9 Important Nutrients for Older Adults

As you get older, fulfilling the daily nutrient requirements can be challenging. As you age, the body needs fewer calories. In order to fulfill the daily needs, every calorie consumed must be packed with nutrition.

However, this is not a guarantee that you will hit the mark. “The body becomes less efficient at absorbing some key nutrients as we age,” says Mark Berger, the healthcare executive, and CEO of Villa Healthcare. Additionally, the ability to taste the food is declined, so the appetite is declined also. Older adults have difficulties with chewing and digesting some foods.  This can result in a shortage in some key nutrients.

Berger points out some of the top vitamins and nutrients to look out for:

Vitamin B12

This vitamin is important for creating red blood cells and DNA. Also, it helps to maintain a healthy nerve function. Berger points out that getting enough vitamin B12 may be a challenge for older people. This is because they can’t absorb it from foods as well as younger people. He recommends eating meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products.

Folate/Folic Acid

This is an essential B vitamin, which deficiency leads to anemia and increases that risk of a pregnant woman having a baby with a neural tube defect. According to Berger, older adults should include more fruits and vegetables in their dies and also cereal breakfast.

Calcium

Calcium plays the main role in maintaining strong bones health. “The best is to get calcium from the food,” says Berger, “I recommend drinking up to three cups of milk, eating enough dairy products, kale, and broccoli, as well as juices fortified with calcium.”

Vitamin D

Mark Berger points out that Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. This contributes to maintaining bone density and prevents osteoporosis. Certain research studies have shown that that D may also protect against some chronic diseases, including cancer, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases.

He recommends eating vitamin D fortified foods, such as cereals, milk, some yogurts, and juices. Natural vitamin sources are the sun, salmon, tuna, and eggs. Also, the best advice from Berger is to make sure that you spend at least one hour on the sunlight, daily.

Potassium

Potassium is important for keeping bones strong and plays a key role in proper cell functioning. Also, it has been shown to help reduce high blood pressure and the risk of kidney stones. The recommended daily amount of potassium is 4,700mg.

The best potassium sources, according to Berger are avocados, spinach, potatoes, kidney beans, bananas, prunes, and plums.

Magnesium

This mineral is the key factor in a wide variety of physiological processes. Getting enough magnesium contributes to boosting your immune system, your heart health and also keeps your bones strong.

Berger points out that many whole foods contain magnesium. However, this mineral is often lost in processing. Magnesium absorption decreases with age. Also, some medications, especially diuretics can reduce magnesium absorption.

The healthcare executive recommends increasing the intake of unprocessed foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, beans, and seeds. These foods are great sources of magnesium.

Fiber

Fiber helps digestion. Foods rich in fiber are whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Those foods also have much more benefits, including protecting against heart disease.

Omega-3 Fats

Omega-3 are unsaturated fats. These can be found in primarily in fish. According to Mark Berger, Omega-3 fats have a wide range of benefits, such as reducing symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis and slowing the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease of reduced vision in the elderly, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and perhaps even keep the brain sharper as we age.

Villa Healthcare nutrition experts recommend eating at least two servings of fish a week, especially Salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel. There are also some vegetable sources of Omega-3, such as soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed, and canola oil.

Water

Water is crucial for your health. Sense of thirst may decline with age. Some medicines increase the risk of dehydration.

Fibers absorb water, so if you are increasing the fiber in your diet, it is important to increase water consumption also.

Water might not seem like an essential vitamin or mineral, but it is crucial for good health. With age, a sense of thirst may decline. Certain medicines increase the risk of becoming dehydrated. Water is especially important if you are increasing the fiber in your diet since it absorbs water. It is recommended drinking at least 5 large glasses of water daily.

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