As people grow older, people pay more and more attention to their own health, especially in a nutritious diet, in order to avoid the rapid decline of the elderly's physical functions, decreased immunity, malnutrition and other problems, they should consume enough nutrients to maintain their health.
Here, dietitians have also repeatedly advised the elderly to eat less porridge, but many elderly people are puzzled, why is this?
Indeed, the gastrointestinal function of the elderly will weaken with age, coupled with bad teeth, many elderly people like to eat some gruel and rotten rice, but from now on it is not recommended for the elderly to eat often or more.
For the porridge often eaten by the modern elderly, it is usually porridge made of rice, and the nutritional value of the rice itself is relatively poor, that is, the refined white rice after fine polishing, the aleurone layer and bran are removed, and only the inner protective cortex, fruit peel and seed coat are left.
This kind of milled rice is not only high in calories and carbohydrates, but also other vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron and other nutrients.
Therefore, in the end, all that is left of such porridge is carbohydrates, plus a lot of water, if the elderly eat such staple foods every day, they simply cannot meet the nutritional needs of the body, thereby increasing the probability of malnutrition.
In addition, for people who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease and reflux esophagitis, eating porridge for a long time is easy to increase gastrointestinal discomfort such as acid reflux and heartburn.
Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly eat less porridge, pay attention to dietary matching, and pay attention to food diversity even if they occasionally eat some porridge.
Add whole grains to the porridge:
Whole grains in ancient times referred to rice, millet, millet, wheat, and soybean, and in modern times referred to corn, rice, sorghum, wheat, etc. In addition, in the famous ancient Chinese medicine book "The Yellow Emperor's Neijing", it is also mentioned that "five grains are for nourishment, five fruits are for help, five animals are for benefit, and five vegetables are for filling".
It is recommended that the elderly add a variety of ingredients to make up for the lack of nutrients in refined rice, such as vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin D, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and other nutrients.
Add whole grains to porridge:
Whole grains are also good friends of porridge, including oats, quinoa, buckwheat, corn, millet, barley, brown rice, barley, rye, sorghum rice, etc. In terms of research on whole grains, in the Scientific Consensus on Whole Grains and Health (2021), whole grains may reduce the prevalence of type 2 diabetes.
Compared with people who eat refined porridge or rice for a long time, the carbohydrates are more easily digested and absorbed by the body, which leads to a spike in blood sugar. So, refined foods are a great choice to pair with whole grains.