, you might as well add some brown rice and germ. Cook porridge with white rice.

Restrict oil intake

The elderly should mainly eat vegetable oil, and avoid fat and animal fat (lard and butter). Polyunsaturated fats (such as corn oil and sunflower oil) and monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil and peanut oil) should be eaten alternately to obtain a balanced intake of various fatty acids.

7. Add less salt, monosodium glutamate and soy sauce, and make good use of other seasoning methods.

Old people who are not sensitive to taste often feel dull when eating. As soon as the food comes up, they add salt violently, and it is easy to ingest too much sodium, laying a hidden danger of high blood pressure.

8. Eat less spicy food

Although spicy spices can arouse appetite, eating more of these foods can easily lead to imbalance of water and electrolyte in the body, dry mouth, irritability and poor sleep, so it is advisable to eat less.

9. Add more water during the day

Many elderly people don't drink much water for a day because they are worried about urinary incontinence or often run to the toilet at night. In fact, the elderly should be encouraged to drink more boiled water during the day.