How do our diets need to change with age?
I eat way more than my mum does. Shes often horrified at just how much food I can pack away in one sitting, while Im amazed at how someone can possibly feel full from a jacket potato and a couple of sardines. Older people just seem to survive on a lot less, while those of us who are younger and more active perennially feel hungry. What you eat matters, and how you fuel your body can dictate how well you move, feel and sleep. According to a 2015 study published in the journal Nursing Older People, older people really do eat less and in doing so, often dramatically cut their intake of calcium, iron, zinc, B vitamins and vitamin E  putting them at risk of ill health. Priorise protein intake  According to Toral Shah, nutritional scientist, certified functional medicine practitioner and founder of The Urban Kitchen, the official advice on protein consumption is actually pretty low, at just 0.6g per kilo of bodyweight. If you want to maintain muscle mass or add muscle mass (which is what we all want to do as thats what metabolically supports us), we need to be eating a little more protein  around 1-2g per kilogram, she tells Stylist. As we get older, we lose 1% of our muscle mass every year from the age of 30, so even if were eating protein and doing weights already, we need to be careful to eat all of the different amino acids, Shah explains. Thats particularly important for plant-based eaters for whom eating the full spectrum of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) becomes increasingly essential. In our 40s and further towards menopause, protein becomes even more important. Our metabolism and body composition changes, thanks to dipping levels of oestrogen and progesterone (our female hormones). Shah says that one of the things that happens before or around menopause is that our appetites change and many women feel like they cant eat as much  and thats when protein becomes more important. This is still something that were learning about because unfortunately, there hasnt been much research done on menopause and womens health compared with mens, but if you want to maintain your muscle mass and stay strong and active into your 70s and 80s, then you need to keep moving and fuelling your body in the right way.  That, Shah explains, means looking at what you eat as your appetite decreases (especially from the age of 60). You need to be increasing your protein intake as you get older and thats partly because your appetite decreases so you may start to miss out on certain nutrients. Loading up on protein-based foods and vegetables is crucial to ensure that youre getting all the vitamins and nutrients.  Eat more plants  To enjoy greater overall health and reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, following a plant-predominant diet has been shown to be beneficial, with the majority of nutrients provided by whole grains, fruits, vegetables, plant proteins, nuts and seeds, explains registered dietitian Lisa Simon, from Plant Based Health Online. By focusing on the number of plants you consume, youre more likely to enjoy an antioxidant-rich diet that is protective against harmful free radicals. A variety of fruit and vegetables should be consumed, with the emphasis on ensuring as many different colours on the plate as possible. Cooking tomatoes can increase their antioxidant capacity by about 300%, Lisa points out. Eating sufficient fibre is also important for general health and to reduce the risk of chronic disease, including diverticular disease and colon cancer. A high-fibre diet will also optimise gut health and this is linked to reduced inflammation, which can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes. The NHS recommends eating five portions of fruit and veg a day, while a 2017 study by Imperial College London and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that eating 10 portions a day could prevent around 7.8 million premature deaths each year. The findings were made after analysing 95 separate studies involving two million peoples eating habits, with lower risks of cancer and stroke being linked to green and yellow veg, cruciferous veg (cauliflower and broccoli), apples, pears, citrus fruits, and salad. Increase your calcium  What you do or dont eat now really does matter, particularly when it comes to bone health. In your 20s and 30s, you want to maximise your calcium intake, whether its through dark leafy greens, dairy-based foods or sardines because this is when you can maximise your bone health, says Shah. If youve been dieting in your 20s or teens and youve not been eating those calcium-rich foods, your bone health is already going to be poor. That matters because our bone density decreases as we age, particularly as we get to menopause (because oestrogen helps us to maintain bone mass). The two things that we all need to be doing now and, well, forever, are eating lots of calcium-rich foods (dairy, fortified nut milks, spinach, kale, oily fish), and doing weight-bearing exercises like strength training, running and walking. If you don't eat dairy, make sure that you regularly consume dark green leafy veg like kale  with a big squeeze of lemon juice. Load up on B vitamins  Pregnant women and women trying to conceive have increased folic acid needs, which is a type of B vitamin needed to help with foetus development, says specialist registered dietitian, Catherine Rabess. Folic acid is also important for breastfeeding mums, who also require higher levels of calcium. Moving towards the menopause, however, our ability to absorb nutrients like B12 reduces, which is why Simon recommends taking a daily supplement of this micronutrient, regardless of your diet. She also says that we could all benefit from supplementing vitamin D, too. Watch your iron levels  Our iron levels are dependent on how much blood we lose during periods, but maintaining your normal level is important  even once you stop menstruating. As well as ensuring that you eat plenty of iron-rich foods like dark leafy greens if you dont eat meat, its important that you always pair iron with vitamin C. Thats because vitamin C makes iron more bioavailable. Shah recommends squeezing some lemon juice or making a citrus-based salad dressing when eating kale, spinach or broccoli to make it even more nutritious. Reduce the junk food  While no one is suggesting that you should cut any kinds of food out as you get older, its a fact that your body becomes more sensitive to sugar and bad fats over time. When youre younger, regular fast food meals might have no impact on you but the older you get, the less sensitive you become to sugar  and that leads to massive peaks and troughs of insulin which leads to energy instability. Its also been proven that people who eat a lot of processed junk food tend to have faster ageing chromosomes. Three or more servings of ultra-processed food a day has been found to double the risk of DNA strands (telomeres) becoming shortened, compared with people who eat those kinds of goods less frequently, according to a report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The longer your telomeres, the younger your biological age; the shorter, the more oxidative damage. Looking at nearly 900 people aged over 55, scientists found that those who ate more of the ultra-processed food were more likely to have a family history of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and abnormal blood fats. They also tended to eat less fibre, vegetables, nuts and olive oil. Stay hydrated  Ensuring adequate fluid intake is important, says Simon, with the general rule being 30ml per kilogram of body weight for those over 65. That means drinking a minimum of 1.8l of water if you weigh 60kg. Of course, if youre exercising, its hot or youre under the weather, you may need to up how much you drink but that can be a useful calculation to keep as a base. Lift weights now and forever  Resistance and weight-bearing exercises can help with insulin-resitance, and are incredibly important for staying strong and healthy. As we age, we become more insulin-resistant. Think of your cells a bit like a lock and glucose as a key. We want to get that glucose (sugar) into the cells so that they can function  we need glucose to move, think and stay alive. When we become insulin-resistant, however, the lock gets rusty and the key cant really fit anymore so the glucose starts to build up on the wrong side of the door. That can lead to type 2 diabetes, metabolic disease and unstable energy levels. The more muscle mass you have, however, the more metabolically stable youre likely to be. Shah explains that the medical and nutritional communities are still learning about how insulin works but that for people who want to stay strong and healthy, if you dont use it, you lose it. That means fuelling yourself well  not just eating salad  and lifting weights. The way that muscle building happens is that while youre exercising, your muscles rip and break and its when youre recovering and eating the protein-rich foods that they repair themselves. You need to eat a good range of different fruits and vegetables for the phytonutrients to help that muscle build and aid that muscle recovery.  Conclusion  As we get older, we should be ramping up our fitness and nutrition  not letting it slide. What we eat becomes arguably more important the older we get, even if our appetites get smaller. The key is to prioritise whole foods, protein, plants and resistance and weight-bearing exercise, and to make sure that youre putting in the ground work now.