Essential Nutrients Your Body Needs As You Age

With ageing comes nutrient deficiency that affects the quality of life and leads to poor health outcomes. As people age, their body goes through a lot of changes, including energy and muscle loss, thinner skin, and stomach issues like constipation. To manage these issues, your body needs certain nutrients, like proteins and vitamins. Here are seven essential nutrients your body needs as you age.

Proteins

One of the common factors that occur with ageing is muscle loss. According to a study published on the National Library of Medicine portal, an average adult loses around three to eight per cent of muscle mass every decade after attaining 30 years of age. Due to a decrease in muscle mass, elderly people may experience weakness. Thus, to manage this loss, they can include protein in their diet to fight age-related muscle loss.

Collagen

Collagen is an important protein often neglected when talking about ageing and nutrients. It is found in connective tissues, bones, tendons, and cartilage. Collagen provides structural support to the tissues aiding in bone health, tissue repair, immune response, cellular communication and migration. As people age, the collagen levels in the body decline, leading to wrinkles and sagging of the skin. One can fulfil their collagen requirements, by taking supplements after consultation with their doctor.

Also Read: Importance Of Vaccinations For Healthy Ageing

Calcium & Vitamins

As muscle mass decreases, bones also become weak during ageing. Both calcium and vitamins are essential nutrients for this. While calcium helps in strengthening bones, vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium by the body. However, if you are ageing, the body might find it difficult to absorb calcium from the diet, which may happen due to the deficiency of vitamin D. To compensate for this, one should consume more calcium and vitamin D through foods and other supplements (prescribed by a doctor). Apart from this, other vitamins, such as vitamin B-12, to make red blood cells and maintain healthy cognitive functioning are also needed in old age. 

Iron

With ageing, people tend to lose healthy red blood cells, leading to anaemia. Consuming foods rich in iron will help maintain good levels of healthy red blood cells in the body. Some sources of iron include green leafy vegetables and red meat products.

Fibre

Many stomach-related issues also occur as you get older. One of the common issues is constipation, which may happen due to decreased movement and the side effects of medication people take at this age. Fibre can help in this bowel-related issue. Studies have shown that dietary fibre help stimulates bowel movements in people who are dealing with constipation.

Probiotics

Probiotics can find their mention in every healthy diet and they are important for elderly people as well. The good bacteria help maintain a healthy gut and prevent issues like diarrhoea. However, if you have any medical issues or have a weak immunity, you need to talk to your doctor first before taking probiotics.

Also Read: Dealing With Premature Ageing? 7 Easy Ways To Manage

Conclusion

Staying hydrated is another important aspect one should always remember irrespective of age. Besides, any change in diet at this age should be made only after consultation with your doctor. If you have any health condition, your doctor may restrict or prevent you from taking any of these nutrients.

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