Basic Nutrition for Successful Aging: Part I
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INTRODUCTION
Although eating is an activity everyone should know a great deal about, many persons fail to eat a nutritionally balanced diet and do not take advantage of the many natural food sources that not only can provide necessary nutrients, but can also help maintain health and promote a more successful aging process. Many persons eat to excess or fail to consume basic requirements necessary for health. Malnutrition is not something observed only in third-world countries. In addition to a necessary amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, we must ensure an adequate intake of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. The elderly are particularly prone to developing protein-calorie malnutrition, as well as many other vitamin and mineral deficiencies. This may result from problems that occur with increased frequency later in life, such as poor dentition, loss of taste, difficulty swallowing, malabsorption, or drug-nutrient interaction. An inability to obtain the necessary fresh foods, as may occur during the wintertime or if someone is dependent on others to shop for him or her, may also predispose to nutritional inadequacies. Nonperishable foods may contain high concentrations of sodium and nitrates and may lack vitamins due to processing methods. A person eating less than 1500 calories a day may lack the simple variety of foods necessary to ensure a proper intake of vitamins; this is not uncommon during later life, and a daily vitamin can add insurance to the diet where doubt exists.
What is most worrisome is the growing number of individuals who are obese. Over 30% of the U.S. population is currently considered to be overweight and at risk of developing obesity-associated problems later in life, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, sleep apnea, strokes, and hypertension, among others. A healthy diet must start early in life when patterns of eating become ingrained and tastes and preferences acquired. Childhood obesity is on the rise, and families would be wise to consider their diets in relation to all members of the family unit. Portion size has increased in recent decades, and fast food has become a more staple part of the diet, with more children growing up in homes with their only parent or both parents working. Snack foods have proliferated with high concentrations of “refined” sugar; soda and fruit drinks have frequently replaced healthier foods.
While food labels are now required, it often takes considerable knowledge or even an advanced degree to understand the details provided. The number of portions listed on a label, even for foods contained in what appears to be a single-serving package, may be missed by the nonskilled reader or someone who cannot read the small print. Caloric content is often much higher than what one had thought. Number of grams of fiber listed may be based on a 100-gram portion. The casual reader may confuse the number listed with the actual amount contained in what he or she will eat in a single serving: 100 grams of puffed wheat is clearly different than 100 grams of bran buds, for example.
Certain foods may have protective effects against heart disease and cancer, while others may actually promote disease. Diets high in animal fat may predispose to rectal, colon, breast, and prostate cancer. The prostate cancer death rate is five times higher in the United States and in northern Europe than it is in Hong Kong, Iran, Turkey, and Japan, where diets emphasize more vegetables, grains, beans, cereals, and fruits. These foods also have been epidemiologically associated with a lower incidence of stroke. Fat also predisposes to heart disease. Conversely, diets rich in omega oils and fiber, for example, can help prevent certain age-prevalent illnesses.
The topic of nutrition and what one needs to do to ensure a more successful aging process is quite exhaustive, and a total review is beyond the scope of this article.
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