A VERY QUICK INTRODUCTION TO NUTRITION FOR SENIORS: LEARNING THE BASICS
FIRST PUBLISHED: 11/11/2019. LAST UPDATED: 11/7/2022
GETTING STARTED EATING HEALTHY
Healthy eating keeps our muscles strong and our minds alert and gives our bones the nutrients they need to stay strong.
When we increase our physical activity and exercise, our metabolic demands increase. What this means is we should ensure we are getting adequate nutrition.
We want the nutrients required to keep us healthy and the energy to fuel our body, to not only undertake the activity but to assist in the recovery process to make us stronger and healthier versions of ourselves.
To understand how to do this, a short nutrition lesson is required. Nutrition is a big and complex topic, so I’m going to break it down in a simple way to understand and give some guidelines to help you keep healthy.
NUTRITION BASICS
All the food we eat is made up of both macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients are the nutrients that supply us with energy. There are three macronutrients: Protein, carbohydrates and fats. Macronutrients make up most of the food, whatever it is (hence macro).
The micronutrients, on the other hand, are the nutrients only needed in small amounts yet are vital for the proper functioning of our body to maintain health. (These are the vitamins and minerals.)
To maintain good health, we must ensure adequate energy from protein, carbohydrates, and fats daily from healthy foods.
These foods should also contain plenty of micronutrients to ensure our body is functioning optimally and is in good health. Some foods are more nutrient-dense than others.
We also want to stay properly hydrated. Our body is 70% water, after all.
THE MACRONUTRIENTS
So now, let’s dive into the macronutrients that make up most of our food.
Starting with the one I feel older adults do not get enough of:
PROTEIN
When thinking of protein, think of meats, fish, cheese, eggs, milk, beans, nuts and seeds.
Protein is vital for every cell in our body. Its main job is to build and repair tissues.
It’s the building block for muscles, cartilage, skin, bones and blood. It is used to make enzymes, hormones and other body chemicals.
Protein will increase our metabolism. Make us feel fuller after eating. It will help us lose weight, build muscle and give us a fitter/more toned appearance (by helping us lose weight and build muscle).
Protein is an essential nutrient, and we must ensure we get adequate amounts daily.
HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD SENIORS EAT?
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends that 15-25% of our total energy intake should come from protein, with a daily intake of the following:
The RDI of protein for women aged 19–70 is 46 grams daily.
The RDI of protein for men aged 19-70 is 64 grams daily.
Women over 70 should have at least 57g per day.
Men over 70 should have over 81g per day.
Do you feel you are getting enough?
To learn more about protein and get tips to get more protein daily, click here to learn more.
The next macro nutrient is our fats.
FATS
Healthy fats are our oils, cheeses, butter, nuts, avocados and oily fish.
Fats are vital nutrients that supply us with energy and allow the other nutrients to do their jobs. Fats are essential for healthy body function; without them, we can't live.
Although there may have been a time when you heard that fats are the enemy of health and our waistline, this is not true. Don't cut out fats.
But be mindful of the TYPE of fats you put into your body.
There are four types of dietary fats:
Saturated fats - beef, lamb, pork, whole milk, cream, butter, cheese.
Monounsaturated fats - olive oil, nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans etc.), avocados, nut butter, olives.
Polyunsaturated fats - walnuts, fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, trout), seeds
Trans fats - cakes, cookies, crackers, icings, margarine, and microwave popcorn. The bad fats.
The healthier fats are the top three fats. Trans fats are the fats we want to avoid!
Saturated fats get a bad rap also, but they are not to be feared.
Eat the natural sources of fats and stay away from anything that is processed!
CARBOHYDRATES
The next and final macronutrient of the food we eat is carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are your starches (your bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals etc.), sugars and fibres found in grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy products (which contain fats and protein).
Carbohydrates are our fruits and other sugars, our vegetables (our starches and fibre), and our dairy products.
Like fats have in the past (and still do among some people today), carbohydrates now get a bad rap for our health and waistline.
This is where everything gets very confusing. If fats are bad, carbohydrates are bad, red meats are bad, dairy is bad, ….. (I could go on with what is supposedly bad). What are we meant to eat?
In short, my answer is... There will always be nutrient-dense healthy sources and highly processed, unhealthy sources with fats, carbohydrates and even proteins.
The best way to get adequate amounts of the above macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is to choose natural food sources over packaged and processed food and eat a diet filled with fruit and vegetables, grains, quality meat sources and dairy.
Carbohydrates are one of the primary food groups and are essential to living a healthy life.
The majority of your calories should come from carbohydrates. This includes healthy grains, dairy products, fruit and vegetables.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends 5-6 serves of vegetables a day for people 65+ and 2 serves of fruit. Where it can get confusing is how much a serve is. See the diagram below to see what a serving of fruit and vegetables looks like.
The equivalent of a serving of fruit and vegetables.
Aim to get three healthy meals daily filled with adequate protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates.
When eating healthy, these natural food sources take care of our macronutrient needs and are filled with our micronutrients (the vitamins and minerals) needed to maintain optimal bodily function.
So now you have a basic understanding of nutrition, to continue on your journey of healthy eating:
