10 Key Points for Healthy Eating for the Elderly

1. Food should be fragrant Old people have poor sense of taste and appetite, and often feel a lack of flavor when eating. Back to this point, when cooking meals for the elderly, you should pay attention to the color, aroma and taste.

2. The quality is better. The metabolism in the elderly is mainly catabolism, and more protein is needed to compensate for the consumption of tissue protein. For example, eat more chicken, fish, rabbit, mutton, beef, lean pork and soy products. The protein contained in these foods is high-quality protein, rich in nutrients, and easy to digest.

3. The quantity should be small. Studies have shown that overeating is harmful to health. The elderly should be eighty-nine percent full at each meal, especially dinner.

4. Eat more vegetables. Fresh vegetables are healthy friends for the elderly. They are not only rich in vitamin C and minerals, but also have more fiber. They play an important role in cardiovascular protection and cancer prevention. The daily vegetable intake should be no less than 250 grams.

5. Food should be mixed. Protein, fat, sugar, vitamins, minerals and water are the six major nutrients necessary for the human body. These nutrients are widely present in various foods. In order to absorb nutrients in a balanced manner and maintain good health, you should eat a little of various foods. If possible, you should maintain about 10 kinds of main and non-staple foods every day.

6. Eat light food. Some elderly people are overweight. As everyone knows, eating too much salt will increase the burden on the heart and kidneys and easily cause increased blood pressure. For health reasons, the elderly should generally eat 6 to 8 grams of salt per day.

7. Eat rotten meals. Elderly people often have loose and falling teeth, weakened masticatory muscles, reduced secretion of digestive juices and digestive enzymes, and reduced gastrointestinal digestion function. Therefore, the food should be made softer and rotten.

8. Eat fruits. Various fruits are rich in water-soluble vitamins and metal trace elements. These nutrients play a great role in maintaining the pH balance of body fluids. To stay healthy, eat some fruit after every meal.

9. Eat hot food. The elderly have poor resistance to cold. Eating cold food can cause vasoconstriction of the gastric wall, reduce blood supply, and reflexively cause a reduction in blood circulation in other internal organs, which is detrimental to health. Therefore, the diet of the elderly should be slightly hotter and more palatable.

10. Eat slowly. Some elderly people are accustomed to eating fast food and swallowing it without chewing it completely, which is harmful to their health over time. Chew food carefully and slowly to reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract and promote digestion. In addition, eating slowly can also easily produce a feeling of fullness, prevent overeating, and keep Shadow Leaf healthy.