Nutrition and aging
Regardless of our age, maintaining proper nutrition is important to living a healthy life. However, as we age our dietary needs change. It is essential to be aware of the changing nutritional requirements and what foods provide the vitamins and minerals that ensure optimum health is achieved as we age.
What is proper nutrition?
Proper nutrition is made up of several components and can be overwhelming to understand. The components of healthy eating habits are similar to cooking a meal — they both require the proper ingredients in the right amounts to get the desired result. One of the first ingredients of healthy eating is learning what foods to consume to obtain the proper amount of essential nutrients. Older adults require different vitamins and minerals, so being aware of the special nutrient needs is important for healthy aging. The nutrient table below highlights some of nutrient needs that are specific to older adults.
Essential Nutrients – are nutrients that are required for the body to function normally but that the body cannot make on its own. These nutrients include some vitamins, dietary minerals, essential fatty acids and essential amino acids (protein).
| Vitamins and minerals | Daily recommended amounts for adults 50+ | Common food sources | How your body uses these nutrients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 3,000 IU | Green, yellow or orange vegetables and fruits; dairy products | Promotes good vision, especially night vision; keeps skin, hair and nails healthy; wards off bacterial infection |
| Vitamin B6 | 1.7 mg | Meats, eggs, whole-grain cereals; peanuts, walnuts, wheat germ, soybeans | Helps metabolize carbohy-drates and proteins; helps form red blood cells; promotes proper nerve function |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.4 mcg (To improve bioavailability, it is recommended that people over 50 meet the B-12 recommendations through fortified foods or supplements) |
Liver, kidney, meats, fish, shrimp, oysters, dairy products, eggs | Helps body break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates; required for blood formation and neural function |
| Vitamin C | 90 mg | Citrus fruits, tomatoes, green peppers, berries, potatoes, fresh green leafy vegetables | Promotes healing of cuts and wounds; keeps gums healthy; helps resist infection |
| Vitamin D | 600 IU | Saltwater fish, organ meats, fish-liver oils, egg yolks, fortified dairy productss | Helps in normal formation of bones and teeth; helps absorb calcium and phosphorus and maintain calcium levels in tissue |
| Vitamin E | 15 mg | Wheat germ, plant fats, seeds and nuts, seafood, eggs, oils | Helps form red blood cells, muscles and other tissues; is an antioxidant |
| Calcium | 1,300 mg | Dairy products, calcium-fortified citrus juices, canned fish (with bones), leafy green vegetables | Maintenance of skeletal muscle rigidity, nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction and relaxation, heart function |
| Iron | 18 mg | Red meats, seafood, fortified cereals, dried beans | Helps carry oxygen to tissues, including muscle |
What are some helpful recommendations?
A useful tool to help you learn about nutrition recommendations is ChooseMyPlate,an easy to follow food guide by the United States Department of Agriculture. ChooseMyPlate provides recommendations to help you make smart food choices, get the most nutrition from your calories, stay within your daily caloric needs and has replaced MyPyramid.
ChooseMyPlate isa plate based model that represents what portion each food group should take up on a plate. Two-fourths of the plate should be reserved for fruits and vegetables with the remaining two-fourths being split between grains and protein. Separate from the plate is the dairy source of the meal. The plate also provides general recommendations pertaining to each food group.
Recommendations:
- Make at least half of your grain products whole grain, such as brown rice, whole wheat bread and tortillas, oatmeal and whole grain pasta.
- Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and be sure to consume a variety of colorful vegetables, since each one has different nutrients. Deep orange and dark green vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli and spinach provide higher levels of nutrients.
- Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products, such as low-fat or fat-free yogurt, 1 percent or skim milk, low-fat or fat-free cheeses and frozen yogurt.
- Select lean cuts of meats and poultry.
- Eat protein-rich foods such as beans and fish.
- Get most of your fats from fish and nuts.
- Drink plenty of water daily to stay hydrated and to help you feel full.
- Get plenty of calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B-12.
- Select foods that are rich in nutrients and avoid empty calories, such as those found in sugars and fatty foods.
- Reduce sodium intake by limiting the amount of salt added to foods and avoiding consumption of processed foods.
Find out more about the health benefits of good nutrition at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov.
Updated: December 8, 2011