Healthy Eating for Older Adults

Opening shot shows a doctor walking through a waiting room. An older patient "Mary" (healthy looking, with good posture) is sitting beside a strong young male patient "Chad" (wearing a sleeveless shirt showing muscles)

Doctor to nurse in exam room.

"...Let's see Mary's bone density?"

Camera cuts to Mary in the waiting room. She appears confident at what the doctor will see on her x-ray (or dexa bone density x-ray)

Back in the exam room, the doctor is clearly surprised at how strong those bones look on the scan.

NARRATOR:

"Calcium and vitamin D help build strong bones. And prevent falls."

Doctor to nurse:

"...Joan, I think this is...Chad's X-ray??..."

Camera cuts to Chad and then back to the nurse

NURSE'S VOICE:

"...No, that's Mary's!"

Doctor's face looks "impressed". Cuts to Mary looking confident and charming. Animated food icons appear on screen (milk, yogurt, cheese for Calcium; Fish, egg yolk, and vitamin D supplement)

NARRATOR:

"Eat at least 3 servings of calcium rich food. And, take a vitamin D supplement. Every day."

"For more information, contact Ottawa Public Health."

LOGO

Nutrient needs change as we age; older adults need fewer calories but more of some vitamins and minerals. Canada's food guide recommends eating a variety of foods every day to help keep food interesting and enjoyable while still providing the nutrients you need. 

For excellent tips and ideas to make healthy eating easy and enjoyable, use A Guide to Healthy Eating for Older Adults.

How are your eating habits?  Find out with Nutri-eSCREEN®!  This is a short questionnaire that will help you find out how you are doing with choosing foods that help you stay healthy and active.  You will get a personalized report that tells you what you’re doing well and how you can improve.  The report includes personalized healthy eating tips, links to credible nutrition articles, community resources and tools, and delicious healthy recipes.

This video explains why healthy eating patterns are so important for healthy aging. 

Calcium and vitamin D are good for your bones and more...

• Calcium helps your heart, muscles and nerves work properly.
• Your body needs vitamin D to absorb and use calcium.

Get your calcium from food

• Try to eat a variety of foods that are high in calcium every day (for example, 250 mL milk, 175 mL yogurt, 75 g salmon, grilled cheese sandwich). 
• Calcium is more enjoyable and more easily absorbed from food than from a supplement (pill).
• You may need a supplement if you do not eat a variety of foods high in calcium a day.
• Talk to your health care provider before taking a calcium supplement. It should not be taken with certain medications. Getting too much calcium can cause health problems like constipation and kidney stones.

Take a vitamin D supplement of 400 IU every day, if you are over 50

• You also need to eat foods that contain vitamin D.
• Vitamin D is not naturally found in many foods but it is in fatty fish, egg yolk and liver. That's why vitamin D is added to some foods like cow's milk, some orange juice, soy, almond or rice beverages, and margarine.
• If you don't eat enough good quality sources of vitamin D, you may need a stronger supplement. Talk to your health care provider about it.

Something you can do...

• Read labels to find good sources of calcium and vitamin D.  Check the Nutrition Facts Table on the package and look for 15% or more daily value (DV) for calcium.
• Add skim milk powder or evaporated milk to your recipes.
• Try margarine on your toast and in recipes for added vitamin D.
• Enjoy a coffee or tea latte (with steamed milk) or homemade hot chocolate for extra calcium and vitamin D. 
• For dessert, have plain yogurt with fruit, or milk-based pudding.

Mission Healthy Bones lists the sources of both calcium and vitamin D for strong bones and teeth. Look for recipes that feature these foods to increase your daily intake of calcium and vitamin D.