I have previously written two DietDoc topics on Diets for older people - physiological problems associated with ageing and Nutrition and the elderly - coping with eating problems, which may help readers to understand what types of changes occur when we get older and how certain eating problems of old age can be circumvented.
It stands to reason that any person, no matter how young or old he or she may be, who suffers from any one of the major illnesses (diabetes, obesity, kidney or heart disease, etc), will have to use a specific diet prescription to treat the condition. Such individual diet prescriptions should preferably be worked out and applied under the guidance of a registered dietician, particularly if the patient suffers from multiple conditions (e.g. diabetes and hypertension and kidney disease).
Nowadays there are, however, many older people, who are well and active for their age and do not have any of the major diseases. To answer the question as to what such individuals should eat, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans - Key Recommendations for Older Adults (US Dept of Agriculture, 2010), are a good place to start.
Calculating energy requirements
Mahan and her co-editors (2011) suggest that the Daily Recommended Intakes (DRIs) for energy for adults can be used to calculate the energy requirement of older persons, provided an adjustment is made for increasing age.
Example:
The DRI for energy for adults aged 18 years is 12 830 kJ/day (3 067 kcal/day) for men and 10 060 kJ/day (2 403 kcal/day) for women.
To compensate for the reduced energy requirement due to ageing, these authors suggest that we subtract 42 kJ/day (10 kcal/day) for men and 29 kJ/day (7 kcal/day) for women for each year of age older than 19 years.
If the person in question is a man of 80 years (i.e. 80-19 = 61 years x 42 kJ = 2 562 kJ/day), then his approximate energy requirement would be 12 830 minus 2 562 = 10 268 kJ/day (2 452 kcal/day).
If the person in question is a woman aged 82 years (i.e. 82-19 = 63 years x 29 kJ = 1 827 kJ/day), then her approximate energy requirements would be 10 060 minus 1 827 = 8 233 kJ/day (1 967 kcal/day).
In other words, a healthy man aged 80 years would require about 2 500 kJ less energy every day than when he was 19 years old.
Probiotics
The use of probiotics (“good or beneficial microorganisms”) can benefit people of all ages, including older people. Try using Bifidoforte or Bifidoflora (which contain Bifidobacteria), which are recommended specifically for the treatment of disorders of the colon (large intestine), or Intestiflora (which contains Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria), to restore the function of the intestinal flora after antibiotic treatments. You should be able to purchase these probiotics at health shops.
Anyone over the age of 65 years, not suffering from a major disease, can apply these recommendations to ensure balanced nutrition and good health. Older persons who do have a major condition such as heart disease, hypertension or diabetes, should consult a registered dietitian for an individual diet prescription.
