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Eating to Age Successfully

Everyone wants to stay healthy as they age. We all want to reduce the risk of disease if we can.

Nutritional health reflects all previous stages of development, as well as genetic makeup. Maintaining or improving good nutrition helps maximize potential for good health and reduces the risk of some diseases. Good nutrition, along with other healthy lifestyle practices, can help maintain health and enjoyment and reduce health care costs.

Healthful Lifestyle Practices

• Living in a smoke-free environment.

If you smoke or live with someone who does smoke, you may want to explore classes to ease the way to nonsmoking. To stop smoking reduces the risk of certain cancers and even can make foods taste better.

• Having hobbies and activities that interest you.

When you are busy with enjoyable, worthwhile activities, you have a reason to get up in the morning. If the activities involve you with other people, you also will meet a social need.

• Exercising regularly.

Appropriate physical exercise can strengthen you. You will feel more like doing things and your appetite may improve. Check with your doctor for an exercise routine right for you. Exercises, such as walking, stair climbing, and bicycle riding, help keep the minerals in bones and can add to a sense of well-being. Weight lifting can increase muscle strength and help prevent falls.

• Eating meals with others.

If you live alone, you may need to plan ways of having enjoyable meals with others. There are congregate meal programs available in many communities. Contact your local senior center for information on meals and other opportunities for socialization.

When you do eat alone, try to maintain at least a three-meal-a-day schedule. Many people do better with three meals plus one to three snacks of a variety of nutrient-rich foods.

Physiological Changes as You Mature

• Thirst.

The ability to tell if you have had enough fluids may diminish. Be sure to drink six to eight cups of fluid each day, including milk, beverages, and water.

• Energy needs.

Fewer calories are needed, especially if your physical activity has been reduced. The need for most nutrients is the same, however, so the nutritional quality of your diet must be kept high. This means there is not much room for fats, sweets, or alcohol that tend to be high in calories but low in nutrients.

• Taste.

Older people have fewer taste buds than younger people. Adding more spices, especially those low in sodium, to your foods will help make them more flavorful. The following spices and flavorings are examples of those low in sodium that may be added to foods to enhance the taste:

Bay leaf Mint Curry Onions Dry mustard Paprika Fruit Parsley

Garlic Pepper Ginger Pinch of sugar Herbs Rosemary Lemon Tomatoes

• Hormonal changes.

Estrogen replacement therapy for post-menopausal women helps maintain calcium in the bone and reduces the risk of osteoporosis (thinning of the bones that can result in fractures). The decision to use estrogen is a medical one, however, and is not appropriate for everyone.

Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service

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