We spend a good portion of
our lives either dieting or just eating whatever tastes good, but times are
changing. Now, whenever we go to the
doctor we are besieged with information about what we should be eating (more
fiber, more protein, more calcium) and it all becomes rather mind
boggling. It isn’t as if we didn’t know
about the importance of good nutrition
all along, but we didn’t pay attention.
Today we are going to talk
about the importance of protein. Seniors tend to eat less protein than younger
folks and at a time when it is of increasing importance. Twenty-seven percent of older Americans eat
less protein than they need to stay healthy.
After working with seniors for many years I find this statistic quite
believable. We would often watch our
residents refuse to eat servings of meat and dairy products because they would
rather eat sweets. I guess they figured
that eating nutritiously wasn’t worth the bother any more.
Why Protein? Muscle mass begins to decline at about 45-55
years of age. For seniors, eating more
protein can mean stronger muscles.
Although exercise helps you keep your muscles strong, studies show that even
people who are physically active have less muscle mass then when they were
younger. You can’t take a pill for
everything. Dietary protein is crucial for development of muscle and strong bones, and chronic muscle loss is associated with
disabilities.
A 150 pound person should
eat roughly 52 grams of protein a day.
The more you eat the more muscle your body makes. Arthritis Today magazine (March-April 2008)
gave a pocket sized list of common foods that you can keep posted in your
kitchen. This really isn’t an
unrealistic quantity and I think you will still find room for those 30 grams of
fiber and the required calcium that you already know about. Oh do you?
Maybe we should talk about fiber tomorrow.
To start with, a 6 ounce
hamburger provides 48.6 g of protein.
You have practically met your quota already, or if you don’t like that:
·
6 oz of roasted
chicken (42.5 g)
·
6 oz of fish
(41.2 g)
·
I can of water
packed tuna (40.1 g)
·
1 cup of cottage
cheese (28.1 g)
·
8 oz low fat
yogurt (11.9 g)
·
1 cup of skim
milk (8.4 g)
·
½ cup lentils
(9.0)
What
do you think? Does that sound manageable
to you? Good health and nutrition go
hand and hand and they are just important today as they were when you were a
kid. Treat yourself right!
Comments