Nutrition in Older Adults

Eating a balanced and healthy diet facilitates the body with the necessary nutrients it requires. These nutrients found in foods help the body to grow and function effectively. Examples are fats, proteins, water, minerals, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Good nutrition is proven to be important regardless of age since it gives you energy and also helps to avoid diseases like high blood pressure, some types of cancers, some diabetes, and osteoporosis. With age come life and bodily changes, therefore,  raising the need to stay healthy as possible to avoid body complications. For instance, some older adults may need to get nutrients but require fewer calory levels in their diet (Bauer, 2020). While other older individuals may require proteins in the diet. This paper aims to look into feeding habits advised for older individuals.

Healthy Feeding habits for older adult

The first step to staying healthy as you age is to consume foods with lots of nutrients without extra calories. These include vegetables and lots of fruits. In senior housing facilities they can introduce meals like; oatmeal, whole wheat bread, brown rice, milk that is low-fat, rice milk that incorporates vitamin D, seafood, eggs, lean meats, nuts, poultry and castor seeds. They should also have diets with reduced or no calories and low cholesterol and fats. It is also highly advisable for older individuals to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated since some may lose their sense of thirst because of aging. Some may even lose their appetite as they age so it is important when they are in senior housing facilities the get involved in physical activities to make them hungrier (Bauer, 2020).

In conclusion, I chose this topic because having good or healthy feeding habits does not apply to older adults alone but everyone regardless of their age. Developing diets with adequate nutrients will greatly improve the health of the population. But how can it be implemented in facilities? Facilities can invest more in a nutritionist to help them develop effective diet plans for older adults.