Dietary nutrition for people over 70 years old

The core principle of dietary nutrition for people over 70 years old has never been "strictly control the three highs, and the more vegetarian you are, the longer you live." Instead, you must first ensure adequate energy and protein intake, and then make flexible adjustments based on your own chronic diseases and digestive ability. There is no standardized recipe that suits everyone. Eating enough and eating comfortably is the first priority.

Last week, I met 72-year-old Aunt Zhang at a community nutrition clinic. She had a sullen look on her face as she took the physical examination report. She said that she had heard from a health-care website that she should eat brown rice and boiled vegetables every day to control her sugar. She had lost 12 pounds in half a year. Recently, she was out of breath after just two steps while shopping for groceries. Her blood albumin was almost 10g/L lower than the normal value. Even the doctor told her to stop blindly controlling her sugar. In fact, I encounter several similar misunderstandings every month. The elderly are either restrained by various dietary taboos and dare not eat, or they are forced by their children to eat so-called "healthy meals" and end up suffering from malnutrition.

In fact, the controversy about the diet of the elderly has never stopped. The traditional school of chronic disease management believes that the intake of oil, salt, and sugar should be strictly controlled to avoid the aggravation of three highs and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems. However, recent research on elderly nutrition has repeatedly emphasized that the muscle attenuation, reduced immunity, and increased risk of falls caused by malnutrition in the elderly over 70 years old are far more harmful than mild increases in blood sugar and blood lipids. Both statements are actually correct, but they are suitable for different groups of people. If you are just over 70, usually have no trouble climbing stairs, have a stable weight, and have indeed exceeded the standard by a lot, then it is okay to eat less fried foods and refined sugar. You don’t need to eat white rice and white noodles all the time. Half of them are replaced by whole grains. You don’t have to eat brown rice and swallow boiled vegetables every time. If you have bad teeth, can't eat, and have lost three to five pounds in the past three months, then forget about the blood sugar arrow and eat enough food first. Even if it is white rice porridge with some pickles, you can eat more than one mouthful. It is perfectly fine to eat some sweet and sour pork ribs or braised pork as an appetizer.

I met 76-year-old Uncle Li before. He had a hip surgery after a fall. His children were afraid that he would not be able to digest well and kept him drinking plain porridge. As a result, the wound did not heal for half a month. Later, they adjusted his diet, adding two boiled eggs and a cup of warm milk every day, and a small spoonful of nutritional powder in the afternoon. The wound began to scab after more than a week. When he was discharged from the hospital, he could walk two steps with a walker. Many elderly people are afraid of eating eggs or meat for fear of high cholesterol. In fact, unless they are specifically ordered by doctors to strictly limit cholesterol, eating one whole egg and two taels of lean or stewed fatty meat every day will not cause any major problems. On the contrary, if they have enough protein, they will lose muscle slowly, they will not catch colds easily, they will walk steadily, and the risk of falling will be reduced a lot.

There are also many elderly people who believe in the saying "eating vegetarian to live longer". This statement is actually supported by some research. A reasonable vegetarian diet can indeed reduce the risk of some chronic diseases, but the prerequisite is that you must be able to eat enough soy products, mushrooms, and nuts every day to ensure the intake of protein and trace elements. If you only eat cabbage, radish and white rice every day, it is better to stop being a vegetarian as soon as possible. I have seen many elderly people who have been vegetarians for ten years. Their muscle mass is only 70% of that of their peers. In winter, they catch colds and fevers if they are not careful, and they break bones when they fall. The gain outweighs the loss.

You don’t need to make cooking so complicated. If you have bad teeth, chop the vegetables finely, stew the meat until it’s tender, and don’t beat it into a paste. The paste has no taste, raises sugar quickly, and is not conducive to training your chewing ability. For example, beef brisket is stewed for two hours and melts in one sip. It is much more fragrant than minced meat, and even the elderly are willing to eat it. If you are lactose intolerant and can't drink milk, you can switch to Shuhua milk or sugar-free yogurt. If you really can't drink it, eating half a piece of brine tofu every day can supplement enough calcium. If you usually eat small meals, add some snacks between meals, such as a handful of plain peanuts, a piece of steamed sweet potato, and half a box of yogurt. You don’t have to wait for meals to eat.

When I usually do missionary work in the community, I often tell the elderly that when you are over 70 years old, you must first have fun when eating. Don't be restricted by the rules of what you can't eat and what you can't touch. You have eaten sweet and sour pork ribs all your life, but you are not allowed to eat them when you are old. What's the point of living? As long as your weight is stable and you don't feel uncomfortable after eating, feel free to eat. If you really can't eat and lose weight quickly, see a nutritionist in your community or the clinical nutrition department of the hospital. Don't buy health care products and control your diet blindly. Being comfortable in your own body is better than anything else.