Golden Cuisinewww.goldencuisine.us

Adriane BergMarketing Consultant

adrianeberg@msn.com

Redefining Senior Dining

What Should Mom and Pop Eat?

The Top Food Concerns of Older Adults

Lack of desire to eat  27.61%Medication side-effects and conflicts 

26.08%Impact of food on mental clarity and

mood  17.97%Malnutrition  11.04%Lack of variety in diet  8.85%Weight loss  6.82%Food allergies  1.63%

A Place for Mom, Survey 2013

USDA—My Platewww.choosemyplate.gov

Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

Switch to skim or 1% milk.

Make at least half your grains whole.

Vary your protein food choices.

Keep your food safe to eat - learn more at www.FoodSafety.gov

Graphically shows and ranks the type of food we should be eating for optimum health

Do Older Adults Need Fewer Calories?

Yes And No

"Older adults tend to need fewer calories as they age because they are not as physically active as they once were and their metabolic rates slow down. Nevertheless, their bodies still require the same or higher levels of nutrients for optimal health outcomes.“

Alice H. Lichtenstein, D.Sc.,

Director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts

Of course, not every older adult does slow down and their caloric needs might not be any lower than they were when they were younger. That's why to answer the question, “What should Mom and Pop eat?” depends on who Mom and Pop are.

Men Need to Get Nutritionally Involved

According to the Harvard Medical Journal and Harvard Men's Health Watch:

Staying active will preserve muscle, enabling you to burn more calories, increasing your metabolism, boosting your appetite, and increasing your intake of essential nutrients. A high consumption of dietary fiber will help fight diabetes, heart disease, diverticulosis, and hemorrhoids. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and high-fiber bran cereals are a good source of dietary fiber.

It's important to maintain a daily intake of 400 micrograms of

folic acid and 1.7 mg of vitamin B 6 if you are over the age of 50. These two vitamins help reduce blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, now recognized as a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.”

The Nine Friendly Nutrients

#1. Vitamin 12- Important for red blood cells and healthy nerve function; Found in fish, yogurt, fortified cereal and dairy products

#2. Folate/Folic Acid (a B vitamin)-Important because lack can cause anemia; Found in fortified breakfast cereals fruits, lentils, beef liver, and vegetables

#3. Calcium-Important to combat osteoporosis and promote bone health which can prevent fractures in case of a fall; Found in milk products, dark green vegetables and fortified juices.

#4. Vitamin D-Important to absorb calcium and may help with arthritis multiple sclerosis and autoimmune diseases; Found in fortified cereals dairy products yogurts, salmon fish and tuna and juices.

The Nine Friendly Nutrients

#5. Potassium-Important for cell function and maintaining proper blood pressure, lack can also cause lightheadedness and kidney stones; Found in bananas potatoes prunes and plumps are potassium rich

#6. Magnesium-Important for hundreds of physiological systems; Found in nuts, whole grains, beans seeds and vegetables.

#7. Fiber-Important for healthy digestion; Found in whole

grains, beans, fruits and vegetables.

#8. Omega-3- Important to lower triglyceride levels and arrhythmias. There is some evidence that omega-3 reduces the risk of Alzheimer's and keeps us sharper. Found in sardines, salmon, mackerel and tuna as well as soybeans, flaxseed canola oil.

#9. Water-Important to prevent dehydration from medications

(3 to 5 large glass of water a day is recommended. Dark colored urine is a sign of dehydration.

Other Important Nutrients

Iron--chicken liver, turkeyVitamin A--cantaloupe, tomatoes,

salmon, chickpeasB6—Chicken breast, clams, beef

liver, troutVitamin E--wheat germ, almond

oil

What is the Glycemic Index?

The glycemic index rates how food

affects your blood sugar levels. The higher the number on the index the more closely it affects your body the way that eating pure sugar would.

Pure sugar rates a hundred percent

on the glycemic index.

What is a “carb”?

The three main forms of carbohydrates are:

Simple sugars like glucose, fructose and lactose that travel in our bloodstream.

More complex carbs are found in starches which are really a type of sugar molecule, as found in potatoes.

A third type of starch is found in whole grains and beans which a digested slowly and don't give a jolt to the body.

Fiber is also a complex carbohydrate and moves through the stomach very slowly making you feel full, not adding calories and not digested by the body.

Do we need carbs for energy or Do they just make us fat?

Carbs can help control weight and fight conditions like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer…

If they are the “good carbs”, meaning those that are low on the glycemic index and do not cause a spike in our blood sugar levels.

How does the Glycemic Index affect older adult nutrition?

Separate food in your diet into those with low (55 or

lower), moderate (56-59), and high (70 plus) glycemic index ratings.

You can probably guess which foods fall into each category. Fruits and vegetables, beans whole grains whole pasta, nuts, low-fat dairy products are in the lowest caliber.

Sweet and white potatoes, corn, couscous, wheat cereals are moderate

White breads, most crackers, bagels, cakes, packaged cereals and doughnuts are pretty high, as is anything with substantial amounts of sugar.

What happens to our taste buds as we age?

While depression and medications do interfere with

taste and interest in food, often an older adult is undergoing a normal change in taste bud function.

We experience taste when molecules released by chewing or smell or the digestion of food stimulate sensory cells in the mouth and throat. The cells send messages through taste nerves to our brain, and the brain identifies the taste and associates it with pleasure or displeasure.

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The Brain and the Taste Buds

But if there is a change in the brain or any other

place along this system, there may be no sensation.

An infant has 10,000 taste buds all around the tongue. Our younger self can easily experience sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory.

Savory, in Japanese Umami, was discovered in the 20th century and it is the taste of chicken broth or meat stock and some cheeses, also associated with monosodium glutamate.

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Medication and Taste Loss

Dysguesia, distaste, may be brought on by

medications, dental problems, radiation therapies, vitamin deficiencies.

Antibiotics and blood pressure pills, fairly common medications for older adults, affect taste.

Antibiotics, blood pressure pills, medications to lower anxiety, and antidepressants, allergies, allergens like pet dander and ragweed may interfere with the ability to smell and throw off healthy throat cultures.

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Enhance the Eating Experience

People eat with their eyes, if something looks

pretty we think it tastes good.

And our “taste belief system” is very powerful. If temperature of food is just right.

If there is an excellent social environment

while eating, if the food is nicely plated, the older adult will enjoy their food even with less taste and have a healthy eating experience.

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Sodium….the silent killer

Salt is important for the human body; and in fact older adults can faint if they don't have enough salt. Requirements range at around 180-500 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day.

But Western diets typically include almost 4,000 mg.  It’s easy to over salt as 1 teaspoon has 2,325 mg.  Processed and prepared foods are filled with sodium. The first line of defense is to read the package and know what you are eating.

The American Medical Association estimates

that cutting the amount of salt in processed foods by half could save 150,000 lives in the United States each year.

Ditch the Sodium

Eat fresh foods, those that are not processed and eat as much raw food as possible. In that way added salt will not be in addition to already high sodium content of the food.

1. Rinse canned foods if it has added salt.

2. Check out salt free condiments and salt free and low-sodium versions of soups and other favorite foods.

3. Don't be shy in a restaurant ask for no extra salt or low salt dishes to be prepared by the chef

4. When reading labels be salt savvy. Salt is also called sodium, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Phosphate monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, sodium saccharin, table salt, kosher salt.

5. Go exotic, try cinnamon, pepper, lemon pepper and herbs to flavor food

Medication and Food Avoid grapefruit and pomegranate's which can alter how

certain cholesterol medications work. Dark green vegetables like kale may be contra-indicated

if you take anticoagulant like Coumadin (also known and marketed under the brand names Marevan, Lawarin, Waran and Warfant)

Ask your doctor about any adjustments to your diet that might be important.

Consult your doctor about the effect of alcohol on you medication and salt if you take a diuretic. Herbs can be contrary to medication.

Nutraceuticals and vitamins are less regulated than prescription medications so your doctor or pharmacist may be unaware that you are taking supplements. Make sure you inform them.

Keep a list of the medications on the refrigerator or handy in health emergencies. Make sure that any supplements you take are also on this list.

Golden Cuisinewww.goldencuisine.us

Adriane BergMarketing Consultant

adrianeberg@msn.com

Redefining Senior Dining

What Should Mom and Pop Eat?