Book: The Global Foods and Recipes
Author: Smita Dey - Researcher, Healthy Food and Recipes
Healthy and nutritious dinner food for elderly assure fitness and good health without being dependent on medicine in your old age.
“He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors”- Chinese Proverb.
You can have many dinner ideas of many phases of life like dinner ideas for kids, dinner ideas for teens, dinner ideas for men elaborately.
As the age is sensitive from both physical and mental sides, we should have a clear conception about elderly dinner ideas. We can take care of our elderly parents and family members more properly if we have ideas about their diet.
Please keep in mind, the ideas are not only for citizens. We all need to know, as we all are going towards aging.
A healthy diet in our old age is as important as it is at a young age. According to WHO, “Older people who are affected by undernutrition and vitamin and mineral deficiencies are more vulnerable to infections and are at increased risk of poor health, including the development of sarcopenia and osteoporosis.”[1]
According to the American Dietetic Association, most older people get only a third of the nutritional requirements that their bodies need.[2]
Good nutrition helps to reduce the risk of heart diseases, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, and other diseases. “People should aim to eat a diversity of foods so that the body is getting a variety of nutrition”[3]
Good nutrition is the foundation of healthy aging. Elder people do not need more calories but they need more nutrients to overcome their elderly health issues.
Nutritious and healthy dinner ideas for the elderly play a vital role in ensuring proper nutrition in the crucial stage of life. Overcoming older age health issues, you can be fit and healthy with a nutritious diet especially at your dinner time.
As we get older, our nutritional requirement changes. We need to pay attention to some special nutrients. These nutrients help us to have good health. So, it is important to know the special nutrients to have a healthy life. The important nutrients are as follows.
Research has found that a protein-packed diet helps to reduce the chance of having a stroke. People have better bone mass as they age who eat more protein. Protein deficiency contributes to increasing loss of muscle mass and risk for infections and prolonged recovery time from injuries.[4] Milk, cheese, yogurt, beans, soy, white meat poultry are a great source of protein.
This nutrient is essential for your bone health. “Osteoporosis is characterized by a decrease in bone density which increases the risk of fractures. It commonly affects older people, especially women after menopause. Fractures of the hip, leg, and wrist are common amongst the elderly.”[5]
Milk and milk products such as yogurt, cheese are high in calcium. Fish with soft and edible bones is a good source of calcium.
Fiber helps to fight against heart disease lowering the cholesterol level. It also controls blood glucose levels. “A high fiber diet can also help lower the chance of getting certain types of cancers, such as colorectal cancer”[6]
Beans, brown rice, whole grain, nuts, and vegetables are a source of fiber.
Consumption of potassium may help you to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Yogurt, broccoli, banana, cantaloupe, tuna are the source of potassium.
It decreases the risk of cardiovascular problems, some types of cancer, and diabetes. It also lowers the risk of bone disorders and osteoporosis. So, this vitamin is essential for elderly people.[7]
Deficiency of folic acid increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, a common issue in old age. Broccoli, spinach, dried legumes, beans, chickpeas are a good source of folic acid.
The above-discussed nutrients are essential for you in your old age to keep you fit and healthy. You must get these to fulfill your requirement.
Find some dinner recipe names you can prepare easily assuring your nutritional requirements. Here, only the names and ingredients of these recipes are shared for you as the detailed cooking process will be shared very soon.
The main ingredients of the recipe are lentil and vegetables. Onion, garlic, cheddar cheese, spinach are the additional ingredients. You will get fiber, potassium, folic from lentil that is essential for your heart health.
Brown rice, vegetables, chicken broth, and kidney beans are the main ingredients of this dish that you can prepare easily. The dish gives you the required fiber, calcium, and protein.
You can prepare the dish with salmon, pineapple slices, chopped cilantro, and red onion. Salmon assures your fatty acids requirement.
Kale provides you calcium, antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin K. Tomato also provides antioxidants.
This recipe provides you copper, potassium, manganese, fiber, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. It is one of the heart-healthy recipes.
You can try these recipes to have a delicious dinner assuring your nutrition requirements. I have shared only a few recipe names with you to give you an idea of how you can fulfill your nutritional requirements. Many nutritious recipes are going to be shared very soon.
You can now maintain a healthy and nutritious diet at dinner time with healthy dinner ideas for elderly. Please keep in mind these nutrients are not only essential for your dinner. These are important for your breakfast and lunch too.
This content may help you to boost up your confidence that old age does not mean you are forwarding to end. It means, you have experienced much and you have the time to share your experience with your juniors. I hope, we all will be beneficial with your experience as long as you are fit enough to share.
References
© Smita Dey, 2022
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