March is National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month. As we say goodbye to winter and look toward spring, it is a great time to remind ourselves of the importance of good nutrition to our continued health, and the pivotal role it plays as we age. Throughout early and mid-adulthood we tend to think about nutrition with regard to eating the right things; less commonly do people have to worry about actually wanting to eat.

As a Registered Dietitian working with the geriatric community, one of the issues I most commonly focus on with my patients is decreased appetite and weight loss. There are many changes that occur as we age that become barriers to maintaining good nutrition. These include: physiological changes (such as slower digestion and changes in our hormones associated with appetite control), sensory changes (such as loss of taste buds, decreased vision, and reduced olfactory senses), changes in mood and memory, as well as increased incidence of illness. (1, 3)

One of the things I love about working with the geriatric community is that I often get to focus on strategizing ways to get people to eat MORE rather than less. Telling people to eat ice cream is a lot more fun than taking it away! Good nutrition is always critical, regardless of the year on the birth certificate; however, when faced with unintended weight loss and risk of malnutrition, the rules of nutrition shift. This is because decreased intake in aging can have significant health consequences including frailty, increased risk of falls, osteoporosis, prolonged hospital stays, impaired wound healing, and impaired immune function. In fact, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends liberalizing diets for older adults to allow for fats, sugars, and salts in order to help promote improved intake. (2) Keep in mind, this only applies when appetite is decreased – if you’re eating well and are well-nourished, the same rules apply with regard to moderating salt, sugar, and saturated fat in the diet. The concept behind this is that with decreased appetite, foods that taste delicious and stimulate the palate will help improve intake even without much appetite (think about it – even if you are super full after dinner, you can’t take one more bite of your meal, but there is always room for dessert!). The risks commonly associated with eating these foods, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, are outweighed by the significant health consequences listed above.

Other strategies that I use with my patients struggling with poor appetite and weight loss are consistent grazing throughout the day. Studies have shown that small, frequent calorie-dense meals can lead to weight gain. (3) What do I mean by calorie-dense? I tell my patients to find foods that pack a punch! 

Foods like cheese, avocado, nuts, or creamy soups have a lot of calories and nutrition without having to eat a large quantity, thereby making it much more manageable to meet caloric needs when appetite is limited. Calorie-dense doesn’t just have to be cakes and cookies – there are plenty of nutritious ways to boost your intake. Adding nut butters to a daily smoothie or switching from low fat yogurt to full fat yogurt are great ways to bolster your intake. Working one-on-one with patients, creating a unique and individualized plan to help them stay healthy, is a hugely satisfying part of my job. Nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all field – it is important to look at the whole picture when determining what foods and eating strategies are best for you. National Nutrition Month is a great time to reassess your nutrition and make some adjustments and tweaks to make sure you’re getting the best nutrition for YOU.

SOURCES
https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/1118p10.shtml
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16402447
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4589891/

The information in the above article is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.