First, the mouth shape changes.

With the increase of age, most of the teeth of the elderly will fall off, and related gum diseases will appear for a long time. In addition, the decrease of salivary enzymes makes it difficult to chew and swallow food. Sometimes because of toothache and swollen gums, soft ingredients will be preferred, which will reduce food intake or some nutrients intake, which are obstacles that affect the nutrient absorption of the elderly.

Second, musculoskeletal and hormone levels.

After 50 years old, muscle mass will drop sharply, with an average loss rate of 5-10% per10 year. At the age of 60, if there is no strength training, you may lose about 0.5 kg of muscle every year. The loss of bone density is more serious, and it can be reduced by about 30% every 10 year when it enters the aging stage. The loss of muscle and the decline of bone mineral density not only affect the ability of the elderly to control their daily life, but also reduce the muscle mass of their internal organs. For example, the atrophy of gastrointestinal muscles will cause poor peristalsis, lead to digestive difficulties, and also cause constipation.

In terms of hormones, the insulin secretion function of pancreas decreases, and the corresponding cells are slow to respond, which leads to the decline of blood sugar metabolism ability and further aggravates the chronic diseases of the elderly. Cholecystokinin will also increase slowly, causing satiety, which will cause the elderly to feel full when they eat a little food, and their appetite will also decrease.

Third, chronic diseases.

The elderly are not only muscle decline and osteoporosis, but also people with high incidence of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension and other diseases. Because of chronic diseases and the long-term use of various drugs, many people can't eat, sleep quality becomes worse, and the whole person's appetite is not good, which greatly affects the absorption of nutrition and aggravates the state of nutritional imbalance. Because of habitual sedentary, the overall metabolic level has dropped sharply, which has aggravated many problems such as eating disorders.

Fourth, psychological and emotional stress.

When people get old, it is inevitable that the number of friends will decrease and the scope of social communication will narrow, so the elderly will have psychological problems such as loneliness, depression and anxiety. Psychological and emotional changes will affect the eating state. In addition, the diet of lonely elderly people may be irregular, and the situation that three meals a day are reduced to two meals a day sometimes occurs. In this way, the quality of diet cannot be guaranteed, and malnutrition will occur, which will have a serious impact on health.

Fifth, the sensory system

The sense of smell, taste and vision of most elderly people have declined to varying degrees. The decline of sense of smell and taste will affect the elderly people's loss of appetite and they don't know how much to eat when eating. When buying ingredients for cooking, it will also affect eating efficiency because of decreased visual function or eye diseases.

Old people usually have eating habits formed over the years, some have heavy mouths, some prefer fat meat, and some don't eat or eat less vegetables. These over-nutrition or lack of diet structures are deeply rooted and difficult to change. In addition, some elderly people blindly believe that health care products and various supplements are really needed by the body? Still echoing the crowd, everyone eats me. Whether the body really needs it or not. What's more, some elderly people find various remedies to exercise.

These are not only misunderstandings in diet, but also serious health problems. I am afraid that the obsession with personal diet structure will do more harm than good. Not only can it not make the body better, but it will aggravate the potential risks of some chronic diseases.

First, eat a balanced diet, eat less and eat more meals.

For most elderly people, the most important thing is to change the concept of diet. They should start from accepting the scientific concept of nutritious diet and take China Dietary Guide as a reference to ensure that their nutrition is balanced and their diet structure is not too thin. Do not rely on various health care products, and do a scientific basic diet. This is the most important in the diet structure of the elderly.

It is suggested that the elderly eat less and more meals, and add two simple meals between three meals a day, such as fruit, nuts, egg white or sugar-free yogurt. The main function of extra meals is to make up for the problems such as insufficient calories and malnutrition caused by not eating too much in one meal or low eating efficiency caused by aging. By reasonably adding meals, the purpose of balanced nutrition can be achieved. Especially for the elderly with poor oral cavity and small appetite, the elderly and the frail elderly, we should pay more attention to the quality of meals. Avoid excessive hydration before meals, or eating too much soup during meals, which will affect the appetite. Chew slowly when you eat.

Second, three major nutrient intake recommendations.

2. 1 carbohydrate

The elderly are affected by chronic diseases due to decreased insulin sensitivity. It is suggested that the carbohydrate structure should be mainly coarse grains, supplemented by flour and rice. It is not recommended to drink soup and soak rice.

Constipation is a common phenomenon among the elderly. Because dietary fiber intake is particularly important, dietary fiber can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and reduce constipation. Fruits and vegetables can not only provide soluble dietary fiber, but also contain a lot of antioxidants, which can provide a considerable amount of minerals and vitamins. It is recommended that most elderly people consume at least 25g of cellulose every day. Eating more dietary fiber can effectively prevent constipation in the elderly.

2.2 protein

Protein is a key nutrient for maintaining muscles, but the absorption and digestion ability of the elderly is also affected by bad oral cavity, chronic diseases or other dietary problems. Nevertheless, we should pay attention to protein's supplement. If we don't eat much at a time, we can eat milk, sugar-free yogurt or egg white in our meals. For the elderly with bad oral cavity, it may be necessary to stew protein origin, such as all kinds of meat.

It is suggested that the elderly should consume 0.8g protein per kg of body weight. The main sources of high-quality protein are fish, eggs, dairy products, soybeans and other plant proteins. Through the intake of high-quality protein and scientific training methods, we can keep lean body weight and reduce body fat rate.

2.3 Fat

Restricting saturated fat and trans fatty acids is very important to reduce cardiovascular diseases and alleviate chronic diseases. Ensure adequate intake of unsaturated fatty acids, such as nuts, fish oil, olive oil, salmon, etc. Deep processing of ingredients and eating out should be avoided as much as possible. Too much saturated fat and trans fatty acids is not good for the elderly.

Third, vitamins, minerals and hydration status.

3. 1 vitamin

Vitamin D is very important for the elderly to keep their bones healthy. When people get old, their ability to synthesize vitamin D decreases by four times, and at the same time, their ability to activate vitamin D also decreases, resulting in physical deficiency. Outdoor sunbathing can be a good supplement. Not only supplement vitamin D, but also take a walk, exercise quickly, relieve the mood and release the pressure of the body.

B vitamins: B6, which decreases with age, is very important for normal metabolic function and enzyme activity. It is suggested that the elderly should supplement with a variety of diets. The deficiency of B 12 will lead to the decrease of gastric acid secretion and affect the nutrient absorption in diet.

Other vitamins, such as foods containing carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E, can prevent eye diseases such as cataracts.

3.2 minerals

Zinc deficiency is very common in the elderly, which will damage the immune function of the body. Due to chronic diseases, the elderly need to take a variety of drugs, which will also affect the absorption of zinc. Therefore, it is also important to supplement zinc properly through diet. Zinc is usually found in shellfish and seafood.

Calcium, with the increase of age, not only the bone density decreases, but also the absorption of calcium decreases. Therefore, we should pay attention to the intake of dairy products. For the elderly who are lactose intolerant, choosing sugar-free yogurt is also a good choice.

Sodium, the elderly should reduce the intake of sodium, too high, which will lead to the risk of hypertension. When choosing and cooking food, we should add less salt or use other condiments, and pay special attention to the intake of invisible sodium, such as soy sauce, various pickled sausages, noodles and snacks.

Vitamins and minerals, one of which cannot be simply supplemented, will cause the imbalance of other nutrients after excessive supplementation of a single element. The best way is a balanced diet. Eat enough 12 different ingredients every day and 25 different ingredients every week, and the nutrition will be fully supplemented to the body. If you need to simply supplement a certain vitamin or mineral, please consult a doctor and don't decide to supplement it yourself.

3.3 Hydrated state

Dehydration is another risk faced by the elderly. The water in the body will decrease with age, so the environment may change slightly, such as being too hot or unwell, and the body will be short of water. Therefore, the elderly should supplement enough water every day.

The elderly should take the initiative to replenish water several times, and the daily drinking amount reaches about 1700ml. Warm water is preferred, tea or coffee drinks are not recommended, and sugary drinks are not recommended.

suggestion

The elderly should first update their diet concepts and improve their quality of life through scientific and nutritious diet methods. A good diet must be a scientific diet. Step by step with their actual diet, slowly adjust, there is no need to adjust in place, give the body a process of slowly adapting to the new diet structure. Finally, I wish all the old people in the world can benefit from a scientific and nutritious diet, be healthy and enjoy their old age.

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