Nutrition is important at every age. Ensuring that your body gets the proper nutrients to grow, repair, restore and function should be one of your top objectives regardless of how old you are. However, seniors face unique challenges that often make it difficult to meet their nutritional needs.
Seniors have very similar nutritional needs as everyone else. However, as you get older you need to pay more attention to your fluid intake, ensure you are eating nutrient dense foods and continue to stay active. Calorie needs decrease with age, mostly due to a decline in physical activity. If you continue to consume more calories than your body needs then you will gain weight. However, nutrient needs remain about the same as you age. So it becomes more challenging to get all of the nutrients that you need with less calories. This is where making sure that you are eating nutrient dense foods becomes very important.
Calorie Needs
Even though your calorie needs decrease as you age and become less active, many seniors still struggle with meeting their daily calorie needs. Calories are your main source of energy. Ensuring that you are meeting your calorie requirements should be a top concern. The National Institute on Aging recommend the following calorie amounts for people over 50.
| Activity Level | Men | Women |
| Not Physically Active | 2000-2200 | 1600 |
| Moderately Physically Active | 2200-2400 | 1800 |
| Active Lifestyle | 2400-2800 | 2000-2200 |
Nutrition Needs
Nutrient needs for seniors are very similar to those in the general population. I will provide some of the nutrient needs below. For more information see www.nap.edu. These nutrient needs are the average daily needs for older adults. You need more if you are living an active lifestyle.
| Carbohydrates -130 grams | Protein– about 0.8 grams per kg of body weight | Fiber– 30 grams for men , 21 grams for women | Hydration (water)- 2.7 liters for women, 3.7 liters for men |
| Calcium– 800-1000 mg for men 100mg for women | Iron– 6mg for men 5mg for women | Vitamin C– 75mg for men 60mg for women | Magnesium– 350mg for men 265mg for women |
Obstacles in your way
Nutrition plays a key role in preventing disease, maintaining mental abilities, and providing energy for physical activities. Unfortunately, many seniors have a very real challenge at meeting their nutrient and calorie needs for multiple reasons.
Loss Of Appetite
You cannot rely only on hunger to tell you when to eat. Plasma concentrations of the satiety hormone CCK ( the hormone that tells you that you are full) tends to increase with age. This makes you feel full much sooner than you should.
Sensory Changes
Your sense of smell and taste diminish with age, making food less appealing. This can also put you at a greater risk for foodborne illnesses. You may not be able to tell if a food has gone bad by smelling it or tasting it anymore.
Decline in Kidney Function
The amount of blood that passes trough your kidney per minute decreases by 1mL/min per year after the age of 30. This leads to a decreased ability to concentrate urine and increased risk for water loss and dehydration.
Changes to Dentition (Dental Loss)
This can lead to a diminished ability to effectively chew and swallow food. Digestion begins in the mouth and if you are not able to break down the food effectively you are missing out on some of the nutrients.
Medications
Many medications can greatly affect the amount of nutrients you consume and absorb. Medication side effects can cause impaired digestion and absorption, alterations in metabolism and the disruption in normal voiding and defecation patterns.
Food Access
As you age it becomes more difficult to shop for all of the foods you need. Trips to the grocery store can become more of a challenge and you may limit the amount of times you go and the different stores you shop at. Many older adults find it easier to stock up on non-perishable foods which may have less nutrients then shop more often.
Food Preparation
As you age it becomes a more difficult task to prepare meals. You may have been a gourmet chef in the past and now find cooking a simple meal challenging.
Social Isolation
This is a very real concern for seniors who are now living alone. Preparing meals for yourself and eating by yourself has way less appeal than cooking and eating with a family. As a result, you may find yourself relying more on prepared foods and snacks to satisfy your limited hunger.
Things you can do to improve your nutrition
By being aware of these limitations you have made the first step towards improvement. Just knowing that you may not “feel hungry” and that foods may not be as appealing but, making sure you are consuming what you need goes a long way. Also by being aware of your increased hydration needs you should start consuming more water. Some other ways to improve your nutrition are as follows.
Plan Family or Social Meals
If you have grown children nearby talk with them and inform them of the importance of family meals. They should be preparing food for you at this point in your life. Educate them on your nutritional needs and I am sure they will be happy to help in any way they can. If you do not have family nearby plan some social meals with friends. Take turns cooking healthy meals or split the meal up so you each have less to prepare.
Make Healthy Foods More Appealing
Explore some new spices to add flavor to your fruits and vegetables. Try adding some Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic, Cayenne and Cinnamon to your steamed vegetables or raw fruit. These spices not only add flavor but also have many health benefits. Add sliced fruit to your water to give it some flavor.
Buy Semi-prepared Foods
You can buy many foods that have a lot of the prep work already done for you. You can buy fresh chopped fruits and vegetables, frozen vegetables ( that have the same nutritional benefits as fresh) and prepared frozen grains. Your Deli may also offer nutritional options of many meals already prepared. However, inquire about the ingredients especially the sodium content if you are buying already prepared meals. These meals tend to be higher in sodium and other added ingredients that may not be healthy for your diet.
Use Grocery Delivery Services
There are many different businesses out there that will have healthy foods delivered to your home. Some of these businesses even do some of the preparation ( chopping the vegetables ), include all of the ingredients needed for a healthy meal and and provide you with easy steps to put it all together. Some of the most known meal delivery service businesses are Hello Fresh, Home Chef, and Sunbasket. Also, many national grocery store chains now also offer this service for a very low delivery fee.
Save Money
If money is a concern, I highly recommend Meals on Wheels. They may be able to provide you with at least one healthy meal per day that you do not need to worry about. You may also want to explore your local food bank or government food assistance programs. Food Assistance / USA Gov is a great site to visit to see if you qualify for any support.
In Conclusion
I hope that you find some of this information useful. If you would like more support please schedule a FREE Consultation with me. I love working with seniors to help them improve their health and fitness. I currently offer a Nutrition Transformation Online Coaching Program where I can help you develop a plan to improve your metabolism so that you are able to utilize all of the nutrients in the foods you are eating, increase your energy, improve your immune system, look and feel amazing and nourish all of the cells in your body to help you live a longer and healthier life.
