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Resilience, the ability to thrive in the face of extreme adversity, is a reason why some children develop successfully while others fail. more...   |
 Eat Better and Enjoy It More -- Enhancing Senior Nutrition Barbara Boughton July 11, 2008 Eating healthy is not always easy for older adults. As a person ages, appetite may dim and metabolism slows. Too often seniors buy ready-to-eat meals lacking in nutrients; others live on a fixed income. All this can all affect the quality of one's food choices. Yet as we age, our bodies still require essential nutrients to help us maintain function. A healthy diet is also vital for avoiding illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, some types of cancer and anemia. To help seniors answer common questions associated with diet and nutrition, the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine have teamed up to establish a new nutrition page for NIHSeniorHealth, a health and wellness Web site for older adults. By visiting http://nihseniorhealth.gov/eatingwellasyougetolder/toc.html>, seniors can find valuable information on how to make wise food choices, how to decipher food labels, food safety, meal planning, food shopping and ways to enhance the enjoyment of eating. The Web page addresses questions such as how many calories to eat based on one's level of activity, how to limit harmful foods such as saturated and trans fats, cholesterol and sodium, and how to make eating a pleasurable activity. As people age, the Web page notes, many people find that their sense of smell and taste has changed, and they experience problems with chewing, digestion and gas. Yet eating still needs to be enjoyable, as well as nutritious. So, there's advice on how to enhance food's flavor (add more and varied spices when cooking) and how to solve problems such as difficulty in chewing (choose softer foods, such as ground or shredded meat, poultry and fish, milk products, eggs, tofu and cooked dry beans.) For those on a limited budget, who still want to eat a healthy diet, the Web page provides information on how to plan regular healthy menus and how to shop for foods on a budget. It also notes that there are special safety concerns for older adults when eating out at restaurants. As well as ensuring the cleanliness of any restaurant, older adults should avoid raw or undercooked foods, unpasteurized milk or juice, raw sprouts and hot dogs and luncheon meats that haven't been heated to 165 degrees Farenheit. There are also cautions on how to avoid foodborne illness and handle and store foods properly during and after cooking meals. "Eating well is vital at any age, but as you get older, your daily food choices can make an important difference in your health. Good nutrition is one component of an overall strategy to stay healthy," said Richard J. Hodes, MD, director of NIA, which helped develop the content for the Web page on nutrition for NIHSenior Health. | ||
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