Elderly people often have the physical condition of "yin deficiency and yang excess". In terms of diet and health, they need to be reasonable and moderate and get rid of bad dietary habits. Due to the decline in the physiological function of the digestive system in elderly people, they should pay more attention to diet hygiene and habits to promote health, prevent diseases, and delay aging. So what should we pay attention to in terms of diet and health habits for the elderly? Today, let's understand what the elderly should pay attention to in terms of diet and health.
What should the elderly pay attention to in terms of diet and health?
(1) Pay attention to hygiene, which is not only a personal and family civilized behavior, but also related to health. Especially for the elderly with low immune function, personal hygiene should be emphasized. They should take regular baths, trim their nails, and wash hands before and after meals. They should eat fresh food, avoid eating spoiled food, avoid drinking raw water, and be cautious about what they eat in order to prevent food poisoning and intestinal infectious diseases, reduce diseases, and promote health and longevity.
(2) The secretion of digestive glands in the gastrointestinal tract of elderly people decreases and gastrointestinal motility decreases. Only by having a regulated diet can their bodies be protected. The elderly should get rid of the bad habit of overeating. They should not eat endlessly when they encounter delicious food, and they should not eat food they don't like. They should not get drunk at every feast. For the sake of their health, they should eat less or avoid fried and smoked foods, as they are not easy to digest and may have carcinogenic potential. Eating more fresh vegetables can enhance intestinal motility.
(3) Due to the atrophy of the colon muscles and poor bowel movement ability in elderly people, combined with decreased secretion of intestinal fluid, feces stay in the intestines for a longer time and water is absorbed, resulting in constipation. 74% of the elderly have varying degrees of constipation. To reduce constipation in the elderly, they should eat more foods rich in fiber, such as carrots, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and leafy vegetables. The fiber content in regular flour is twice as high as that in refined flour. They should drink plenty of water, or make fruit juice jelly using agar powder to ensure sufficient water content in the intestines to soften the stool. Drinking a cup of light salt water in the morning can have a laxative effect. It is appropriate to eat some miscellaneous grains, such as cornmeal, corn bran, sweet potatoes, red beans, and soybeans. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the fiber in miscellaneous grains can promote intestinal peristalsis and facilitate bowel movements.
(4) The elderly should avoid drinking too many cold beverages. In the hot summer, cold drinks are essential for cooling down and quenching thirst. However, it is better to consume them in moderation. Excessive consumption can cause:
① Angina: Excessive consumption of cold drinks by the elderly can cause coronary artery spasm, narrowing of blood vessels, and reduced blood flow, leading to myocardial ischemia. Severe ischemia can trigger angina.
② Bronchitis: Elderly people with chronic bronchitis are particularly sensitive to cold stimulation. Drinking a large amount of cold drinks can cause constriction of blood vessels in the bronchial mucosa, weaken the defense function, and allow bacteria and viruses to enter, leading to acute exacerbation of bronchitis or worsening of the condition.
③ Trigeminal neuralgia: The mouth, teeth, and face are all innervated by branches of the trigeminal nerve. If one branch is stimulated, reflex facial pain may occur. Some people are more sensitive to cold stimuli. When cold drinks enter the mouth, they can stimulate the trigeminal nerve distributed in the oral cavity, causing abnormal sensation in the area of the trigeminal nerve distribution and unbearable pain in the temple.
(5) The elderly have poor dental health, weak chewing ability, and less saliva. They should not eat hard, dry, and indigestible foods. They should chew slowly and thoroughly, as it can not only prevent diseases but also help digestion and absorption, and even prevent cancer. The composition of saliva secreted during chewing is different from that secreted at other times. It can deactivate carcinogens (nitrosamines, aflatoxin, 3,4-benzopyrene, etc.) within 20 minutes. This is because the saliva secreted at this time contains a rich variety of components, including 13 enzymes, 11 inorganic salts, 9 vitamins, and various organic acids, hormones, and vitamin C, all of which have strong anti-cancer effects. Saliva secreted at other times does not contain as many anti-cancer components. Chewing is an instinctive behavior for everyone and a weapon against cancer. However, in reality, people often eat excessively when they like certain foods, or eat while walking or doing other tasks, or only eat soft foods. These are all habits that make a person susceptible to cancer. The elderly should chew slowly and thoroughly, not only for the enjoyment of food, but also to reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, thereby preventing diseases. Chinese medicine has long advocated seven appropriate dietary practices for the elderly. The harmony of diet can benefit the spleen, reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, and promote longevity.
(6) Food should be soft
Elderly people often have loose or missing teeth, weak chewing muscles, decreased secretion of digestive juices and enzymes, and reduced gastrointestinal digestion function. Therefore, their food should be cooked to be soft and easy to chew.
(7) Eat fruits
Various fruits contain rich water-soluble vitamins and trace elements, which play a significant role in maintaining the acid-base balance of body fluids. To maintain health, fruits should be consumed between meals.
The "Seven Appropriate Dietary Methods" for the elderly include the following:
(1) Appropriate warmth. The stomach and intestines of the elderly prefer warmth and fear cold, especially for those with weak body and cold stomach. Therefore, they should eat less raw and cold food.
(2) Appropriate moderation. "If you want to be healthy, don't eat too much." "Eat a little less and live until 99."
(3) Appropriate moderation. The diet should be moderate and regular, avoiding overeating and irregular eating. "A moderate diet benefits life, while an immoderate diet burdens the body and shortens life."
(4) Appropriate cleanliness. Pay attention to food hygiene, especially in the summer and autumn seasons, and avoid eating spoiled, overnight, or leftover food.
(5) Appropriate lightness. Excessive salt intake is detrimental to patients with hypertension and heart disease, increasing the burden on the heart and gastrointestinal tract, and is also a cause of gastrointestinal cancer.
(6) Appropriate softness. Soft food is beneficial for digestion and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract of the elderly.
(7) Appropriate slowness. The digestive function of the elderly is weakened, so they should chew slowly and swallow slowly to aid digestion and increase the absorption of nutrients.
Which bad dietary habits should the elderly avoid?
1. Not eating enough: In modern society, many people focus on shaping and losing weight. Some people deliberately starve themselves or have insufficient food intake, resulting in malnutrition or deficiency of certain nutrients. These bad practices can lead to emaciation, fatigue, and even severe nutritional deficiencies. The ancient Chinese medical classic "Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor" pointed out that "if food is not taken for half a day, the energy will decline; if it is not taken for a whole day, the energy will be greatly reduced." Insufficient food intake, especially the lack of protein and calories, results in negative nitrogen balance in the body. The body continuously consumes protein to convert it into energy, resulting in metabolic disorders, growth and developmental disorders, immune function decline, and the occurrence of severe malnutrition. Prolonged deficiency of certain nutrients can cause various nutrient deficiencies.
2. Eating too much: Overeating not only burdens the gastrointestinal tract and affects digestion and absorption, but also leads to excessive nutrient intake and the occurrence of diseases. Binge eating or prolonged overeating can cause gastrointestinal dysfunction. Excessive consumption of fatty and sweet foods disrupts the nutritional balance, and excessive intake of certain nutrients leads to metabolic disorders, resulting in conditions such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. The "Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor" mentioned "eating too much sorghum leads to boils" and "excessive diet causes phlegm accumulation". These are all referring to the pathological changes caused by excessive food intake or excessive consumption of fatty and sweet foods.
3. Excessive picky eating or food preferences: Picky eating can lead to nutritional disorders and metabolic imbalances, resulting in various diseases. Similarly, excessive food preferences can result in excessive nutrition or affect the function of various organs. For example, people who love to eat snacks often have gastrointestinal dysfunction because snacks are often high in sugar and fat, and lack protein and vitamins, which can cause malnutrition or deficiency diseases. People who have a preference for salty foods may experience increased osmotic pressure in extracellular fluid, increased blood plasma volume, increased vascular resistance, leading to hypertension, or they may experience edema due to excessive burden on the kidneys. People who have a preference for meat and fish are prone to consuming excessive cholesterol, which can cause atherosclerosis, hypertension, habitual constipation, hemorrhoids, and even colorectal cancer. On the other hand, people who have a preference for vegetarian diets may experience deficiencies in trace elements and vitamin B12. The "Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor" has long discussed the effects of excessive salt intake and bitterness on health.
4. Consuming excessively cold or raw food: Ancient people were already aware that consuming raw and cold food is a major cause of illness in humans. Since the discovery of fire, the consumption of cooked food has been advocated. Ancient texts such as "The Book of Rites" described the practice of eating raw food before the discovery of fire and the improvement in health after the discovery of fire. It is known that the consumption of raw food, especially fish and meat, can lead to illness due to bacterial or parasitic contamination, and it is often difficult to digest and can damage the gastrointestinal tract. Cold food not only stimulates the stomach and intestines, leading to indigestion, but it can also cause coughing and asthma.
5. Eating too quickly or consuming food that is too hot: Eating too quickly, wolfing down food, can increase the burden on the stomach as the food does not have enough time to be digested by saliva, which can result in gastritis or gastric ulcers. Similarly, consuming hot food can burn taste buds and lead to loss of appetite, as well as oral and esophageal tumors. Eating while squatting can affect digestion and absorption due to impaired blood circulation, resulting in decreased appetite and digestive dysfunction.
6. Unclean food: Food should be clean and free from contamination. For example, many people eat fruits without washing them or simply rinse them before eating, which are all bad dietary habits. As early as the Han Dynasty, there were discussions on food hygiene in ancient China, pointing out that unclean food can harm human health. Eating food contaminated by bacteria, fungi, toxic chemicals, or various toxins can cause food poisoning. With the development of organic agriculture, options such as organic farms where families can go to cultivate their own crops, and collective planting in crowdsourcing farms, organic crowdfunding, etc. are good choices, especially for the elderly. Regular exercise is also beneficial to the body.
The physical conditions of the elderly are different from those of young people, so their dietary needs and dietary taboos are also different from those of young people. By understanding the dietary and health needs of the elderly, such as the seven appropriate dietary methods and the avoidance of bad dietary habits, the elderly can arrange their diets properly and ensure that they have a healthy diet.
