Seniors aged 65 and over who follow the recommendations in Canada’s new Food Guide may not be getting enough of certain important nutrients, warns a new study published by researchers at McGill University.
Their diet may therefore not contain enough folate, vitamin D and calcium.
“We imagine that Health Canada will issue guidelines for the population which will ensure that we have the most complete diet possible, which will meet our needs without resorting to supplements. That’s what nutritional guidelines are all about. And then we realize that this is not quite the case with older people,” said the author of the study, Professor Stéphanie Chevalier.
Vitamin D and calcium play an important role in bone health. And since vitamin D is also involved in muscle health, we quickly understand the importance of these two nutrients in the diet of seniors.
Folic acid (or folates), for its part, is involved in the production of red blood cells (which carry oxygen in the blood) and in the formation of hemoglobin.
There are several positive aspects to the new Canada Food Guide unveiled in 2019, said Mme Knight, but the fact that it applies to the entire population aged two and over “worried her a little”.
“This includes children, adolescents, pregnant women, the elderly who are populations that we have always known, who have specific nutrient needs,” she said. I asked myself: are we missing something because we are avoiding making recommendations, let’s say more precise, for these groups of the population? »
She and her postdoctoral student Didier Brassard therefore combed through the real eating habits of hundreds of seniors to measure their level of adherence to Canada’s Food Guide.
They found that this adherence can result in an increase or decrease in the intake of certain nutrients, or even make no difference.
The problem, said Mme Chevalier, is that it is already often difficult for seniors to consume enough nutrients such as calcium or vitamin D.
“And adhering even more to Canada’s Food Guide doesn’t help them,” she added. We were very surprised. »
But the news isn’t all bad. The study authors found that seniors who follow Canada’s Food Guide are less likely than others to not consume enough magnesium, vitamin B6 and protein.
Older people should still keep in mind that they need a little more protein than what is recommended by the Guide, said Ms.me Chevalier, and they should try to consume it with every meal, whether these proteins are of animal or plant origin.
Health Canada has put additional resources online in recent years, such as guidelines for seniors. However, the information is not necessarily easy to find and is often aimed at health professionals or even facility directors – even though many seniors find information on the web.
Seniors do not always have the control they would like over their diet. Those who live in residence often have to accept the menu offered. Those who live at home, if they suffer from loneliness or if they are losing autonomy, may have a limited ability to obtain the foods they want.
Aging is also often accompanied by a decline in appetite.
“Since we’re talking about calcium and vitamin D, I would recommend dairy products,” said M.me Knight. I am thinking of Greek yogurt, among other things. This is a food that I often recommend to older people who have a smaller appetite. There’s plenty of calcium in a small pot of Greek yogurt, and it’s also a good source of protein. »
Folate is found in green vegetables and vitamin D deficiencies can be made up with a supplement prescribed by a doctor.
Researchers will now examine how adherence to current guidelines affects health outcomes, such as physical function, mobility and cognition, and how guidelines can be modified to improve these outcomes.
The findings of this study were published by the Journal of Nutrition.