The Food Pyramid for Age 70 and Older

At age 70 and older, individuals inherently have unique dietary needs. Fewer calories are needed as typically you may be less physically active, and your metabolic rate does slow down. Although this may seem to indicate that you need to worry less about nutritious meals, research actually shows that you require the same or higher levels of nutrients to remain healthy and better
manage the signs and symptoms of any chronic disease. 

The food pyramid for older adults was created at Tufts University to represent these changes which most often occur at age 70. It has seven elements, all of which are equally important-the best visualization is a circus tent with seven gussets, if you will, all of which make up the body of the tent. 

The seven elements daily nutrition at age 70 and older are:
 
1) Whole, enriched and fortified grains and cereals such as brown rice and 100% whole wheat bread which are fiber rich

  2) Bright-colored vegetables such as carrots and broccoli

 3) Deep-colored fruits such as berries and melon

 4) Low and non-fat dairy products such as yogurt and low-lactose milk

5) Dry beans and nuts, fish, poultry, lean meat and eggs

6) Liquid vegetable oils and soft spreads low in saturated and trans fats

7) Fluid intake

To get these nutrients each day does not require access to fresh food-frozen, packages or bags of pre-cut vegetables and fruits work just as well. Note the last element, fluid intake. As we age, we gauge how thirsty we are less well. The importance of consuming enough fluids each day cannot be understated. This means not only water, but soups, vegetable juice and foods high in water content such as lettuce.
 
The pyramid for older adults does indeed look like a circus tent as it has a flag at the top. This unique visual is used on this food pyramid to suggest that older adults may need certain supplemental nutrients. The need for calcium, vitamins D, E and B12 increases as we age and it is often difficult to obtain these from food alone. The potential need to use supplements needs to be discussed with your doctor, especially with regard to the current medications that you take and any over-the-counter drugs such as antacids, herbal supplements or other vitamins.

Clearly the relationship between nutrition and our health continues throughout our lifetime, and changes as we age. An important factor for everyone is understanding our current nutritional health and any risk factors that we may have added by virtue of our lifestyle and the changes in our daily habits as we age. The first step to a healthy life and better managing any disease that we may have or develops is our diet. Take the first steps by assessing your nutritional health now.