Note: Elderly people with poor sense of taste should take zinc supplements

　　Zinc is one of the essential trace elements for the human body and many animals. The content of zinc in the human body has a certain proportion. Generally speaking, the zinc content in the adult body is about 2.3 grams, which is half of the iron content. Some people say that 33 elderly After comparing with 31 young people, it was found that the elderly have a much lower sense of bitterness, spicy, sour, sweet, and salty than young people. Moreover, the more zinc deficiency in the elderly, the worse their sense of taste. This is because zinc participates in the synthesis of taste buds, enhances the function of taste buds, nourishes taste buds, and promotes appetite.

　　So how can we correct zinc deficiency in the elderly? If an elderly person is found to have a significant loss of appetite, hair zinc and blood zinc should first be measured after ruling out other causes to determine whether anorexia is caused by zinc deficiency. If zinc deficiency is the cause, the elderly should correct their partial and picky eating habits and eat more zinc-containing foods. Generally, animal foods contain more zinc and are easier to be absorbed and utilized by the body. For example, beef, pork, and prime meat contain up to 20-60 mg of zinc per kilogram. Fish and seafood are also high in zinc, especially oysters, which contain more than 100 mg of zinc per kilogram. Their zinc content is more than 5 times that of ordinary foods. ； Generally, fish contains more than 15 mg of zinc per kilogram. The best way to supplement zinc is to eat more animal products. Eye and testicles. Plant foods also contain a certain amount of zinc, such as flour containing 2.28 mg of zinc per 100 g, potatoes containing 1.41 mg of zinc per 100 g, carrots containing 1.7 mg of zinc per 100 g, and Chinese cabbage containing 1.7 mg of zinc per 100 g. Zinc is 4.2 mg. Fruits generally contain less zinc. In addition, the more refined the food and the more complicated the cooking process, the more serious the loss of zinc. In addition to supplementing foods with more zinc, you can also take zinc-containing drugs orally under the guidance of a doctor.

　　Of course, zinc should be supplemented in an appropriate amount. Do not take zinc as a nutritional medicine for a long time, otherwise it will be harmful and useless, because too high zinc content in the body will weaken the body's immune absorption of iron, cause cholesterol metabolism disorders, and even induce cancer。