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Foods For Elderly As you grow older, your body’s ability to digest and assimilate all kinds of food starts slowing down. Health and lifestyle takes its toll and may result in conditions like cardiovascular diseases, blood pressure, diabetes, and so on. Even if you do not suffer from any major medical conditions, it is best to identify food ideas for aged people and plan your meal around it. Diet for aged. As you grow old, you may feel the need to eat less food due to reduced physical activity or difficulty in digestion. Despite these causes, it is important that the diet for aged people comprise of a variety of foods that offer proteins, carbohydrates, fats, micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals (iron, sodium, manganese, phosphorus, and calcium), and dietary fiber.
Combining healthy, nutritious foods for elderly people with moderate physical activity may help prolong their health and life. However, it is important to consult your doctor about existing medical conditions before changing your diet. Foods for old people need to be fewer in calories, especially if they are obese or overweight.
However, they should be nutritionally dense and should fulfill essential energy needs of the elderly. A diet for aged people should consist of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Whether they are cooked or eaten raw, look out for any signs of indigestion or slow digestion. If there is one area of diet for aged individuals that needs to be curtailed, it is saturated fats.
Restrict the consumption of saturated fats such as butter, lard, cheese, oil, and so on. At this stage, the risk of developing or worsening heart health is higher. A usual complaint amongst the elderly is constipation or slow bowel movements.
Low physical activity may be one reason for this. However, as we grow older, our organs do not function optimally and may need dietary support. Try to include high fiber foods such as cereals, leafy vegetables, whole grains, and so on in a diet for aged individuals. Remember that excess consumption of bulky fiber may result in irregular bowel movement that can cause discomfort. Excess fiber may also interfere with the process of absorption of essential nutrients. For a healthy bowel movement, elderly people should drink at least five to eight glasses of water daily. To maintain dental health, the intake of sugars or sugar based products such as cakes, cookies and refined flour products should be reduced. Sugar rich foods may also cause weight gain that can be a problem for the elderly. Sudden weight gain will put added stress on frail bones and muscles. Avoid the effects of age related anaemia by consuming iron rich food like dark, leafy vegetables, lean portions of red meats, cereals and pulses, and so on. Zinc from seafood can fortify your immune system, and Vitamin D and calcium can prevent early onset of osteoporosis.Dental problems or dentures may keep the elderly from biting into hard shells of vegetables and fresh fruits. This often denies them Vitamin C which is essential for their body. Fluid intake in the form of citrus juices may provide the aged with this Vitamin. As you grow older, you may not be able to eat much in one sitting. Eating snacks like breakfast cereals, thin wheat crackers, biscuits, and multi grain granola bars is beneficial and should be included in a diet for aged people. Include yogurt in your diet to enhance digestion and make sure that you perform some kind of physical activity in a day. Caring for old people is similar to caring for children. They need to be handled with care and lot of love. Just like children, the diet for elderly people needs to be paid special attention too. The diet for elderly people should be soft, simple, easily digestible, and more important chewable.
Menu for Elderly People: You need to understand that while the children do not have teeth, the aged on the other hand, are on the verge of losing their teeth. So avoid hard food like crackers or crisp food. Instead give them soft food like well-cooked vegetables and fruits without their skins. Avoid raw vegetables as they are hard and cannot be easily digested. Aged people need calcium and protein in abundance. So make sure you feed them lots of milk and protein-rich foods. Giving them a glass of warm milk before bedtime helps them overcome all tiredness and restlessness and also helps them sleep well. Do not give large portions of food at once as it is difficult for them to digest. Instead give them food in small quantities and at regular intervals. Include fruits like bananas, which are not only easy to chew but also easy to digest.
Easily Digestible Foods: You can feed old people boiled rice and mashed potatoes. These are easy to chew and digest. The body also manages to absorb energy from these foods easily, thereby allowing them to feel re-vitalized. Maintain a regular schedule of food and avoid bringing about sudden changes in this schedule. If you plan to feed elderly people non-vegetarian food, make sure you provide them with tender pieces of well cooked chicken. It is a good idea to remove bone pieces, if any, to avoid any kind of choking hazard. Provide the aged with nutritious soups like chicken soup or fish, mutton, and chicken broths. You can also give them beef tea as it is an excellent stimulant and is nutritious too. Giving them porridge or oatmeal with fruits and milk is a good breakfast idea when it comes to serving the aged.
When it comes to fats, avoid giving them too much of saturated fat as it will be difficult for their bodies to process. The easily digestible form of fat is cream. Aged people always wish to have something to drink as they eat. So instead of giving them soda it is a better idea to serve them food with fruit juice. Seeking a dietician’s opinion for the same is not a bad idea. This will help you know what is good and what is bad for the aged.
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