"Oh, Mom, why do you buy pork to eat again? I've told you many times that eating pork for the elderly is not good for their health, especially Dad has high blood pressure. ”
"It's going to be eaten once in a while, no problem. ”
62-year-old Aunt Wang recently heard that the price of pork had decreased, so she hurriedly went to the market to buy a lot of catties of pork and put it in the refrigerator. When Aunt Wang's daughter came home from work and saw the pork in the refrigerator, she was simply "angry", and the scene at the beginning of the article appeared.
It turned out that Aunt Wang's wife had a history of high blood pressure for more than ten years, and the doctor told her many times to pay attention to her diet, especially to avoid eating red meat such as pigs, cows, and sheep, so as not to increase cholesterol and blood lipids and deepen the hardening of blood vessels due to long-term consumption.
However, Aunt Wang believes that the elderly can eat these meat foods to help supplement the nutrients needed by the body, and does not feel that there is anything wrong with their behavior of buying pork.
In fact, these conflicts are not limited to Aunt Wang's family, after all, some clues can be seen from the sales of pork in the mainland, in 2021, the output of pork in the mainland has reached 50 million tons, and the consumption is higher, reaching 51.77 million tons, and it has been rising in the next two years, reaching 57.0835 million tons in 2022 (China's apparent pork consumption), and 57.94 million tons in 2023 (national pork production).
So the question is, why is it not recommended for the elderly to eat these red meat foods in clinical practice?
Middle-aged and elderly people should keep their mouths shut, try to eat as little as possible about these 3 foods, and don't be careless for the sake of health
With the continuous growth of age, the physical function of middle-aged and elderly people gradually decreases to varying degrees, and the demand for diet and digestion and absorption capacity are also slightly different from those of other young groups.
Therefore, in order to maintain good health, middle-aged and elderly people should pay attention to the adjustment of diet in daily life, especially to keep their mouths shut and eat less food that is not good for the body.
1. Red meat such as pigs, cattle and sheep
Red meat is very common in life, because of the beautiful color, good taste and other reasons, everyone is very popular, but also can help us to supplement iron, protein and other nutrients, but also make it stand out from the crowd.
However, even so, when you get older, doctors do not recommend that you eat too much red meat such as pigs, beef, and sheep.
Because red meat is high in fat, especially saturated fatty acids (significantly higher than white meat, such as chicken, which is white before cooking), high saturated fat content may increase blood LDL cholesterol levels, which in turn increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
In the elderly, blood lipid levels tend to rise due to slowed metabolism and weakened vascular elasticity. Long-term consumption of high-fat red meat can easily lead to the occurrence of atherosclerosis, hypertension, coronary heart disease and other diseases.
And, as mentioned in the International Medical Journal, red meat is relatively high in purines.
After purines are metabolized, a substance called uric acid will be produced, and the elderly will gradually reduce the excretion of uric acid due to the gradual decline of kidney function, and when excessive uric acid accumulates in the body, it will greatly increase the probability of gout (unbearable joint pain, seriously affecting the quality of life).
Therefore, in order to maintain cardiovascular health and prevent the appearance of gout, older adults should also control their intake of red meat.
2. Processed meat
The so-called processed meat refers to the meat processed by curing, smoking, fermentation, air drying, etc., and the common ones are ham, sausage, jerky, dried meat, etc. In recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have conducted a comprehensive evaluation of processed meat, and found that most processed meat may produce a variety of carcinogens such as benzopyrene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the production process.
Scholars believe that eating more than 100g of processed meat per week will increase the risk of colon cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, etc.
In addition, saturated fat is also indispensable for processed meat, but the problem is that once the blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels are too high, it will lead to slow blood flow (high blood viscosity), which increases the risk of blood clots to a certain extent and increases the probability of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
In short, regardless of the reason, processed meat is indeed not suitable for middle-aged and elderly people.
3. Animal offal
Animal offal such as liver, kidneys, lungs, etc., some families may throw them away directly, but some families regard these offal as more fragrant than meat; animal offal is nutritious and delicious, rich in iron, zinc, selenium and other trace elements, and the vitamin A content is also high, the existence of these nutrients also makes some people paranoid about animal offal.
But don't eat too much.
The cholesterol content in animal offal is high, especially in the liver and kidneys (coupled with the slower metabolism of the elderly, the cholesterol level is generally higher, and improper consumption is very likely to cause hyperlipidemia in the elderly). Therefore, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that adults do not consume more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day.
At the same time, the journal "Cell" has mentioned that animal offal contains a large number of purine components, and the above has also briefly mentioned that uric acid, a metabolite of purines, is one of the important causes of gout and hyperuricemia, so it is not recommended for the elderly to consume excessively.
It is recommended for middle-aged and elderly people: eat more of these 3 foods, which are highly nutritious and easy to digest
In fact, for middle-aged and elderly people, they do need special attention in terms of diet;
The following three nutritious, easy-to-digest and easy-to-digest foods are a good choice for middle-aged and elderly people.
First of all, if you want to be in good health, eggs are indispensable.
I believe many people know that eggs are a kind of high-quality protein, and they are rich in vitamins (vitamins A, D, E) and minerals (calcium, zinc, etc.), and eating them in moderation is beneficial to health.
But have you heard that moderate intake of eggs may also reduce the incidence of hypertension and diabetes in older adults? Boston University in the United States conducted a group survey experiment with more than 2,300 volunteers.
The results found that participants who consumed ≥ 5 eggs per week had a 3.7mg/dl lower fasting blood sugar concentration and a 32% lower risk of developing high blood pressure compared to those who did not eat eggs per week, and published the data in the journal Nutrients.
Eggs can help lower blood sugar probably because eggs are a satiety food, and foods high in protein can slow down the emptying of the stomach and prolong satiety, which can help control the rise in blood sugar after a meal.
At the same time, eggs contain vitamins B6 and B12, which are important for reducing levels of homocysteine, an amino acid associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke, so it helps reduce the associated risk.
Secondly, eat "fish" to eat a healthy and good body.
Researchers at McMaster University conducted an "analysis of the relationship between fish and cardiovascular" in tens of thousands of participants in more than 60 countries.
Finally, it was found that even for high-risk groups (the elderly, pregnant women, and patients with chronic diseases), moderate intake of fish in life can effectively reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and death, and the research data was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Many people may feel strange when they see this, and do not understand the relationship between "fish" and cardiovascular disease.
In fact, this is mainly because fish food is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and it can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease.
At the same time, compared to red meat, fish usually contains less fat, but relatively more unsaturated fatty acids, which, together with its rich mineral elements such as potassium and magnesium, help maintain cardiovascular health to a large extent.
In addition, moderate intake of soy products can help maintain health.
Soy products are plant foods with high protein content, and are rich in minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, and rich in vitamins, which have positive effects on maintaining good health, enhancing immunity, protecting cardiovascular health, promoting healthy bones and skin, and preventing chronic diseases.
For cardiovascular health, certain phytochemicals found in soy products, such as soy isoflavones and soy saponins, have antioxidant properties that may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
As such, soy products are a good source of potassium, which helps maintain normal blood pressure levels and is also beneficial for cardiovascular health.
Seeing this, some people may say, "It's really hard to eat meat, it's okay not to eat meat, eating more meat is not good for your health, so it's always right to eat more vegetarians, right?" However, is it healthier for the elderly to stick to a vegetarian diet?
Middle-aged and elderly "vegetarians" live longer? Don't be too blind
Vegetables, fruits and other foods are rich in fiber, antioxidants and vitamins needed by the human body, and moderate intake does have a more positive effect on the human body, but here we should pay attention to the word "moderate".
In fact, a long-term vegetarian diet is not clinically recommended for middle-aged and elderly people. First, long-term vegetarianism may lead to insufficient protein intake, we all know that protein is an essential nutrient for the human body, and research experiments have found that long-term vegetarian diet will lead to insufficient intake of nine essential proteins for the human body, which increases the incidence of nutritional deficiency diseases.
Second, compared with animal foods, although the calcium content in plant foods is not low, the absorption rate of the body is low. For example, vegetables are high in calcium, but they also contain substances such as oxalic acid and phytic acid, which can inhibit calcium absorption.
As we know, calcium is the main component of teeth and bones, and plays an important role in maintaining normal neuromuscular function, maintaining acid-base balance, and participating in the permeability of cell membranes.
If middle-aged and elderly people eat a vegetarian diet for a long time, it is very likely that the strength and hardness of bones will be affected by insufficient calcium in the body, which greatly increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
Therefore, we know that the disadvantages of long-term vegetarianism for the elderly far outweigh the benefits, and adhering to a vegetarian diet will naturally not help longevity. Therefore, it is still recommended that middle-aged and elderly people choose an appropriate meat and vegetable diet to ensure comprehensive nutrition.
At the end of the article, I would like to ask everyone: Do you have a deeper understanding of diet now?
One more reminder: in addition to the three foods that the elderly need to pay attention to mentioned above, the elderly should also pay attention to avoid eating expired and spoiled food, which may also cause health reasons.
Sources:
[1] "Research Progress on the Relationship between Red Meat and Processed Meat Products and Cancer Risk", Niu Haili, Kong Baohua, 2015-02-09
[2] "Research on the Relationship between Dietary Patterns and Sarcopenia in the Elderly", Li Shujuan; Cai Shuya; into snow; ZHAO Liyun; Ju Lahong; GUO Qiya; XU Xiaoli; FANG Hongyun; Pu Wei; Yu Dongmei, 2021-06-30
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