Why is Elderly Nutrition So Important?

If our primary care concierge doctors in Jupiter could choose the most important thing for elderly care, it would be nutrition. Elderly nutrition is crucial because as we age, our bodies undergo changes that make it more challenging to obtain the nutrients we need to stay healthy.  

Older Age Means More Changes

As we age, our metabolism slows down, our digestive system becomes less efficient, and our senses of taste and smell may diminish, which leads to a reduced appetite and a decreased interest in eating.

Additionally, older adults are more likely to have chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis, which can all be affected by diet. Proper nutrition can help manage these conditions, prevent complications, and improve overall quality of life.

Get the Good Stuff

Good nutrition is essential for maintaining muscle mass and bone density, which can help prevent falls and fractures. A balanced diet that includes adequate protein, calcium, and vitamin D is crucial for older adults to maintain strong bones and muscles.

Elderly nutrition is essential for several reasons:

  1. Health: Proper nutrition is essential for maintaining good health, especially as we age. A balanced diet that includes a variety of foods from all food groups helps to provide the necessary nutrients for good health, such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
  2. Chronic Diseases: Good nutrition can help prevent or manage chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis, which are more common in older adults.
  3. Immune System: Adequate nutrition is crucial for maintaining a healthy immune system, which can help protect against infectious diseases and illnesses.
  4. Mental health: Good nutrition impacts mental health, such as reducing the risk of depression and cognitive decline.
  5. Quality of Life: Proper nutrition can improve the quality of life for older adults by increasing energy levels, maintaining a healthy weight, and improving overall physical and mental well-being.

Overall, elderly nutrition is essential for maintaining good health, preventing chronic diseases, and improving the quality of life in older adults. 

How and Why to Steer Clear of Ultra-Processed Foods

Our concierge primary care doctors in Jupiter often suggest you consume healthy foods and avoid processed and ultra-processed foods. In the real world, of course, we know how difficult that is to do.

The question is, why? Why have ultra-processed foods come to dominate 60 percent of the American diet?

Ultra-processed foods are quick and convenient, for one thing, and for another, there’s no denying that, for the most part, these foods taste good. From frozen dinners, cookies, and cakes, to fast-food burgers and chicken, fried foods, deli meats, and sodas, many of us not only can’t quit them, but we also don’t want to.

And we convince ourselves that processed foods aren’t really all that bad for us. On that last point, we have to disagree. The one thing we know for sure is that processed and ultra-processed foods can trigger numerous health concerns.

What the Studies Say

For example, one study of more than 22,000 adults published this year in the journal BMJ found that subjects who consumed more ultra-processed foods had a 19 percent higher likelihood of early death and a 32 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who ate fewer ultra-processed foods.

Another 2019 study published in BMJ followed more than 100,000 adults in France for five years. They found that those who ate the most processed foods were 23 percent more likely to experience a heart condition or stroke than those who consumed the lowest amounts.

A third study, also published in BMJ, tracked 20,000 Spanish adults over 20 years. Those who ate the most processed foods were 62 percent more likely to die during the study period than those who ate the lowest.

Other studies have linked processed and ultra-processed foods to a higher risk for colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

How are Foods Classified?

Researchers classify foods into roughly three categories:

“Unprocessed or minimally processed” foods include fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, legumes, meats, poultry, fish and seafood, yogurt, white rice and pasta, and natural juices (some classification systems divide these into two categories).

“Processed” foods include cheeses, bread, beer, wine, ham, and bacon.

“Ultra-processed” foods include potato chips, pizza, cookies, chorizo, sausages, mayonnaise, chocolates and candies, and artificially sweetened beverages.

They also created a separate category called “processed ingredients,” which includes salt, sugar, honey, olive oil, butter, and lard.

What’s Wrong with Processing?

The big mystery is why foods that are so convenient and taste so good are so bad for us. The problem seems to come from the processing itself, which changes foods from their natural state.

These tend to be high in poor-quality fats, additional sugar, salt, and chemical preservatives, and low in vitamins and fiber. The common factor can be summed up in the phrase “convenience foods”; that is, foods that are quick and easy to prepare at home or grab at a drive-through.

Some researchers believe that changing foods from their natural state leads to inflammation throughout the body, which puts us at risk for a host of diseases.

“Some of the foods that have been associated with an increased risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease are also associated with excess inflammation,” Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, told Harvard Health Publishing.

“It’s not surprising, since inflammation is an important underlying mechanism for the development of these diseases,” he said.

How to Break the Addiction

Asking you to give up all these delicious foods might seem as if we’re condemning you to a life of bland, tasteless meals. But that’s because Big Food has spent billions of dollars getting you addicted to all its additives.

In addition, these ultra-processed foods leave our bodies so depleted of nutrients that we keep eating more and more to try to make up the shortfall, not unlike Star Trek’s famous tribbles, which “starved to death in a storage compartment full of grain.”

The fact is, humans have been eating non- or minimally processed food for millennia. When your taste buds reacclimate themselves to the real thing, you’ll be surprised how sweet a carrot can be, or how a locally grown tomato is bursting with tangy flavor.

Finally, when you begin eating better, you’ll likely begin sleeping better, looking younger, have more energy, and many of the aches and pains you thought you’d just have to live with may begin to decrease or disappear altogether.

Take it Easy

All this will make you want to keep on this new path, and eventually, you’ll lose your taste for processed and ultra-processed foods. When you’ve been eating lower- or no-salt foods for a while, for example, then dip into a package of potato chips, you’ll think the contents are half potatoes and half salt.

The key is to withdraw from these addictive substances gradually. Substitute french fries for sweet potato chips you’ve baked yourself, for instance, or swap out soda for water occasionally.

Shop the store’s perimeter as much as possible, where they keep the fruits and vegetables and fresh meat and seafood.

If you must visit a fast-food restaurant, opt for salads or baked chicken sandwiches if they offer them.

Finally, don’t agonize over everything you eat. Stress is bad for you, too. Simply prefer fresh food over processed as often as possible.

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Foods That Provide Hydration

Living in Florida, hydration is very important! Adequate hydration is a key factor in your maintaining your overall health and well-being. Staying properly hydrated is essential for your body to regularly perform important functions such as: regulating your body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. Although the consumption of water or other liquids on a daily basis is an essential part of staying hydrated, there are multiple foods that you can incorporate into your everyday routine to increase your water intake.

Eating the USDA recommended amount of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis will assist you in providing enough water intake for your body. The foods listed below have a high water content, and contain: fiber, vitamin C, electrolytes, potassium, magnesium, and numerous other essential nutrients. Sufficient nutrient intake can help prevent common medical ailments such as headache, fatigue, and dizziness.

Fruits and Their Water Content
Cucumbers : 96.7%
Watermelon: 91.5%
Oranges: 87%
Cantaloupe: 90.2%
Strawberries: 91.0%
Grapefruit: 90.5%
Tomatoes: 94.5%

Vegetables and Their Water Content
Broccoli: 90.7%
Cabbage: 95%
Sweet Peppers: 93.9%
Celery: 95.4
Spinach: 92%
Iceberg Lettuce: 95.6%
Radishes: 95.3%
Zucchini: 95%

By incorporating fruits and vegetables with a high water content into your diet, and regularly consuming water, you are helping your body to work better for you. If you feel thirsty, you are already in the process of becoming dehydrated. Including high water content foods into your meals is a straightforward way to keep the entire family properly hydrated and healthy. More information about the recommended serving of fruit and vegetables per day is available through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).