A man’s dietary needs undergo various changes from childhood to old age. If adequate nutrition and a well-balanced diet is essential in the younger years, old age requires far more care towards dietary matters. Ayurvedic masters maintain that people can live longer, be healthier and ultimately have a better quality of life if their nutritional needs are adequately met.
Elderly people can be categorised in three groups: the working elderly, the frail elderly and those with chronic diseases. Each of these groups has different nutritional needs. The first group requires a balanced diet plan to keep it active and fit whereas in the later groups, though the intake of the quantum of food decreases, the requirement of many nutrients remains unaltered. Therefore, for old people it becomes all the more important to take an adequate amount of all the nutrients within their decreased energy levels.
There are many factors which come in the way of proper nutrition of old persons. This includes the impaired physical status like poor mobility, loss of teeth or non-use of dentures, physiological conditions of malabsorption or maldigestion of food and certain pathological stages like psycho-neuro disorders and wasting diseases. Social factors like poverty, alcoholism and lack of family support also influence the nutritional scenario of the old people.
Elderly persons suffering from chronic ailments should be aware of the fact that it is possible that some of the drugs they take may interfere with the absorption of some of the nutrients in the diet. Regular use of diuretics deplete many of the essential nutrients, which makes them to be supplemented. Prolonged and unsupervised use of hard laxatives, whether herbal or otherwise, also hampers the process of absorption. Continuous use of some of the special or restricted diets can also lead to nutritional problems. For example, a low protein diet may lead to protien malnutrition and muscle wasting, and a low salt diet can result in the poor intake of nutrients secondary to the lack of taste and food apathy.
Ayurveda views that while making a diet plan for the elderly, the foremost point to be kept in mind is that with the advancement of age, the capacity to digest large meals often decreases. Old persons should opt for light and easily digestible food, and if required the number of meals can be increased as per the individual’s acceptance. Since hypertension and cardiovascular problems are present in most of the elderly persons, the intake of heavy and fried items and other energy-rich food and sweets and starches should be minimised.
There is gradual demineralisation of bones in old age. To compensate its losses, an adequate amount of calcium intake should be ensured. Depending upon individual suitability, old people need a reasonable quantity of milk, fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables and a digestible amount of cereals. A balanced diet not only meets their requirement of vitamins and minerals but also helps in maintaining the immunological strength. Many diseases can be managed or reduced in prevalence by eating the right food in right proportions.
Ayurveda believes that good ahara (diet) must fulfil two criteria. First, it should furnish the appropriate levels of all nutrients to meet the physiological and biochemical needs of the body at all stages of life. Secondly, the diet must also be devoid of the excess of any nutrient that increases the risk of disease.
In this regard, old persons always need to remember an ayurvedic dictum: Ko aruk or who is healthy? The brief answer perhaps covers the total concept of the right diet: hit bhuk , mit bhuk , so aruk (he who takes the right and adapted food and does not overeat is healthy).