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Malnutrition refers to a chronic disease caused by the lack or insufficiency of one or several nutrients due to insufficient intake, malabsorption or overconsumption.
Malnutrition in the elderly mainly manifests as low weight, physical weakness, decreased resistance and stress ability, frequent colds, and vulnerability to illness.
Elderly people with low body weight have reduced immune function, higher incidence of fractures, and slower healing of injuries and surgical wounds. They also have poor resistance to cold. They wear more clothes in winter and feel afraid of the cold.
Malnourished elderly people often suffer from anemia, the most common of which is iron deficiency anemia. It is also often accompanied by tooth loss and thinning hair.
Compared with young people, the consequences of malnutrition in the elderly are more serious. If weight loss is obvious within half a year and the weight is reduced by more than 5%, the mortality rate of the elderly will increase significantly.
Today, the main reason for malnutrition among the elderly in China is due to changes in physiological, psychological and socioeconomic conditions, which reduce the amount of food and certain nutrients they consume. Many elderly people hold wrong dietary concepts that affect their intake of nutrients. For example, they believe that eating more whole grains will be healthy and not eating refined grains, or they have been vegetarians and not eaten meat for a long time, resulting in a lack of certain nutrients in the body. Some elderly people may suffer from nutritional deficiencies because their daily diet is too simple, either because they have difficulty living or because they live too frugally. Although many elderly people have good financial conditions, overeating rich, sweet and flavorful food and blindly taking supplements may also lead to certain trace element deficiencies.
It should be mentioned in particular that the elderly suffer from many diseases, such as periodontal disease , diabetes , asthma , Parkinson's disease , mental depression and dementia and disability caused by some diseases. , may hinder eating and affect the intake of nutrients, leading to malnutrition and weight loss. Therefore, family members and caregivers, as well as nutrition professionals in nursing homes, must carefully prepare the elderly's diet. Generally speaking, as long as the daily food intake is not monotonous, as diverse as possible, and the food intake is sufficient, malnutrition is usually unlikely to occur.
1. Nutrients that the elderly are prone to lack
The nutrients that Chinese elderly people lack due to malnutrition and low weight are mainly the following:
1. High-quality protein
Protein is the basic raw material for human tissue. Protein deficiency also leads to reduced immunity. . The elderly have poor protein synthesis ability and increased catabolism. Therefore, the relative demand for protein is higher. Generally speaking, elderly people over 60 years old should ensure a protein supply of 0.7~1.0g per kilogram of body weight every day. High-quality protein accounts for 50% of the total protein, so malnutrition is unlikely to occur.
For patients with malnutrition, the supply of high-quality protein should be increased. The main sources of high-quality protein are meat, fish, shrimp, poultry and eggs, dairy foods and soy products.
2. Mineral calcium and vitamin D
Mineral calcium and vitamin D deficiencies are associated with reduced bone density, and tooth loss. Elderly people in my country need to consume 1,000 mg of calcium and 50 μg of vitamin D every day. Foods rich in calcium include milk and soy products, and fish foods are rich in vitamin D.
3. Vitamin C
20%~50% of Chinese elderly people lack vitamin C. The daily dietary supply of vitamin C for the elderly should be 100mg. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C. Malnourished elderly people can also take vitamin C tablets to supplement vitamin C. The daily oral dosage is 50~100mg. Vitamin C tablets are over-the-counter medicines and are available in pharmacies.
4. Mineral iron
In addition to calcium, among various minerals, iron is a nutrient that the elderly are most likely to lack. A lack of iron in the diet can lead to iron deficiency anemia.
For the treatment of malnutrition in the elderly, the above nutrients are urgently needed through dietary supplements.
2. Dietary nutrition guidance
1. Increase food intake appropriately
Encourage malnourished elderly people to increase food intake appropriately. When arranging food, special attention should be paid to appropriately increasing the amount of milk, eggs, lean meat, marine fish, and soy products to supplement high-quality protein.
2. Increase the supply of iron-rich foods
The foods containing the most iron are animal blood and liver. It is recommended that patients eat pig blood products ( blood sausage, blood tofu) or pig liver, chicken liver, 2 to 3 times a week. Duck blood, etc., the amount of each intake does not need to be large, 30~50g is enough.
3. It is recommended to increase the number of meals
Patients with malnutrition can eat 4 to 5 meals a day. In addition to the three main meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can arrange two intermittent meals or snacks around 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. If you go to bed late at night, you can also arrange a small snack half an hour before going to bed.
4. Improve the quality of food
Cooked and processed food should be suitable for the taste of the elderly, and should also be soft, easy to chew and easy to digest. It is advisable to make more stuffed foods such as steamed buns and dumplings, arrange more steamed foods and stews, and arrange porridge appropriately. Eat less raw and cold foods, and less fried and fried foods. Every meal is frequently varied, some are dry and some are thin. "Dry" refers to bread, steamed buns, steamed cakes; "thin" refers to noodles, wontons, meat porridge, steamed meatballs, oatmeal porridge, etc.
5. Timely treatment of the primary disease
If malnutrition and low weight in the elderly are caused by diseases such as tumors, diabetes, asthma, depression, Parkinson's disease, active measures should be taken to treat and respond to the primary disease at the same time.
Warm reminder
Eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs and other poultry eggs are foods rich in high-quality protein. Except for the lack of vitamin C and dietary fiber, they are rich in other nutrients and are particularly cheap. If the diet lacks animal foods such as meat, poultry, milk, fish, shrimp, etc., even elderly people with financial difficulties must try to eat at least one egg a day.
The author’s experience is that as long as the elderly who have insufficient supplies of meat, fish, shrimp, and milk, or who do not eat meat for some reason, can eat 1 to 2 eggs (average 100g) every day, they will generally not suffer from nutritional deficiencies. bad. Suitable methods for the elderly to eat eggs are: boiled eggs, steamed custard and poached eggs.
Chinese elderly people over 60 years old often have varying numbers of missing teeth, which makes chewing difficult. Difficulty in chewing and poor chewing not only affect food digestion, but also affect the appetite and food intake of the elderly, which is also the reason why many elderly people suffer from malnutrition. For this reason, elderly people with missing teeth should repair their diseased teeth in time.
Special reminder
Low weight and emaciation are the main manifestations of malnutrition in the elderly, but weight loss and emaciation are not all malnutrition. If family members find that the elderly person has lost significant weight in a short period of time, it may be a precursor to some major diseases such as tumors. They must not take it lightly and seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
content source:
authorized to reprint from the "Human Defense Assistant" WeChat public account
