How Caregivers Can Help Their Aging Parent Make Dietary Changes

MEAT - elders need meat and it's protein. We as a "modern" society are recommending to them a diet for a healthy 30 y.o. As the body ages elders eat less, process protein less well and lose muscle. This needs to be compensated with more meat in the diet. This includes meat soup stock, meatballs, chicken, pork, beef.

The trend of getting elders to cut out fat, cut out chickenskin, eat only lean meats, reduce the amount of meat, lower salt, reduce oils, take supplements, drink smoothies -- is a prescription for a road to mal-nutrition in the elderly. They land up eating nothing of substance.

I challenge any "advisor" out there to show me any studies, that for an otherwise healthy elder, that meat and in ample qualities has any negative effects.

Robert888- You are pretty much 100% wrong- Look at your teeth in the mirror very closely- what do you see? Rows of razor sharp or serrated teeth? Multiple Teeth that are cutting sharp and if one breaks the "twin" moves into place- Are your teeth even like those of a modern house cat, or dog? The human body needs a complex mix of 8 essential amino acids, that we call "Protein" The human body needs 4 things- Water,Grains,Seeds, and Legumes. If you eat "Meat" twice a week you have a 50% chance of having a heart attack as the body can not break "Meat" down and it rots inside the colon.
Our teeth are flat, made for grinding. Not ripping and tearing. And to be "accurate" The top of the food chain "Meat Eaters" first devour every drop of blood in the prey. That is what keeps them alive, not the actual "Meat".
Before you "challenge" anyone- I suggest you not only read the back of the book- but the entire book. You might be surprised what you could learn.

PROTEIN - Hi Nutritionist. Can we first agree that elderly people need protein? If we can agree to this, then the next issue to address is sarcopenia (malnutrition in the elderly). In the elderly, the body changes and its ability to process protein reduces, creating a tendency toward frailty. Therefore, adequate protein intake and reduced ability to process protein requires an INCREASE in protein intake to maintain what the body needs. There are several clinical studies on this on the internet. Please familiarize yourself with the elderly, then I'd be happy to discuss further.

TEETH - regarding your flat teeth theory, please explain to me our 8 incisors? Your argument is that they are there to rip into leaves? Meatloaf is highly processable by the elderly and my dad loved it. NO reason to eliminate that from his diet. He loved chicken, NO reason to eliminate it.

The elderly DO NOT need to go on a vegan/vegetarian/weightloss/slim figure/media-hyped/low-calorie/flavorless diet. Unless they are obese.

robert888

You are confusing "Protein" with any type of "Meat" a cup of legumes has the same amount of Protein as 3 steaks. As with anyone "Aging" The body year after year has a harder time breaking down certain foods. Our "Incisors" are just what they are, for chewing and mulching- If we tried to take a bite into a live cat or dog they would not break skin- unlike the teeth of a kitten that could easily bite through your finger. I am not saying anyone from 2-200 needs "Protein" and if the only way you think you can have a solid meal that has flavor is with "Meat" of some kind- I wonder what part of the world you live? 98% of the "Meat" anyone in America eats today has been "Modified" it is not "pure" How do you think it can stay on a supermarket shelf for more then 24 hours(the time it would take fresh meat to spoil and turn rotten is actually 8 hours) hence why only a carrion feeder will eat anything left in the wild for more then the above time, and other animals even if starving will not feed off it.
If you raised your own cow, pig, or chicken, and made sure the soil was pure and the feed was grown yourself- and they were fed and taken care of - then fine- But anything beside that is sadly "altered" The average age of Menstration has gone down from the age of 16 to 8 in "Meat" eating countries. In the past 70 years. That is not natural. I'm sure your father can eat meat for the rest of his day's and hopefully it is well into his late 90's to 100+ But Meatloaf is not highly processable- no meat is- the purest form of Protein that is highly processable is an egg-white. And 3 Egg white's a day- is triple the protein eating "Meat" 7 nights a week. Now Fish- Or seafood- That is a efficient form of protein, that the body can actually use and need's (Vit D - Omega 3 acids) something no "Meat" has.

PROTEIN - Okay, as my own teeth are pretty functional when eating a T-bone, I won't argue with you on the evolutionary possibilities.

Since you seem open to my father continuing to eat his meat, then I think we're much in agreement. He also loves his eggs, be they scrambled, sunny side up, or in soup. He does not like vegetables or beans. Nuts he loves.

The remaining argument I have is that there is no need to "alter" an elderly person's diet in this way when they are old! My father, if a plate of "legumes" was placed in front of him, would - in his old fashioned way - politely decline to eat it, while saying they "taste great." In this way, if only presented with these sorts of options, he would slowly starve himself to death, or seek out candy and nuts.

Why do I assert this? Because it is exactly what happened to my father. He lost over 20 pounds when his wife took away the milk, skin of chicken, eggs, meat, butter, etc., from their diet in an attempt to "eat healthy" and because of her fear of diabetes. When they went to Souplantation, my father had nothing to eat and would woof down bowls of clam chowder, rather than the big plate of greenery. He was literally being starved to death.

When I saw this happening, I "forced" him to return to his old diet, and he was scarfing down steaks, beef bowls, buttered toast!, scrambled eggs. He put back on the weight, to a healthy level (not anywhere near obese) and much of his strength, vitality and yes, cognitive function. It was no easy struggle to counter the wife's "good" intentions as she had a mountain of newletters, recommendations, etc., though mostly geared toward middle-aged obese persons: which my father was not.

In my original comment, I was not so much against the "healthy" recommendations you suggested, it's great for me (middle-aged) to consider and likely adjustments and such are a beneifit.

But for an elderly person, and the super-elderly (80+) it can be a prescription for rapid decline and sarcopenia. Do you have some agreement with me on this aspect?

Fascinating dialogue. Keep it coming. I do nutrition coaching, with training from a 27-year cancer survivor. While we encourage large amounts of vegetable protein (I love to use mung beans, anasazi beans, garbanzos, etc) we also include fish and chicken. The one missing link here, IMHO, is digestive enzymes. Vegetable proteins may have enough on their own, while animal proteins require additional digestive enzymes to be consumed. I'm bringing a bottle to a client today, as a matter of fact. And the one source of bioavailable protein most readily received and utilized by the most elderly or frail of those with whom I work is undenatured whey protein with digestive enzymes in it. We utilize what I've come to view as one of the best available; able to be consumed in place of a meal if weight IS an issue, or appetite is low. As a drink accompanying a meal, or on its own, hands down the ONLY protein source that has provided noticable improvement in the strength and mood of these precious people. As it is a fact I have observed, it's offered only by way of a story, not "proof" of anything. When you get a 90 year old to happily show you how she is now able to stand up from bed on her own, and she hasn't done that for MONTHS, you know something is good. Then she cheerfully says "Honey, will you make me a shake?" Rewarding. Yep.

I cannot get my mnl to eat any fruit nomatter if I slice it or cook it for she say's it tasted too sweet and she don't like sweet food which is a change for her. I can get her to eat some veggies and meat and I found out she likes my Lentile beans too which has protein and no after gassy tummy. She also likes milk so I load up on the milk in my house. How can I get her to eat veggies besides green beans and some fruit? I even sliced a half banana in her cereal and she scooped the little suckers right out. ; ) help. I want to make sure she is getting enough of variety from food guide.

Your mni should not have fruit with her other foods, anyway! Good for her, fishing them out. Have fruit on an empty stomach, only. Try making her a delicious soup or stew with all kinds of vegetables. Also - a really delicious thing to make right now is roasted root vegetables. Put coconut oil on a cookie sheet, add chopped turnips, rutabegas, parsnips and maybe carrots, and roast them at 350 until a bit brown and tender. Season with sea salt. Serve with baked fish or chicken. For a snack between meals, try thinly sliced apples or halved grapes, orange segments, etc. Use tart apples if she doesn't like super sweet things.

Thank you so much this sounds yummy for all of us. Haven't tried the bake fish yet for my husband and I use to eat salmon once a week. All we can do is try.
Why is it not good for her to have fruit with her meal? I know everyone is different and that I eat it with my meal for I have diabetes. I had sliced up one strawberry and she ate only one slice with her meal. Are their any great books or websites out their that help with caregiving and nutrition, exercise all that good stuff to help her for she is in early stage of AZ-mild and nothing is physically wrong with her at age 80. She is doing great but since she been with us she likes to just sat around. I try motivating her and it helps some than sometimes all her negativity just makes me feel like crap.

Fruit digests very quickly, while the other parts of the meal do not. Google "Food combining" for more info on this. Having fruit with a meal, especially a meal containing protein, is very difficult on the digestive process. You can steam fish on top of a large pan of vegetables such as kale, swiss chard, onions, garlic, etc. It's delicious, and makes an easy clean up since it's one pan.