While many Americans, including seniors, battle excess weight, seniors face entirely different issues–such as diminishing muscle mass, changing nutritional needs, and a need for meals that improve brain health as well.
A panel of health and nutrition experts from U.S. News debated this earlier this week, looking at which diets are the best for seniors.
“People are living longer, so we’re seeing more of it in older adults,” says Amy Campbell, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator. “As we get older, our calorie needs go down. People don’t need to eat as much as they did when they were 20 or 30.”
So which diets are best for seniors?
1. Weight Watchers. According to health expert Michael Davidson, Weight Watchers is a clear winner because of its easy-to-understand points system–something that allows seniors to eat a variety of foods without going overboard.
“You don’t have to do a lot of thinking about what type of balance of foods or menu plans,” says Davidson, who serves as the director of preventive cardiology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “It’s really more about variety and food choices, as opposed to portion sizes, that are applicable to an elderly individual. So it’s the kind of diet I prefer for those patients.”
On the downside, Davidson also points out that seniors don’t get enough iron, a nutrient commonly found in red meat. While Weight Watches contains meat choices, it may not be enough–so seniors may want to focus on upping their protein intake as well.
“They don’t eat enough red meat; they don’t get enough iron in the diet,” says Davidson.
2. The Mediterranean diet. This diet has received a lot of hype lately, and for good reason. As well as helping people control their weight, research shows it can help with problems specific to seniors, such as brain health. One study even suggests it may lower the risk of dementia, though these findings are still under scrutiny, say health experts.
For Campbell, it’s important for another reason, however: It contains fewer trans fats, fats shown to be harmful for seniors.
“It’s important for seniors with high cholesterol to avoid sweet baked goods with trans fats,” says Davidson. “We now recognize that trans fats as especially bad among all the fats we can consume.”
3. None at all–just be sensible. Campbell argues that seniors don’t need to follow a specific diet at all; instead, just eating a diet with a balance of grains, fruits, and vegetables matters. However, she does emphasize eating more protein, something seniors need to counteract complications such as osteoporosis and muscle weakness.
“One concern for older people is getting enough protein,” says Campbell. “You don’t necessarily have to follow a specific diet, just a well-rounded diet with extra protein.”
As for diets experts don’t recommend, they say going to extremes is a bad idea, especially in old age. Diets such as The Biggest Loser Diet or the Ornish diet may not only be hard to follow, but aren’t suited to their health as well. Instead, it’s best to choose a diet that’s easy to follow–and helps promote good senior health too.
“For diets in general, it’s best to try and make it easy and fit comfortably into a person’s life,” says Campbell. “Ones that promote good health but are as easy to follow as possible.”
Readers: Which diet would you follow?
Source:
The Best Diet for Seniors – Yahoo.com
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