In the developed countries the percent of people, whose age exceeds 60 years, constantly grows. It, of course, occurs thanks to increase in the standard of living and medical care. But the important role in maintenance of normal functioning of an organism, mental and physical health of elderly people is played also by healthy nutrition taking into account age features.
Physiological processes at advanced age
Thanks to high quality of life it was succeeded not only to increase its average duration, but also to considerably remove that age boundary after which transition the person is considered elderly. If carried the people who reached 40-year age to those 100 years ago today it is possible to speak about conditional border in 55-60 years.
At this age signs of aging of an organism begin to be shown – the intensity of exchange processes gradually goes down, indicators of the main exchange decrease, consumption of oxygen and release of carbonic acid decreases, protein metabolism and process of accumulation of lipidic components in fabrics slows down. Besides, enzymes of biological oxidation in a liver, kidneys and tissues of heart become less active, glucose utilization process slows down.
It is clear, that at advanced age it is necessary to correct the diet taking into account the happening changes in an organism and to exclude emergence of deficiency of micronutrients and proteinaceous and power insufficiency. These factors can become the cause of many diseases peculiar to people of advanced age.
To exclude deficiency of the vitamins arriving with food it is necessary to accept the artificial vitamin complexes adapted to requirements of an organism of elderly people.
Healthy nutrition at advanced age
Correctly made diet will allow not only to keep health, but also to considerably prolong years of full-fledged life. It is necessary to consider that the energy demand of an organism at advanced age decreases and in 60-69 years it is 85% of needs of the 20-30-year-old person, and at the age of 70-79 years – only 75%. At advanced age the overeating and excessive consumption of greasy food is especially harmful, it is the direct road to the atherosclerosis, diabetes and many other diseases accelerating aging process. Prevention of aging is control over a ratio of the spent energy and caloric content of the consumed food.
The diet of elderly people has to include surely in enough biominerals, phospholipids, the polinenasyshcheena fatty acids.
The alimentary factor also belongs to features of food at this age. It means that food has to be balanced and exclude deficiency of proteins, carbohydrates or lipids and also essential amino acids and vitamins. Food at this age has to have anti-atherosclerotic focus, to be the most various and balanced, provided with the substances stimulating activity of enzymes of an organism. Food has to be rather legkousvayevayemy.