As we navigate the various stages of life, it’s crucial to adapt our diets to ensure we meet our nutritional requirements. Regardless of your age, maintaining a balanced diet rich in vegetables, fruits, quality proteins, starchy carbohydrates, fiber, and healthy fats is essential. Particularly after the age of sixty-five, taking a closer look at both what and how we eat can greatly enhance our overall well-being. Keep reading to explore essential dietary insights for this phase of life.
How do my dietary needs change as I age?
As we age, lifestyle changes can make it more challenging to meet our nutritional needs. Practical difficulties, such as the inability to lift heavy shopping bags or open containers, may hinder cooking. In addition, issues with chewing or swallowing can impact food choices.
Making simple dietary adjustments and enhancing the dining experience can positively affect our health and quality of life as we grow older.
How to Make Meals Enjoyable
The social aspect of eating remains significant at any age.
- If dining alone, consider setting a beautiful table. If you prefer company, invite a friend or neighbor to share a meal, or join a lunch club.
- If you care for an elderly relative, inspire food memories by reminiscing about meals they enjoyed in the past. This can uncover forgotten favorites and provide new meal inspirations.
- Establish regular mealtimes to foster a healthy routine.
How to Manage a Decreased Appetite
As we age, it’s common to experience a reduced appetite. If this is the case for you, try consuming smaller meals more frequently throughout the day instead of the traditional three large ones. Regular snacks can be beneficial, particularly if large meals are uncomfortable. Preparing food in smaller, more manageable portions can also help. For instance, cutting sandwiches into small squares or triangles can encourage consumption of the nutritious fillings.
Batch-cooking and utilizing your freezer can ensure you have homemade meals ready for those days when cooking feels less appealing. Portion these meals in various sizes to cater to different appetite levels.
Why is a Varied Daily Diet Important?
As we age, various changes occur that affect our nutritional needs. Our bodies become less effective at absorbing and utilizing vitamins and minerals. Prolonged use of prescription medications may further diminish nutrient absorption, coupled with a potential decrease in appetite. With the need for vitamins and minerals often remaining stable or even increasing, it becomes increasingly vital to focus on consuming nutritious, varied foods.
In instances of reduced appetite, every bite matters, so opt for nutrient-dense options and select high-calorie foods where feasible. Incorporate whole-fat dairy products and include regular servings of eggs, fortified cereals, and spreads.
What are the Specific Nutritional Needs of Older Adults?
Ensure Adequate Protein Intake
Protein plays a crucial role in building and maintaining muscle and bone, producing hormones, and forming antibodies. As we age, research indicates our protein requirements actually increase to help counteract age-related muscle loss. However, our appetite for protein-rich foods may concurrently decline, and our digestive efficiency can diminish.
High-quality, ‘complete’ protein sources include meat, poultry, fish like salmon and cod, and seafood such as prawns. For vegetarians, dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt are excellent options, while those following a vegan diet can benefit from beans, nuts, seeds, quinoa, soya, and tofu.
Learn more about optimal protein sources, which include vegetarian and vegan options.
Incorporate More Omega-3 Fats
Omega-3 fats are essential for overall health and may help shield against cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline. Despite their health benefits, omega-3 rich foods are often lacking in our diets, with primary sources being oily fish like salmon and mackerel, flax seeds, and walnuts. While supplements can be beneficial, there is some debate as to whether they provide the same advantages as consuming the fatty foods directly.
Explore top sources of omega-3 fats.
Select Foods Rich in Vitamin D
Vitamin D is synthesized when sunlight interacts with our skin, making it important to spend time outdoors for at least 20 minutes a day without sunscreen (remember to protect your skin if you’re out for longer).
In autumn and winter, sunlight may not be sufficient for vitamin D production, making dietary sources especially crucial. Foods such as eggs and oily fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel, along with fortified products like certain spreads and breakfast cereals, are beneficial options.
Older adults often have a decreased ability to synthesize vitamin D in the skin and convert it to its active form, with this conversion occurring in the kidneys. Therefore, it’s recommended that individuals over the age of 65 take a daily supplement of 10 micrograms of vitamin D, especially those with limited access to sunlight, including those residing in care facilities.
Consult your GP for more information and explore our expert guide on vitamin D.
Include Vitamin B12 in Your Diet
Vitamin B12 is vital for several bodily functions, such as producing red blood cells, maintaining the nervous system, and releasing energy from food. As we age, our ability to absorb this vitamin decreases, making it essential to maintain adequate intake and possibly consider supplementation. Rich sources of vitamin B12 include liver, mackerel, fortified soya milk, yogurt, various meats, salmon, cod, milk, cheese, eggs, and fortified cereals.
If you have concerns about your vitamin B12 levels, consult with your GP and learn more about vitamin B12.
Ensure Sufficient Fiber Intake
Fiber is a vital element of a balanced diet, assisting in maintaining a healthy digestive system and supporting regular bowel movements. Additionally, fiber promotes gut health and sustains a balanced gut microbiome. Aim to incorporate a diverse array of fiber-rich foods such as whole grains, oats, fruits, vegetables, beans, and lentils. A small glass of prune juice in the morning may also aid in alleviating constipation.
If you’re on medication, consult your GP before significantly increasing your fiber intake or using fiber supplements. Large amounts of fiber can affect digestion speed and the absorption rate of medications. If you previously consumed low levels of fiber, gradually increase your intake, giving your digestive system time to adjust. A dietician can provide additional guidance if needed.
Discover the best fiber-boosting recipes and explore more information about fiber.
Stay Hydrated
Hydration is crucial, yet it’s easy to forget to drink enough water. Aim for around six to eight glasses or cups daily. The good news is that this doesn’t have to be solely plain water—milk, sugar-free drinks, and tea and coffee count, but bear in mind that caffeinated drinks may increase urine production.
Fruit juices and smoothies are also part of your fluid intake, but since they contain ‘free’ sugars (the type we should limit), aim to restrict these to a combined total of 150ml per day.
Many foods contribute to your hydration, including soups, ice cream, jelly, and certain fruits and vegetables like melon, courgette, and cucumber.
Learn how much water you should consume daily and delve into the benefits of hydration.
Which Foods Should I Limit?
While some salt is important for health, excessive consumption from pre-packaged foods can elevate blood pressure. As our sense of smell and taste diminishes with age, there might be a temptation to add extra salt to our meals. Instead, enhance flavors using herbs, spices, and other potent ingredients like garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, or mustard.
Read more about low-salt diets.
It’s also easy to gravitate towards sweet, refined foods, like pastries, cakes, and biscuits, which can be more appealing and easier to consume in smaller portions. However, relying on such foods not only decreases the likelihood of consuming more nutritious options but also raises the risks of various health issues, including cognitive decline, heart disease, and reduced immune function. Additionally, excessive sugar can increase the risk of falls due to the health complications associated with sugar consumption.
Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Older Adults
Weight Management
As you age, your body’s calorie requirements may change, influenced by activity levels, muscle mass, and metabolism. Consuming too many calories may result in weight gain, while insufficient intake can lead to weight loss. The NHS provides a useful BMI healthy weight calculator to help assess if your weight falls within a healthy range.
Health issues or general appetite loss can make weight maintenance more challenging for older individuals. Nevertheless, it’s vital to retain a healthy body weight for bone health, immune support, and to reduce the risk of nutrient deficiencies. If you’re underweight or experiencing unintended weight loss, consult your GP to rule out any underlying medical concerns.
To maintain your calorie intake, consider incorporating nutrient-dense, energy-rich meals and snacks. Utilize ingredients such as avocado, peanut butter, dried fruits, nuts, cheese, and whole milk.
Stay Active
Engaging in exercise offers a multitude of benefits at any age, and the good news is that any form of physical activity counts. For individuals over 65, the NHS recommends engaging in daily physical activity; this can include strength and flexibility exercises two times a week (like carrying heavy groceries or practicing yoga), 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity weekly (such as brisk walking or cycling), or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week (like jogging or playing tennis).
Wheelchair users or those with mobility restrictions may find benefit in seated exercises, swimming, and strength training using resistance bands.
If you cannot leave home, light household chores and gardening can help maintain joint and muscle mobility. Consider engaging in chair yoga, which has positive effects on both mind and body and requires minimal space or equipment.
Exercise is particularly crucial for older adults, as muscles and bones naturally weaken with age. Staying active helps maintain strength, lowers the risk of osteoporosis, improves balance, and reduces the likelihood of hip fractures and falls. For those diagnosed with osteoporosis, the NHS recommends remaining active.
Always consult your GP or healthcare provider if you’ve recently suffered a fracture, have blood pressure issues, or any other medical condition to ensure exercise is suitable.
Like This? Now Read:
Eat for Your Age
What is Osteoporosis and What Affects Bone Density?
Top 5 Diet Tips to Relieve Arthritis
Recommended Daily Fiber Intake
Understanding the DASH Diet
This page was reviewed on 11 April 2024 by Kerry Torrens.
Kerry Torrens BSc. (Hons) PgCert MBANT is a Registered Nutritionist with a postgraduate diploma in Personalized Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy. She is a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and the Guild of Food Writers. For over 15 years, she has been a contributing author to various nutritional and culinary publications, including Good Food. Find her on Instagram at @kerry_torrens_nutrition_
All health content on goodfood.com is for informational purposes and should not replace medical advice from your doctor or healthcare professional. If you have health concerns, please consult your local healthcare provider. Refer to our website terms and conditions for further details.
