Specifics of dining for elderly persons

- palate fatigue and worsened scent;
- loss of teeths and bad denture;
- inflammatory process in mucitis;
- saliva secretion decrease;
- dry mouth and decrease of taste senses caused by taking the medicine;
- hydrochloric acid secretion decrease in stomach which influences on absorbtion of calcium, B12 vitamin;
- nephratony, which influences on excrement of medicine and support of normal salt-water exchange and other.
 
Basic principles of dining of practically healthy elderly and old people: 
1)   Strict correspondence of food nutrition to actual energy usage;
2)   Anti-sclerotic trend of food with mostly plant products;
3)   Variety of products to ensure the optimal and balanced existence of all required microelements in the food;
4)   Eating of products and dishes which are easy to digest together with products which stimulate secretion and motion functions of digestive tract;
5)   Individualization of the diet taking into consideration the metabolism and condition of specific organs and systems.
 
Energy demand of the body in old ages is usually being decreased due to the lowering of intensity of metabolism and limitation of physical activities. Aging organism is very sensible to excessive nutrition which leads to obesity, followed by atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, cholelithiasis and kidney stone disease, which as a result leads to premature senility.
 
Average daily nutrition for elderly people shall be 1900-2100 kcal, for people older than 74 years of old – 1700-1900 kcal. It can be lowered by limiting of sugar, sweets, starchy foods, fat meat products and other sources of animal fat.
 
It is recommended for elderly people to include into diet:
Choosing among protein of animal origin, it is preferrable to eat the horse meat, fish and milk products. Meat of old animals is rich in purine bases – sources of uric acid. While boiling the meat, fish or poultry meat the purine bases go into broth, that is why usually doctors ask to avoid the strong meat soup, since it can lead to increase of the blood pressure. The meat shall be eaten once a day, preferrable boiled. One of the most healthful meats is the fresh-water fish (pikeperch, pike, and carp), and out of sea fish - soft-finned fishes.
 
It is also recommended for elderly people to eat milk products with reduced fat. Cheese is the main provider of calcium to the body and consists of a lot of cholesterine, fat and sodium chloride. It is better to choose non spicy and non salted types of cheese. Especially healthy to include into diet kefir and sour milk. Kefir improves the metabolism and supports the growth of normal gut microflora making the intestines work, redeeming from oppilation, which is a typical for older age.
 
The most healthy out of crops are buckwheat and oatmeal. Rice due to its costiveness effect shall be limited in a diet. The source of plant protein or gluten is the bread, especially the bread made of household flour or bread made with added boltings. Rye bread is the source of B vitamin, minerals and fibre. If the rye bread is the cause of cardialgia or other symptoms of indigestion, it is better to use it in dried form.
 
Out of adiposes it is needed to note the butter which is the milk fat and is easy to digest, consists vitamin A. The diet of elderly people shall limit or prohibit products which are rich in cholesterine and vitamin D (yellow yolk, brains, cod liver oil, fish caviar, intestinal offals, fatty meat and fish, salo (lard), pastry, sour cream and other). It is important to note that the defficit of cholesterine can lead to the violation of impulse activity along the nerve stems and worsening of the activity of the nerve cell, anhormonia, since cholesterine is the origin material for synthesis of steroid hormones of butterfly adrenal and genital glands. This might enable the progressive aging. Vegetable oils possess the liptropic effect due to existence of polyunsaturated fatty acids by eating of which it will be possible to avoid atherosclerosis and premature senility.
 
Having any disease is a stress which causes the deficit of vitamins and microelements. The reason can be the worsening of ability to absorb the vitamins. The ideal products are fruits and vegetables. It is healthy for heart muscles eating of products which are rich in kalium – dried fruits: dried plum, appricot halves, raisins. Vegetable fibre lowers the level of cholesterol, increases the gut motility, normalize the intestine florula and reduces the risk of having the atherosclerosis. Vegetables shall be eaten without salt, with vegetable oil or sour cream. Deficit of calcium in bones is the most frequent reason of senile osteoporosis, that is why the diet shall be full of fermented milk products. 
 
Practical recommendations on how to reduce the cholesterine: 
- To eat less than 4 yellow yolks a week;
- To take off the skin from poultry meat before cooking;
- To use vegetable oil while cooking;
- To take skimmed milk, fatless kefir, cottage cheese;
- To eat meat no more than once a week, preferring skimmed types of meat;
- To avoid such products as brains, fowl, caviar.
                    
Elderly persons are recommended to avoid:  
- Strong meat and mushroom soup;
- Tabasco;
- Sodium salt;
- Products containing refractory fat and that are rich in cholesterol;
- Fried, smoked, marinated food;
- Pastry and sweets;
- Fast food;
- Canned food;
- Strong coffee, tea, mate;
- Alcohol.
 
Products causing the premature senility: 
- Products rich in cholsterol – eggs, salo (lard), fatty cheese, sour cream;
- Products rich in protein – meat, cottage cheese, soy protein, eggs;
- Products with excessive amount of animal oil – these products tent to stay in gastrointestinal tract and reproduce inimical bacteria which poisons the full organism;
- Sodium salt;
- Sugar.