We are now eating more and more abundantly three meals a day, with a variety of staple foods, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs and milk, which is dazzling.
However, today I want to remind everyone: are you really doing your confident "nutrient-rich"?
Studies show that about 1/3 of people over 60 years old are malnourished!
Teacher Jiao Hongmei from the Department of Geriatrics of Peking University First Hospital told us that this is because there are three hidden factors that make middle-aged and elderly people eat but do not absorb!
What's going on here?
01
One of the hidden causes of malnutrition
Insufficient gastrointestinal motility
We eat and drink, pass through the esophagus to the stomach, which rhythmically contracts and grinds, and then goes down into the intestine for further digestion and absorption.
The "valve" between the stomach and the small intestine is called the pylorus, and the opening and closing of the pylorus needs to be coordinated with the peristalsis rhythm of the stomach. If the pylorus is not open and the contents of the stomach cannot go down, a reverse peristalsis will occur to go up, and vomiting will occur. In this way, nutrients cannot be absorbed, and malnutrition naturally occurs.
The elderly themselves have weak stomach peristalsis, how can they be avoided or delayed? Director Jiao gave three suggestions:
(1) Eat regularly, time and quantitatively, and let the body form habits.
(2) Regular exercise, at least take a walk every day, maintain a certain amount of activity, help improve the brain's regulation of the gastrointestinal tract, enhance gastrointestinal motility.
(3) Press to knead the foot three miles and Neiguan points, the frequency is not too demanding, and when there is nothing to do, rub it.
Foot 3 inches: 3 inches below the knee (four fingers together), front and outside the calf.
Neiguan Point: Inside the wrist, 2 inches below the wrist striae (three fingers together), between the two tendons.
Director Jiao's team has done research that these two acupuncture points have auxiliary effects on functional dyspepsia and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
02
The second hidden cause of malnutrition is the second hidden cause
Decreased secretion of digestive enzymes
The body needs to be involved in digesting and absorbing food, where are these enzymes present? Director Jiao said that the most important organ of digestive enzyme secretion is the pancreas.
The pancreas has a variety of digestive enzymes that are secreted when stimulated by food.
Compared with young people, the pancreas of the elderly is somewhat atrophied, and the secretion of digestive enzymes is reduced. If you drink more alcohol when you are young, or have suffered from pancreatitis, then the atrophy of the pancreas will be more obvious in old age, which is another important cause of indigestion in the elderly.
Therefore, many uncles and aunts find that they are not as good as when they were young, and they are prone to stomach bloating after eating, and they are prone to diarrhea after eating greasy food, which may be a change in the pancreas.
The atrophy of pancreatic acinar is irreversible, and there are now some digestive enzyme preparations that can be replaced and supplemented, such as lactase production, multi-enzyme tablets, compound digestive enzyme capsules, etc. If you have this problem, you can go to the hospital and ask your doctor to prescribe medicine.
03
The third hidden cause of malnutrition
The area of absorption of the intestinal mucosa is reduced
The small intestine is the most important place for food digestion and absorption, the inner wall of the small intestine is not smooth, but there are many small intestinal villi, and there are microvilli on the villi, which are in contact with food for full digestion and absorption.
The picture below is the endoscopic small intestine appearance, you can see that 30-year-old people have rich villi in the small intestine, which looks "hairy", and from the age of 60, the intestinal villi in the human intestine become less.
By the age of 90, the villi are shorter and thinner, and the intestines become "smooth", which means that the area in contact with food is less, and the ability to digest and absorb is decreasing.
04
A self-test, a set of checks
Assess your nutritional status
Having said all this, how can you know if you have malnutrition? Director Jiao shared a simple self-test method and told us how to check in the hospital.
1. Ring test
Sitting on a chair, the thumb and index finger of both hands form a circle, use this circle to measure the thickest part of their calf, the average person is just able to surround, fatter people may have thicker calves.
If the calf is particularly thin and cannot even reach the diameter of the ring, it indicates that there is muscle loss and malnutrition.
2. Blood test to assess nutritional status
(1) Biochemistry
There is a blood draw in the hospital, commonly known as "big biochemistry", a tube of blood at the same time to check liver and kidney function, electrolytes, protein, blood lipids, blood sugar and other indicators, many uncles and aunts have done. You can take out your own laboratory test sheet and carefully see whether the four indicators of albumin, prealbumin, blood potassium, and blood calcium are abnormally reduced.
(2) Blood routine
The hemoglobin in the blood routine can indicate whether there is anemia, and malnourished people often have anemia.
(3) Iron, folic acid and vitamin B12
People who are picky eaters and anorexia are prone to iron deficiency, resulting in iron deficiency anemia. Vitamin B12 and folic acid are essential raw materials for bone marrow hematopoiesis. So this test can be seen in conjunction with a blood routine.
Director Jiao said that folic acid and vitamin B12 are relatively easy to supplement, iron is relatively difficult to absorb, supplementation may be slower, but it can also be supplemented.
(4) 25-OH-Vitamin D
When we are in the sun, the 25-OH-vitamin D in the body will undergo a series of reactions and be converted into vitamin D to promote calcium absorption. Therefore, this indicator is low, reflecting that there may be calcium deficiency in the body, and it is best to combine it with the index of blood calcium.
If the above indicators are abnormal, it is recommended to go to the hospital for medical treatment, and the doctor will check what causes malnutrition and carry out targeted treatment. Even simple nutritional deficiencies need to be regulated and supplemented.
They also have regular check-ups to monitor whether their nutritional status has improved. Ordinary people are recommended to be checked once a year, and if it has been determined that they are malnourished and are receiving treatment, it is recommended to be re-examined for 3 months.
Staying away from malnutrition is important for a long and healthy life. Don't be afraid of trouble!