Nutritional food for the elderly

Match the actual nutritional gap of the elderly, meet the eating habits of the elderly, and have formal food safety qualifications. 90% of people make the wrong purchase because they put "Giving face-saving gifts" first, without even considering what the elderly really need.

Last week, I followed Sister Zhang from the nutrition department of the community hospital to do dietary follow-up for the elderly living alone in the community. When I knocked on the door of 72-year-old Aunt Li's house, I saw half a box of unopened protein powder for middle-aged and elderly people piled in the entrance, and two loads of expired high-calcium milk were stuffed under the coffee table. They were all delivered by her children and grandchildren last year. “That protein powder is so sweet that I dare not touch it because I have diabetes, and the high-calcium milk will cause diarrhea, so all the money is wasted." Aunt Li sighed while handing us water cups, and said that a salesperson came to her door last month, saying that a nutritional powder costing more than RMB 3,000 could cure high blood pressure, and she almost paid for it.

In fact, the industry has been arguing about nutritional foods for the elderly for several years, but there is no unified conclusion. The president of a functional food company said that the elderly have special physiques, so they have to make compound formulas, adding calcium, D3, probiotics, DHA, and chondroitin. It is natural and reasonable that the technical threshold is high and the price is high. ； Many nutritionists on the clinical side believe that as long as the elderly can maintain a balanced daily diet, they do not need to take any supplements. Excessive supplements will put a burden on the liver and kidneys.

Both of these statements are actually correct, but they do not address the actual needs of ordinary families. When I was doing quality control in a food factory in the past two years, I saw many products labeled as "full-function nutritional powder for the elderly". In fact, they are ordinary soy protein isolates with some calcium carbonate and vitamins added. The cost is only a few dozen yuan, and it can be sold for 300 to 400 yuan in a gold stamping gift box. The so-called dozens of effects, the effective content is so low that you have to make three to five bags a day to reach the standard. It is purely to make money for poor information. But on the other hand, you say that nutritional foods for the elderly are useless? That’s not right. Sister Zhang once took care of a 78-year-old Uncle Wang. After gastrectomy, he vomited everything he ate and lost 20 pounds in three months. Later, he drank medical-grade short peptide complete nutrition powder as prescribed by the doctor.

To be honest, ordinary families don’t really need to pay attention to those fancy functions when buying nutritional food for the elderly. Before buying, they should read the elderly’s recent physical examination report and eat two meals with him. For example, if an elderly person has bad teeth and doesn't like to eat green leafy vegetables, you can buy some unsweetened freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, and sprinkle two spoonfuls of them when making porridge. It is much easier to swallow than the large multivitamin tablets, and there are no additives. ； If the elderly are lactose intolerant, don’t follow the trend and buy high-calcium milk. Instead, switch to lactose-free Shuhua milk or room temperature yogurt. The calcium content is not much different. At least you won’t have diarrhea after drinking it. ； People with diabetes should pay more attention. Don't believe the "sucrose-free" gimmick on the package. If there are maltodextrin and fructose syrup in the ingredient list, the blood sugar will rise faster than white sugar, and eating it will not help.

Oh, yes, don’t kill expensive products at once. If the elderly have underlying diseases, or are unable to eat after surgery or serious illness, buy the medical-grade nutritional preparations recommended by doctors. Many of them can be reimbursed by medical insurance. Don’t be greedy for cheap and buy small brands, which may cause problems.

In fact, in the final analysis, the core of nutritional food for the elderly has never been a gimmick with the word "senior", nor is it a gift box to show respect for the younger generation. The essence is to make up for the gap that the elderly have not made up for in their daily meals. If you go home and ask the elderly what they like to eat recently, what they can't chew, and what they feel uncomfortable after eating, it's 10,000 times more reliable than the so-called "nutritional gift package specifically for the elderly" that you grabbed by watching the live broadcast for three days.