Contents:
- Medical Video: Eating Healthy As An Older Adult
- Nutritional needs change as you age, what do you like?
- Micronutrient requirements that increase with age
- Calcium
- Vitamin B12
- Magnesium
- Vitamin D
Medical Video: Eating Healthy As An Older Adult
As we get older, not just physical appearance changes. Changing nutritional needs also follow the body's aging to support all these changes. Moreover, the older you are, the more susceptible to various diseases.Without the fulfillment of proper nutrition, the quality of life and your health condition can decrease.
Therefore, it is very important to know what changes will occur with increasing age related to body conditions and nutrients needed. Check out the review below.
Nutritional needs change as you age, what do you like?
During the first years of human life, the body desperately needs high mineral and vitamin intake to strengthen its immune system. Increasingly, your nutritional needs will increase and must be fulfilled from various sources, such as higher carbohydrate and protein intake.
Foods containing low fat protein are very important to maintain muscle and bone as you get older. In fact, the average adult will lose 3-8% of their muscle mass every 10 years after reaching the age of 30 years. This is the beginning of the occurrence of bone health disorders in adults. Research shows that those who consume enough protein daily needs to lose 40% less muscle mass compared to people with less protein intake.
Moreover, the older you are, the more susceptible to constipation. So, you also have to multiply eating fiber, especially for older people. Constipation in the elderly is influenced by daily activities that do not move much (sedentary life) and side effects from drugs consumed. No wonder if it's getting older, fiber needs are increasingly needed to prevent digestive problems.Fiber also functions to reduce blood cholesterol which has accumulated as we get older. The best sources of fiber can be obtained from vegetables, fruits, and seeds.
On the other hand, the need for fat, sugar, and salt must begin to be reduced since productive adulthood to old age. As you grow older, your total daily calorie needs will also decrease.
Micronutrient requirements that increase with age
Even though you need less calorie intake, adults who are getting older still need a higher intake of micronutrients. Therefore, it is very important to consume various fruits, vegetables, fish and lean meat as you age.
Some micronutrients that need to be improved with age, including:
Calcium
Increasing age of adults, the ability to absorb calcium from food will decrease. In addition, hormonal changes can also increase the removal of calcium from the kidneys into the urine. So, calcium needs must be increased as you get older.
Vitamin B12
This vitamin is important for making red blood cells and maintaining healthy brain function. Unfortunately, reported in Healthline, research estimates that 10-30% of people aged 50 years and over begin to experience the ability to absorb vitamin B12 from their food. Therefore, some people are encouraged to take additional supplements containing B12.
This condition is associated with a decrease in gastric acid production, resulting in reduced absorption of vitamin B12 from food.
Magnesium
Older, you are at risk of magnesium deficiency because of the lack of intake, the effects of drug use, and also changes in bowel function.
Vitamin D
The older a person is, the ability of the skin to convert sunlight into vitamins decreases. This condition will ultimately affect the body's ability to absorb calcium.
