Majority of individuals surpassing the age of 60 will be entering senescence, a thousand years ago Chinese medicine has enormous research relating to food consumed by elderly, suggested rational and healthy eating habits. Eating has direct importance to one’s growth and health, and good eating habits throughout the different age groups are crucial to a healthy constitution.

Within the ancient Chinese treatise “Shou Qing Yang Lao Xin Shu. Yin Shi Diao Jie” it says: “Elderly individuals lose vital energy, weakened five visceral organs, all reliance on food to nourish the qi and blood”. Also mentioned: “respectable aged individuals, should not starved, but eat frequently, allowing easy digestion of the spleen and stomach, longer storage of vital energy”. According to the principles of Chinese medicine, let me arrange some rational healthy eating habits for the elderly to share with you, helping you to be healthy.

Food which helps to clear inflammation
The elderly Spleen and Stomach have poor digestive function, reduced production of digestive juices, and therefore should avoid fatty foods. Eat less oil, more vegetables and fruits, eat rational amounts of dairy, beans, lean meat and fish. Especially those elderly who are inactive or live sedentary lives, should eat less fatty and sweet products, otherwise the trapped “heat” is unable to be expelled externally, accumulating to obesity, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and hypertension.

Food should be warm and hot
According to Chinese medicinal knowledge of the human body’s natural governing doctrine of growth to senescence, the aging have insufficient Yang energy, and their digestive system of the Spleen and Stomach naturally tend toward deficiency and cold nature. They therefore should consume more warm food. For example, avoid chilled water and cold food, especially during winter season and extreme cold weather. Since warmed food helps with easier digestion and absorption, warmed food when entered into the Stomach helps retain the Yang energy, maintaining normal physiological functioning of the elderly individuals. Especially those who suffer from cold limbs, loose stools, painful and stiff joints, should tend towards warmth and stay away from cold.

Eat less but hot food
Eat less means reducing the frequency of food intake. One should not eat to extreme bloatedness because when the stomach is too full it adds pressure to the heart, affecting blood circulation and leading to occurrence of heart diseases. Eating hot food means trying to cook most food, which helps the body to absorb the nutrients. Cooking food also helps to reduce the bacterial load within food that can adversely harm the human body. For example, meat products, bean products and certain vegetables like carrots that are hard in constitution.

Finally, helping the elderly to have a healthy lifestyle after their bodies have regressed is itself an important societal issue. Chinese medicine believes that one of the disease origins is “disease enters through the mouth”. If elderly individuals are mindful of how and what they eat, this will reduce many occurrences of diseases.