When people get old, their taste function declines. They often eat tasteless food and like to eat heavy food. Accelerate the decline of gastrointestinal and liver and kidney functions, low nutrient absorption and utilization rate, serious nutrient loss, and prone to malnutrition.
Therefore, in addition to balanced nutrition and easy digestion and absorption, the elderly also need to take good care of their appetite, eat well and have a big appetite, so as to better supplement nutrition. Specifically, you can adjust your diet from three aspects.
The first thing is to choose food.
The first is cereals and potatoes; Such as rice, pasta (including bread, steamed buns, steamed bread, jiaozi, noodles, etc. ), and some miscellaneous grains (including corn, millet, coix seed, beans, sorghum, buckwheat); Potatoes include potato, sweet potato, yam, taro and so on.
This kind of food is rich in polysaccharide, which is the main energy source of human body. Among them, the first two are our common staple foods with high starch content; The latter is rich in dietary fiber and is sometimes used as a side dish.
Followed by fresh fruits and vegetables; It is the main source of human dietary fiber, and it is also essential every day. Of course, it also contains a small amount of polysaccharides, minerals and vitamins.
The third is meat (including livestock meat, poultry meat, seafood or river fresh, eggs, milk); Protein is the main source of human body, and it is also rich in fat, sugar, minerals and vitamins. Dietary fiber content is extremely low.
Then there are various nuts; Such as walnuts, pistachios, peanuts and chestnuts, are rich in vitamins, and also contain some protein and fat.
The above four foods have their own nutritional advantages and cannot be replaced.
Suggestion: 1, the elderly should choose no less than 12 kinds of food from the four kinds of food every day and no less than 2 1 kind of food every week; It is more conducive to the nutritional balance of the human body.
2. Not less than 300g fresh vegetables and 300g fresh melons and fruits every day, of which at least 1 is green leafy vegetables. There are 3-5 servings of high-protein food every day, including meat, beans or processed beans. Of course, every meal needs a staple food.
Learn to find alternative foods.
There is no doubt that everyone has his favorite food and doesn't want to give it up. However, some of them are not conducive to human health. Some simple substitutes can reduce fat intake without affecting the taste.
For example, using skim milk instead of cream can reduce calories by more than 65%. Using yogurt instead of ice cream and soybean milk instead of milk can ensure the supply of protein and reduce the intake of cholesterol.
If you like sweets, you can eat more fruits; If you like crunchy snacks, you can choose nuts with lower calories as an alternative food.
The Dietary Guidelines for China Residents (20 13) suggests that vegans should eat beans or processed beans every day to make up for the lack of protein caused by not eating meat; Semi-vegetarians need to eat some eggs and milk (or yogurt) every day.
For elderly friends who like to eat meat, it should be noted that lean meat is better than fat meat; Poultry meat has lower fat content than livestock meat and is more easily absorbed by human body, while fish meat has more advantages than poultry meat. Animal internal organs, including bone marrow, contain higher cholesterol and purines than meat, and the elderly should also pay attention to avoid them.
Finally, pay attention to cooking.
The first is to choose edible oil. It is recommended to use more vegetable oil and less or no meat oil.
Second, we must control salt. The salt intake of the elderly should not exceed 6 grams per day. For patients with "three high" chronic diseases, the salt intake should not exceed 3 grams per day. At the same time, it is necessary to strictly control the intake of high-salt seasonings such as chicken essence, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, Chili sauce and bean paste.
The third is to avoid cooking methods such as frying, frying, roasting and roasting, and choose steaming, boiling, boiling, stewing and stewing. When cooking, don't wait for the oil to smoke. The oil temperature can be controlled within 150 degrees, or some ingredients can be cooked and soaked in oil.
The diet of the elderly should be soft, especially hard foods such as beans and nuts. Chewing slowly or cooking porridge is more easily absorbed by the human body.
In addition, the delicious food, good dining environment, dining atmosphere and reasonable arrangement of after-meal exercise will also affect the utilization rate of nutrition.
In short, how to eat a good meal is also a science, and a reasonable diet is the most important part of health preservation. The older you get, the more important it becomes.