Remember how, as a child you craved sweet stuff such as toffee apples, sticky rock and drinks like Creamola Foam?
Yet now, even the thought of them sets your teeth edge. And it’s not only for dental reasons. No, our taste buds change as we age, so it’s no surprise that our nutrient requirements do too.
For instance, we start needing more of certain vitamins, minerals, essential oils and protein. At the same time, we can do with cutting back on others. In this article we’ll look at just what we need more of – and why – as well as how to get it.
Building our bones
Vitamin D and calcium are pretty much essential for older age groups. The reason we need to supplement these vitamins and minerals is because we tend to take in less of them as we get older. That’s because our gut becomes less efficient at absorbing calcium, while thinning skin means our body won’t take in as much vitamin D from sunlight.
Vitamin D helps make with calcium absorption so it’s important to get both. We can do this by eating plenty of dairy products and dark green leafy vegetables for calcium; vitamin D can be found in oily fish, such as salmon and tuna. If you’re not particularly fond of fish then you can always get your vitamin D boost by taking a cod liver oil supplement.
Boosting our brain
B12 is another vitamin we need to ensure we get enough of as we age. That’s because it’s good for the brain. Unfortunately, studies show that after the age of 50 some people find it increasingly difficult to absorb the vitamin from their diet (particularly if they have gastric issues).
In this case, it’s essential to get it from food, in the form of dairy protein, eggs, fish and meat. Those who follow a vegetarian diet are particularly at risk of a deficiency but can supplement it in the form of crystalline vitamin B12.
Maintaining muscle mass
The rest of our body also needs looking after, of course. It’s important to maintain muscle mass, for instance. That’s because, after we reach the age of 30 we begin to lose as much as eight per cent of muscle with every decade that passes.
So, to avoid feeling weak it’s important to eat plenty of protein or supplement it. At the same time, take up some form of resistance exercise and you’re well on your way to maintaining those muscles.
Curbing constipation
Fibre too is important as we age since constipation can prove a problem for many elderly people, particularly women and those who take little exercise.
Constipation can also be a side-effect of many medications (which we tend to take more of as we get older). Fruit and veg are a great source of fibre, of course, especially those you can eat with their skin on, such as apples, pears, tomatoes etc. Supplements such as psyllium can also help: a spoonful can be added to water or a breakfast fruit smoothie.
There are other vitamins and minerals that it’s important to ensure you get enough of as you age, but these are the some of the most important. We’ll go on to cover other nutritional areas in other articles on the site.
