Even the most sophisticated equipment can malfunction after 65 years of use, and the same goes for people. As age increases, the elderly will more or less experience some physical problems, which have a great impact on their health.
Health Problems Faced by the Elderly
- Organ Function Decline and Nutritional Imbalance: As the elderly age, there is a decline in organ function, and the absorption ability decreases significantly. Even if the food they consume is fine, the reduced absorption ability can lead to nutritional imbalances. For example, poor absorption of vitamins B and C may cause anemia; insufficient vitamin D intake may lead to osteoporosis in the elderly, making them prone to falls and fractures.
- Chewing and Swallowing Difficulties: Some elderly people may experience problems with their teeth, resulting in a significant decline in chewing and swallowing abilities, which also affects food intake and absorption.
- Muscle Loss (Sarcopenia): With age, the elderly face the problem of muscle reduction, known as sarcopenia. Muscles atrophy significantly, and strength decreases markedly, posing a great threat to the health of the elderly.
- Chronic Diseases: Some elderly people suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, or gout.
In the face of these problems, we should know that for maintaining the health of the elderly, reasonable dietary nutrition and exercise are the cornerstones of ensuring their health. So, what should we do specifically?
Diet: Ensure 12 Kinds of Foods Every Day
According to the “Chinese Dietary Guidelines for Residents (2016)”, for the elderly aged 65 and above, they should consume more than 12 kinds of foods every day to better meet their dietary needs and ensure sufficient nutrient intake. Some elderly people may think this is difficult, but it’s not as complicated as it seems. Take breakfast as an example. Drinking a glass of milk and eating an egg, along with some fruits and vegetables, already provides nearly 4 kinds (or more) of food intake. For lunch and dinner, we can appropriately increase the intake of several kinds of vegetables and meat dishes, supplement soy products appropriately, and use coarse grains as the main staple food. Adding tubers such as sweet potatoes and potatoes can meet the requirement of 12 kinds of food intake, which is actually not difficult. However, there are some details that we must pay special attention to.
- High-Calcium Diet: The elderly should ensure daily milk consumption. 200 – 300 milliliters of milk can help us supplement 200 – 300 milligrams of calcium that is easily absorbed by our bodies. Moreover, milk contains high-quality protein, which is very helpful for promoting muscle synthesis and preventing muscle loss.
- Increase Intake of Soy Products, Vegetables, and Nuts: Appropriately increasing the intake of soy products (such as tofu, dried tofu, soy milk), fresh vegetables (preferably those with high calcium and low oxalate, such as celery, rapeseed, onions, about 500 grams per day), and nuts (20 grams per day; if chewing is difficult, they can be crushed and mixed into milk or soy milk) not only provides rich dietary fiber to relieve constipation in the elderly but also supplies abundant calcium.
- Adequate Protein Intake: Many elderly people are reluctant to eat meat as they age, which is a wrong behavior. High-quality protein is a very important nutrient to ensure the health and muscle strength of the elderly. Appropriately consuming fish (100 grams), shrimp, poultry, and beef, mutton, and pork can help provide high-quality protein and various trace nutrients.
- Prevent Anemia: Many elderly people are prone to anemia, often due to a lack of vitamin B12, folic acid, and vitamin C in their diet. Therefore, it is important to appropriately increase the intake of ingredients rich in these nutrients. For example, increasing the intake of lean meat, fish, and animal liver (do not overconsume; no more than twice a week, and no more than 30 grams each time) is important. Green leafy vegetables can provide rich vitamin C and folic acid, which can promote iron absorption and red blood cell synthesis. The elderly should also increase their intake of such ingredients. One thing we must note is that strong tea and coffee can interfere with the absorption of iron in food, so try not to drink them excessively before or after meals.
- Vitamin D Intake: Vitamin D intake is very important for the health of the elderly. It is recommended to appropriately increase the intake of fresh vegetables, eggs, milk, fungi, and animal offal.
- Chewable Foods: Many elderly people think that they should eat soft foods as they age, which is more conducive to absorption and better for protecting teeth. However, if you don’t have severe dental diseases or obvious swallowing difficulties, it may be more helpful for your oral health and digestive system to consume some foods that require chewing. Otherwise, eating overly soft foods for a long time will lead to further degeneration of the digestive system, which is not conducive to digestion and absorption in the elderly.
In general, appropriately enriching our diet, insisting on consuming eggs, milk, fresh vegetables, fungi, and fruits, and appropriately consuming animal offal and seafood can better help us maintain the balance of bodily functions, achieve a better dietary structure, and have a better effect on our health.
Exercise: 150 Minutes of Aerobic Exercise per Week
People don’t rely on physical strength as they age. It is recommended that the elderly aged 65 and above do not engage in overly intense exercise, as it is easy to cause sports injuries and unnecessary impacts. It is recommended to perform 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, which can be 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week. Of course, the physical condition of each elderly person is different, and this value is the lower limit of the recommended exercise amount. If you are in good physical condition, you can appropriately increase the amount of exercise, but avoid exercising every day and give your body a reasonable rest opportunity.
How to judge moderate-intensity aerobic exercise? It means that we can chat normally with others during exercise and do not feel palpitations, shortness of breath, or excessive sweating. Light sweating is good. Appropriate slow running, brisk walking, cycling, doing yoga, and some elderly gymnastics are all good choices.
In addition, it is recommended that you pay attention to adding or reducing clothes in time according to weather changes during exercise and choose the environment carefully. Do not exercise on rugged or sloping roads. Exercise in places with fresh air and relatively flat roads. Do not exercise in sparsely populated areas, and make sure the lighting is sufficient. This is to avoid no one noticing in case of an accident or getting injured due to a dark environment.
So, is it necessary to do resistance exercises such as lifting dumbbells? The answer is yes. Appropriately doing such exercises can help us better strengthen our muscles, combat sarcopenia, and reduce the risk of falls. Combining scientific and reasonable aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise is not only beneficial for healthy elderly people but also for those with chronic diseases. Especially for the elderly with hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia, it can play a certain auxiliary control role and is also very important for reducing all-cause mortality.
If you are 60 years old or above, please pay attention to your diet and exercise, which are the cornerstones of ensuring your health. Only in this way can you live longer and enjoy a healthier old age. Even if you have some chronic diseases, don’t be anxious or feel that life has become dull. At this time, you should seek help from doctors, take medications actively and reasonably, and adjust your diet and exercise at the same time to assist the effect of medications and help control the problems and prevent the diseases from progressing further.
