Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
Eating is not just about filling up the stomach!
Eating is an essential act in our daily life. It is also a way of maintaining good relationships with our family and friends. It is a moment for sharing, which is not devoted merely to food.
Mealtimes should be a pleasurable moment: for too many people, healthy eating calls forth the idea of a more or less drastic diet based on uninviting food. However, a balanced meal is not necessarily made out of tasteless and unoriginal ingredients.
We must know how to indulge ourselves while only avoiding overindulging in certain things, such as rapidly-absorbed sugars and edible fats. A balanced diet in terms of sugar and fat may very well be full of colours, tastes and textures.
Eating is an act in the course of which all senses are used: we must therefore enjoy ourselves not only with the taste of foods, but also with their shapes, colours, scents and even the sounds they make. Eating well is synonym with consuming a wide variety of foods while avoiding dreariness. Eating should serve to fulfil our needs while bringing us pleasure.
Nutritional requirements do not vary much as we age.
Among healthy seniors, energy requirements are estimated at 2,000 kcal per day for men and 1,800 kcal per day for women. These requirements are similar to those of young adults.
Carbohydrate requirements
Carbohydrates are essential for the functioning of the muscles and brain. They must constitute 50 to 60% of caloric intake (see following page).
Lipid requirements
Lipids provide essential fatty acids, which are vital to life, and constitute the body's energy reserves. According to most studies, lipidic intake among seniors represents, as for young adults, 33 to 39% of caloric intake.
Protein requirements
Proteins (protids) and fundamental components of all living tissues.
They represent 12 to 15% of caloric intake.
Protein requirements among healthy seniors are estimated at 1g / kg per day, sometimes reaching up to 1.2g / kg, which is slightly higher than the requirements of young adults. These requirements can go up to 1.5 or 2g / kg per day in the event of acute illness.
