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.

So What is the Latest Information About Nutrition - How Well Do You Like Fruits and Vegetables?

In March 2007, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a public health initiative to make us aware of the need for fruits and vegetables in our diet. The program was called "5 a Day "to encourage adults to eat five or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables or two to six and a half cups per day. This change also acknowledges that many people struggle with understanding the size of a serving, and so the new requirements are stated in cups. Below are some examples of how these new requirements can be simply met in our daily diets.
 
Morning:  
1 small apple (1 cup)  
 












1 small banana on cereal (½ cup)

Mid-Day:
1 cup of lettuce and ½ cup of other vegetables  

6 baby carrots (½ cup)

 









Evening: 
½ sweet potato and ½ cup of green beans (1 cup)

 






16 grapes (½ cup) 

"E"lder years above age 80

As age increases, the risks of frailty and health problems also increase. Checking your nutritional health regularly at age 80 and older is just good sense to continue a productive life.

"N"eed Assistance

Most older people are able to eat, but one of every five have trouble walking, shopping, buying or cooking food. If someone you know has trouble walking or standing for a long time, you know that they likely have problems shopping or cooking. If shopping is the problem, more and more stores now offer delivery of groceries to the home for a minimal charge. Shopping assistance-even transportation to and from the store may be available from a local senior center or home care agency that offers homemaker services in which these workers not only shop but can help with cooking.
 
If cooking is the problem, consider what meals you can microwave - including dinners already made that you can buy at the local store. Consider having meals brought to your home, there are a variety of services including Meals on Wheels which also offer special diets.

"I"nvoluntary Weight Loss/Gain

Losing or gaining a lot of weight – 10 pounds or more in the last six months – when you are not trying to, is a warning sign that you cannot ignore. See your doctor and understand why, before this condition slowly deteriorates your health.

"M"ultiple Medicines can be Trouble for your Appetite

Most adults over age 60 take some type of medicine for a health problem. Almost half of older Americans take multiple medicines – more than four per day. As we grow older our body changes in how it responds to drugs. The more medicine that we take, the greater the chance of side effects such as increased or decreased appetite, change in taste, constipation, weakness, drowsiness, diarrhea, nausea, and other symptoms. Our doctors should know every drug we take, including vitamins and minerals, as drug-food interactions are real as well as drug-drug side effects that can make eating an experience we want to avoid.

If you take four or more medications per day and you have little appetite, ask your doctor if the  medicines may be affecting your appetite or even causing taste problems (things just don’t taste they way they used to). Changing  medications can make a real difference, but you need to tell your doctor that there is a problem.

"R"educed Social Contact: How it Impacts Nutrition

One third of all older people in the US live alone. Older people who find themselves single after many years of living with another person may find it difficult to be alone, especially at mealtimes. It is not uncommon among the single or widowed population to lose interest in preparing or eating regular meals, or eat only sparingly. In a study published in the Journal of Gerontology, researchers found that newly widowed people, most of whom were women, were less likely to enjoy mealtimes, less likely to say that they had a good appetite and less likely to report good eating behaviors. Nearly 85% of those widowed reported a weight change during the two years following a spouse’s death; the average weight loss was 7.6 pounds. Most of the women
enjoyed eating and cooking before they lost their spouse, but as widows, cooking was now a ‘chore”. For many widowed men who left cooking to their wives, the problem was often worse. They often did not know how to prepare meals and instead snacked too often or ate out a lot, both of which lead to eating too much fat, sodium and cholesterol and not enough food with the vitamins and minerals needed.

The importance of this research only reinforced the earlier findings that eating alone often can put your nutrition at risk. For those widowed or who are long term caregivers of a sick spouse who can no longer share meals as in the past, an important intervention is eating with friends or family or participating in group meals at a senior center or church at least every few weeks. Being with people daily has a positive effect on morale, well-being and eating!