
Nutrition For The Elderly
Healthy eating and nutrition for the elderly is greatly impacted by several factors, one of them being a change in body composition. During the later years in life, the body will lose bone and muscle and gain fat because the hormones aren’t very active anymore.
There are many factors which hinder an elderly person’s health. The information below will help you to lead a healthy life – no matter how old you may be.
Water
Water in the body decreases with age, so many older folks will become dehydrated very easily. Sometimes they won’t feel thirsty, while other times it’s too much work to pour a glass a water. With this in mind, it’s recommended that they drink at least 1 ounce of water for every 2.2 pounds of weight.
Protein
At this stage in life, protein is very important. Protein is needed to support a healthy immune system and prevent the wasting of muscle. Since energy needs are less, older folks should eat high quality protein such as eggs, lean meats, poulty, and fish.
Carbs and fiber
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the entire body. You can find carbs in bread, cereals, pasta, and other grain products. A diet that’s high in fiber and water will help to prevent constipation as well.
Fat
Fat intake for the elderly should be limited, not eliminated. You can limit fat by choosing lean meats, low fat dairy products, and food preperation methods that don’t include frying.
Iron
For the elderly, iron deficiency can be seen with those who aren’t eating much. Good sources for iron include lean red meats or breakfast cereals.
Zinc
Zinc intake is normally with the elderly, and to make matters worse, it’s not absorbed very well either. Meat, poultry, and fish should be a part of your diet to help you meet the requirements for zinc.
Calcium
Calcium is one ingredient that most elderly folks simply aren’t getting enough of. Most believe that milk upsets their stomach, and therefore they will avoid it. They should be getting around 1,500 mg of calcium a day, and nonfat powdered milk can be used in recipes as a substitute for milk. Other foods such as yogurt, low fat cheese, and broccoli can also help you meet the requirements for calcium.
Vitamin B12
In order to absorb the benefits of B12, the intrinsic facotr must be produced by the stomach. Most elderly people suffer from a deficiency in B12 because they have a condition known as atrophic gastritis. This condition causes inflammation of the stomach, bacterial overgrowth, and the intrinsic factor. Without the intrinsic factor, this vitamin can be absorbed.
Each one of the above nutrients are needed to keep an aged body in good health. Elderly individuals should try to stay active and strive for a well balanced diet. Even though the aged body isn’t the same as it used to be, proper care and the right nutrients can help the elderly enjoy a healthy and long life.
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Are Diet Shake Recipes Effective For Losing Weight
Trying to lose weight can be difficult and following specific diets can be boring. Diet Shake recipes can help you to lose weight and they are delicious which makes it easier to stay on track with your weight loss journey.
Shakes and smoothies are a particularly good way to lose weight during the summer months when there are lots of fresh fruits available. You can still drink shakes during winter by substituting fresh fruit for frozen fruit and the results taste just as good. Some low fat yogurt added to a shake makes it even more delicious.
There are lots of different diet shake recipes that you can use when trying to lose weight. One of my own favorites is to use mango which is so refreshing on a hot day. I simply mix together some mango, mandarin, oranges and some ice, then add some low fat yogurt and blend together. Sometimes I will also add some protein powder to keep me feeling full longer.
A great shake for breakfast is a cranberry juice shake as this is an amazing tonic for your kidneys. Simply blend some cranberry juice with some apple juice, blueberries, strawberries and a banana and you have a nice, healthy breakfast shake. You can also add some low fat yogurt if you wish.
If you are a chocolate lover then try adding some unsweetened cocoa powder to your shake. When using diet shakes for losing weight you need to remember that a shake does not give you all your nutritional needs so you can’t live on shakes alone. To be really successful at losing weight, shakes can help, but you still need to have an overall healthy, nutritional diet and exercise regularly.
Have a really good look at your current diet and see what you are doing wrong. See what changes you can make that will help you to lose weight, such as reducing the amount of white break, pasta and rice in your diet. These foods contain hidden sources of sugar and so aren’t very good when trying to lose weight. Instead you can change them to brown rice, pasta and wholemeal bread. You may not like the taste of the brown variety if your tastebuds are use to the white variety so try swapping over gradually. Your taste buds will begin to get use to the new taste over time.
If you stick to one particular diet you can get bored eating the same boring foods over and over again. It helps to have a variety of foods in your diet as long as you are eating healthy foods and watching the number of calories you are consuming. Try to include lots of fruit and vegetables into your diet each day and perhaps experiment with different ways of cooking them. Small changes in your diet can go a long way to helping you reach a healthy weight.
It is very beneficial to eat foods that are high in soluble fiber as they have few calories but they make you feel full. Foods like mangoes, peas, brussel sprouts, spring greens, sprouts and dried apricots are a great source of fiber and can help you to feel fuller so you will eat less.
Diet shake recipes are very effective to help you to lose weight but you must remember to combine them with a nutritional diet and regular exercise to get the best weight loss results.
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Healthy Food Choices
Eating healthy is something we all would like to do, although it can be hard. In order to eat healthy, you must first make the right food choices. Eating healthy is all about what you eat, which makes the choices very crucial to your results.
Grains
You should consume 6 ounces of grains per day. To do this, you can eat 3 ounces of whole grain cereals, breads, rice, crackers, or pasta. You can get an ounce of grains in a single slice of bread, or 1 cut of cereal.
Vegetables
These should be varied, as you should eat 2 1/2 cups of them each day. You should start eating more of the dark vegetables, such as broccili and spinach. Carrots and
sweet potatoes are good as well. You should also eat more dry beans such as peas, pinto beans, and even kidney beans.
Fruits
Fruits are very important. You should try to eat 2 cups of them each day. Focus on eating a variety, such as fresh, frozen, canned, or even dried fruit. You can drink fruit juices as well, although you should use moderation when doing so.
Milk
Milk is your calcium rich friend. For adults, 3 cups is the ideal goal. For kids 2 – 8, 2 cups is where you want to be. When choosing milk products or yogurt, you should go for fat-free or low-fat. Those of you who don’t like milk or can’t have it, should go for lactose free products or other sources of calcium such as fortified foods and beverages.
Meat and beans
Eating 5 ounces a day is the ideal goal, as you should go lean with your protein. When eating meat, always bake it, grill it, or broil it, as this will prevent grease from
adding to the equation. You should vary your protein as well, with more fish, beans, peas, and nuts.
When cooking your food, you should also limit solid fats such as butter, margarine, shortening, and lard. These foods may add flavor to your dishes, although they can
also help raise your cholesterol as well. Therefore, you should try to add these foods and any foods that happen to contain them.
To help keep your saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium low, you can check the nutrition facts label. This label can be found on the food package and will tell you all the
information you need to know about the food item.
By picking your foods wisely and watching what you eat, you’ll help control your lifestyle. Exercise is great as well, as it goes along perfect with a healthy eating
lifestyle. No matter what your age may be, eating healthy will help you keep your active lifestyle for years and years – even help you and your health in the long run
as well.
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All About The Mayo Clinic 3 Day Diet
You may also know the Mayo Clinic 3 Day Diet as the Grapefruit Diet. This diet is all about eating certain foods at particular times each day. Each meal will include half a grapefruit which is where it gets the name ‘grapefruit diet’. Although the diet is not actually endorsed by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, the name of the Mayo Clinic 3 Day Diet still lives on.
Let’s take a look at the three main meals of the Mayo Clinic 3 day diet.
Breakfast – For breakfast each morning you will have a black tea or coffee, half a grapefruit and bread with some protein. For the bread and protein you could have toast with egg, toast with cheese or toast with peanut butter.
Lunch – lunch will also include protein and bread. Some examples of lunch could be toast with a boiled egg, toast with 1/2 cup of tuna or cottage cheese on crackers. You can also have a black tea or coffee with lunch.
Dinner – dinner is the most substantial meal of the day with this diet. Day 1 dinner includes 3 oz lean turkey, 1 cup of carrots, 1 cup of green beans, 1 apple and 1 cup of vanilla ice-cream. Day 2 dinner consists of 2 beef franks, 1 cup of cabbage or broccoli, 1/2 cup of carrots, 1/2 a banana and 1/2 cup of vanilla ice-cream. Day 3 dinner includes 1 cup of tuna, 1 cup of cauliflower, 1 cup of carrots, 1 cup of melon and 1/2 cup of ice-cream.
Every meal should include 1/2 a grapefruit or 4 oz. of grapefruit juice.
The key to success with this diet plan is that you must drink at least 32 ounces of water a day.
There are a lot of people that swear by this diet and have said you can lose 6 points in the three days of the diet. Here are some of the reasons why this diet is so effective.
1. The number of calories consumed is extremely restricted. Even though the diet includes ice-cream every day you are still only eating around 1200 calories a day.
2. This diet helps to flush out your system and help you to lose a lot of water weight.
3. This is not a permanent weight loss. This is a fast weight loss and if you go right back to your usual eating habits as soon as you finish the 3 days then you will put the weight back on.
So what is the point of dieting for 3 days if you are just going to put it back on? This diet is great if you have an event coming up that you want to lose a few pounds for. If you have a wedding, school reunion or want to fit into your skinny jeans to go to a concert, then this diet can help you to do that.
Although grapefruit is a vital part of the Mayo Clinic 3 day diet, there is no proof that it has any magical weight loss qualities. Not everyone likes grapefruit and some people will substitute it for orange during the diet.
Grapefruit does however have 6 grams of fiber in half a grapefruit so when you are eating 3 servings of it a day then you are getting 18 out of the 25 grams of recommended daily fiber. Diets that are high in fiber will help to flush out the system and assist with weight loss. Grapefruit juice though does not have any fiber.
The Mayo Clinic 3 day diet can also be useful to kick-start a diet and give you a fast weight loss to begin your weight loss journey and when you finish the 3 days on this diet you can then move onto a healthy eating plan to lose more weight in a slower time period. The kick-start at the beginning of the diet can help motivate you to continue to eat healthy and lose more weight.
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