Dietary recommendations for healthy aging arise from the conclusions of the HALE project. It is a project of the European Union that analyzed the determinants of healthy aging in 13 European countries for more than 35 years.
The HALE project concludes that maintaining healthy body weight, following the guidelines of the Mediterranean diet, performing 30 minutes of physical activity each day and not smoking or drinking alcohol, are the excellent style guidelines we should follow.
Let’s go a little more in detail and take a look at the nutritional requirements of each of the nutrients:
Proteins
The proteins are a nutrient having a function mainly plastic, it is part of our structures (cells, tissues,…), in addition to other vital services as hormone or defense.
The highest quality proteins are found in foods of animal origin such as meat, fish, eggs, and milk. The frequency of recommended consumption is to increase the use of fish and reduce the consumption of meat, and within beef, prioritize white flesh as birds.
The amount of protein recommended for older people is the same as in all adults, although some experts say it should be somewhat higher. The truth is that one of the leading problems of protein in older people is that they usually do not feel like it and it is often one of the first food groups that they eliminate from their diet, which makes it difficult to reach the necessary recommendations.
One way to ensure the contribution is to take a ration of animal protein in both food and dinner. And if it is a group of meals that cost to incorporate can be added in recipes combining it with other foods, for example, minced meat with pasta, chicken pieces in the salad or egg cooked in the vegetable.