Senior Nutrition Needs and Myths – What You Need to Know

Good nutrition is critical. That’s no secret.

The food that we eat has direct impacts on health and on disease risk. Eating well can often prolong life while helping seniors maintain their independence for longer.

But, nutrition is sometimes a confusing field. There is so much information out there and advice is often contradictory.

This post aims to cut through all that confusion. We’re focusing on clear advice and tips that you can follow as a caregiver, to promote health and good nutrition. Some of the approaches are situation-specific, while others will apply to everyone.

What Should Seniors Eat?

Generally speaking, seniors have similar nutritional needs to adults. This means practices are similar, like eating fruit and vegetables (including leafy greens), focusing on whole foods rather than processed options, keeping sugar intake low, eating whole grains and choosing lean cuts of meat.

However, there are also some specific differences.

• For example, seniors typically need more calcium per day (around 1,200 mg) than younger adults and fewer calories per day.
• Another important approach is protein. Seniors should be consuming around a gram of protein per pound of body weight, per day. The protein can come from animal-based or plant-based sources, ideally a bit of both. The protein helps protect against age-related muscle loss.
• It’s also important to make food interesting. Pleasure in food often decreases as people age, while eating gets more difficult too. This makes soft food particularly relevant.
• Focusing on more prominent flavors can also help, due to sense of taste decreasing over time.

Specific Nutrition Needs

Some seniors will also have specific nutrition needs. These are often associated with health conditions. Some key considerations include the following:

• Medication interactions. There are many ways that medications can interact with food. This may involve avoiding some ingredients entirely (like grapefruit) or taking them into account (like foods that are high in vitamin K).
• Low sodium. Many seniors need to decrease sodium intake. This involves finding alternatives to salt to flavor food and avoiding many processed products.
• Specific diets. Some seniors will need to follow a specific diet, like a diabetic, renal or heart-healthy diet. Each type will come with its own requirements and restrictions. The idea may seem complicated or excessive at first. But, following the requirements is critical for health, especially in the long-term.

Common Nutrition Myths

There are also some myths that persist around seniors and nutrition. The following are some of the most common examples.

Seniors Don’t Need to Worry About Weight

Excess weight is a challenge for any age group and it can be particularly significant for seniors.

Weight contributes to health issues, increasing the risk of complications and making movement more difficult. This is very concerning, as many seniors struggle to be mobile and active anyway.

Many seniors do have decreased appetite. But, this doesn’t stop weight gain from being an issue. In some cases, seniors may not be interested in meals but still enjoy high-calorie treats, where the calories can quickly add up.

Seniors are often less mobile than when they were younger and are involved in fewer day-to-day activities. This means more free time to eat and fewer calories expended through movement and exercise.

Seniors Need Fewer Nutrients

In most cases, seniors do need fewer calories per day than younger age groups. But, the same isn’t true for nutrients.

Instead, seniors need more of some nutrients – as their ability to produce or absorb these decreases. Calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D are all examples. This is why many seniors will be prescribed vitamin D supplements.

Supplements can help prevent deficiencies, but they shouldn’t replace a healthy diet.

For one thing, food is an important social activity and one that helps give life enjoyment. Supplements are also associated with side effects, like constipation or diarrhea.

It’s Fine to Skip Meals

Seniors often have little appetite, so skipping meals can seem appealing. But, the practice doesn’t help. Realistically, seniors still need to eat, even if they aren’t getting the correct signals from their body.

In some cases, skipping meals also decreases appetite further, creating a dangerous pattern.

Caregivers often find that it’s easier to focus on many small meals throughout the day. This means that the meals can be of a more manageable portion size. With many chances to eat per day, a senior refusing to eat once or twice is less of an issue.

The Challenges in Actually Meeting these Needs

Solving senior nutrition needs isn’t always easy.

Caregivers often find that they’re short on time and energy. It’s hard enough feeding the family, let alone making separate meals for seniors.

Seniors who live alone face their own challenges.

• Cooking might be difficult or even risky. Physical or cognitive challenges can contribute to this issue.
• Memory problems may also mean that seniors don’t always remember when they have eaten. This can lead to missed meals or, conversely, to eating extra meals.
• They may lack the motivation. Some seniors suffer from depression, while others may simply not want to put in the effort required to prepare healthy meals each day.

Plus, senior needs can often get complex. For example, diabetic and heart-healthy diets require additional planning and consideration. This can be problematic for many seniors or caregivers, especially when food preparation is stressful anyway.

Some Interesting Solutions

Thankfully, there are solutions.

Some of these are obvious, such as you taking on more responsibility for meals as a caregiver, or relying on services like Meals on Wheels. But sometimes, the obvious solutions aren’t enough.

Meal Replacement Shakes

One alternative is meal replacement shakes. You’ll often see these promoted in doctor’s offices. Ensure is frequently the brand of choice.

These products typically contain a wide range of nutrients. This makes them a useful way to lower the risk of nutrient deficiencies. Many of them taste good too. It’s often easier to get a senior to drink a shake than to eat a full meal.

But… care is needed.

Many shakes, including the Ensure brand, are high in sugar and processed ingredients. They often provide little nutritional value. Some are more similar to chocolate milk than to any type of meal.

If you’re interested in shakes for nutrition, the best solution is to make your own.

There are many meal replacement powders that you can use as a base. You can then add other ingredients to create a smoothie. Fresh and frozen fruit works well. Other ingredients include options like cocoa powder, banana, peanut butter and chia seeds.

This style allows you to tailor the taste and texture of the shake to the preferences of your family member. You can also be sure they’re getting a healthy drink.

Meal Delivery Services

Meal services are another interesting approach. These take the effort out of your hands, freeing up time and energy.

There are some free or inexpensive options like Meals on Wheels, which make a good first step. But sometimes, they’re not enough.

For example, we used Meals on Wheels when I was a caregiver. It did certainly make things easier and resulted in some meals that I didn’t have to prepare.

But, the meals were often bland or unappealing in another way and simply didn’t get eaten. We ended up with wasted meals as a result. That also meant some meal times where I was scrambling to find a solution at the last minute.

Services like Meals on Wheels are amazing, don’t get me wrong. They have their place too. But, they’re designed for a large audience and need to keep costs low. As a result, they often cannot meet individual needs.

An alternative is for-profit meal delivery companies, like Silver Cuisine. These services provide a way to get meals delivered regularly, while providing which much more control.

There are many companies out there – but I particularly like Silver Cuisine (which is why we’re affiliated with them). The service specifically focuses on the needs of seniors and they support more specialty diets than most other services.

This includes the following options:

• Heart healthy
• Diabetic friendly
• Gluten-free
• Low carb
• Low sodium
• Dairy-free
• Menopause
• Mediterranean

They also provide breakfast, lunch, dinners and snacks. Meals can be chosen individually, given seniors and caregivers full control over the food that is ordered.

The meals come fully prepared and they’re much healthier than meals from a grocery store. There is also a decent range, making it easy to find favorites over time. You can check them out here.