Functional Foods for Elderly People in Residential Care Units

This report discusses the diets of elderly people in residential care units in Wales, UK. It explains why this target population was chosen, the effects of inadequate nutrition, and dietary guidelines for the elderly. It also provides a menu choice and nutritional benefits of the food. The report emphasizes the importance of providing adequate nutrition to the elderly, as they are vulnerable to malnutrition and have varied nutritional requirements.

Running head: FUNCTIONAL FOODS
FUNCTIONAL FOODS
Name of the University
Author Note

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Target population
This report aims to focus on the diets of the elderly people in residential care units in
Wales, United Kingdom.
Rationale for choosing the target population
The choice of the target population is guided by the fact that elderly people living in
the residential care units are susceptible to nutrient deficiency. Adults tend to have fewer
calories due to the decreased appetite and the activity levels. Such decrease in the intake of
the calories causes deficient levels of the vitamins and the minerals. Dietary deficiencies in
the older adults can be due to a number of factors like forgetfulness due to ageing, loss of
apetite and the financial factors that limits the decisions of the food purchasing. Furthermore
presence if several comorbidities and medications also reduces the ability of the body to
absorb the nutrients (Bamford et al., 2012).
There had been evidences that the nutritional intake of the older people living in
residential care units are suboptimal with high levels of saturated fat, salt and added sugars.
Despite of receiving a 24 hours of service for the older people living in the care homes, they
remain vulnerable to the malnutrition. According to the international estimates, the
malnutrition vary as per the level of care and the methods of assessment, still ranging from
14%- 65% in the aged residential care (Bamford et al., 2012).
The UK food standard care agency has therefore established dietary guidelines for the people
staying in residential care units.

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Effect of inadequate nutrition in older adults (80+)
Inadequate nutrition among the elderly people might lead to several comorbidities.
Malnutrition might lead to vitamin deficiency diseases, reduction in the bone mineral density
hindering the quality of life by decreasing the ability of the older people to carry out the daily
chores of life. Dietary fats seems to be associated with the degenerative diseases like cancer
of the common, prostate and pancreas. Atherogenic risk factors like increase in the blood
sugar level, glucose intolerance are all affected by the dietary factors, which play a significant
role in the development of the coronary heart disease in old age.
Consumption of non-nutritious and fatty foods might lead to an elevated level of
serum cholesterol that is a risk factor for the coronary heart diseases. Dietary changes affect
several risk factors throughout the life and can have a greater impact in the older people.
More vitamin and protein rich diets and relatively reduction in the saturated fats and salt
intake can reduce the blood pressure and the concentration of the cholesterol.
Dietary guidelines for the older people by the UK food standard care agency
All the residential care centers and the nursing homes should meet the nutritional guidelines
for the food prepared for the older people. Monitoring of the regular nutritional standards of
the meals has to be carried out regularly and those residential care, not abiding by the
guidelines should be advised and helped to meet the standards otherwise their registration
would be forfeited.
 The average day’s food for the elderly people living in the residential care unit should
meet the COMA report’s estimated Average Requirement for energy.
 Considering the common occurrence of the under nutrition in the older people living
in the residential care units, the providers should increase the energy , calcium, iron

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and the zinc contents of the meals to about 40 % of the reference values and the
Vitamin C content and the folate should be increased to 50%. The estimated average
requirements of calories for the women are 1,810kcal (7.61MJ*) a day and for men
aged 75 and above are 2,100kcal (8.77MJ*) a day. For the older adults who are less
active. Their dietary requirements for the calories might be less, but their
requirements for the other nutrients should be changed (Bamford et al. 2012).
 Fat gives the most concentrated forms of calories and the saturated fats are mainly
derived from the animal sources and are mostly found in cheese, butter and meat. The
unsaturated fats are mainly obtained from the animal sources. WOMEN aged 75 and
over needs, 70g of fats a day and MEN aged 75 and over requires 82g fats a day
(Bamford et al. 2012).
 50 % of the energy is got from the carbohydrates and includes both sugars and the
starches. As per the dietary guidelines, 39% of the carbohydrates should be obtained
from the starches and the milk sugars and only 11 % has to be obtained from the non
– milk extrinsic sugars. WOMEN aged 75 and over needs 188g calories from the
starch and the milk sugars, a day and MEN aged 75 and over needs 218g calories in a
day (Bamford et al. 2012).
 Most of the food prepared for the elderly people should not be given with NME (Non
milk extrinsic) sugars as that can depress their appetite in food (Health in Wales.
2016).
 The dietary reference value for non- starch polysaccharides should be 18 g a day.
Adequate intake of the fluids a day helps to enhance the action of the fibers and helps
to alleviate constipation (Health in Wales. 2016).
 The Reference Nutrient Intake of proteins for the WOMEN is 46.5g a day and for the
MEN is 53.3g a day. This balance is required for setting a balance providing sufficient

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protein for the tissue repair without giving over burden over the kidneys (Bamford et
al. 2012)..
 The reference nutrient intake for the vitamins for tee women aged above 50 are-
Thiamin 0.8mg a day, Riboflavin 1.1mg a day, Niacin 12mg a day and for the men it
is Thiamin 0.9mg a day, Riboflavin 1.3mg a day and Niacin 16mg a day.
Recommended level for the vitamin C is 40 mg , Vitamin A- WOMEN: 600
micrograms a day MEN: 700 micrograms a day , Vitamin D- 10 micrograms a day.
Dietary sources for Vitamin D for the elders should include herring, mackerel, salmon
or tuna. Cereals might contain several vitamins.
 Older adults require 700 mg of calcium a day. Older women are susceptible to
osteoporosis (loss of the bone mineral density). Additional calcium supplements can
help to increase the bone mass (de Jonge et al. 2012).
 Iron content in the food should be about 8.7 mg a day. In a national diet and the
nutrition survey , 52 % of men and 32% of women was found to be anemic due to the
iron deficit diets. In older people iron has to be in a form that can be easily absorbed
for example oily fish, meat and offals (Hill et al. 2013).

Running head: FUNCTIONAL FOODS
Menu choice for an elderly person
Breakfast Eggs, avocado, buns
Lunch Salmon fillet, carrot tossed in spinach, garlic and other vegetables.
Dinner Asparagus and Halloumi cheese
Nutritional benefits
Eggs are sources of high quality proteins for the older adults to keep their bones strong and for the repair of the worn-out tissues. It also
contains decent amounts of vitamin K (phylloquinone), vitamin A (beta-carotene), B5, B12, selenium, phosphorus, calcium and zinc (Tieland et
al. 2013). More than half of the protein of the egg is found in egg white (Wolfe 2015). Eggs are a useful source of vitamin D that helps to protect
bones and prevent osteoporosis in older adults. Sarcopenia is a common health issue for many elderly persons. This condition is closely linked to
malnutrition and the can significantly reduce the quality of the elderly by causing muscular degeneration. Smith and Gray (2016) have opined
that eggs contain significant amount of leucine, an amino acid that is essential for the muscle synthesis in the elderly people. Hence, for most of
the older people eggs are considered to be the accepted food protein at the breakfast and the other meals.

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Carrot has a high nutritive value and contains 26% of the daily value of the vitamin K, 20 % of folate , 17 % vitamin C of the daily value,
Potassium, vitamin, B6,B5 and E. It also contains a small amount of manganese, magnesium, zinc, iron and phosphorus. The antioxidant
property of the vegetable helps in reducing the ageing of the cells in elderly. They have also been found to be having qualities to fight with
cancer and the cardiovascular disease. (Cuervo et al. 2014). The water content of the carrot may vary from and 86-95 % and the portion that is
edible consists of about 10 % of the carbohydrates. One medium, raw carrot (61 grams) contains 25 calories, with only 4 grams of digestible
carbs. The main form of the soluble fiber that is found in the carrot is pectin that helps in lowering the blood sugar level by slowing down the
digestion of starch and sugar. Furthermore, it can also disrupt the absorption of the LDL cholesterol from the digestive tract. The plant
component that is are found in carrot and are important for the diet are- Beta carotene, alpha- carotene- an anti-oxidant that is partly converted in
to Vitamin A. Lutein is the most common antioxidant that is found is god for the vision in elderly people. Lycopene present in the carrot
decreases the risk of the cardiovascular diseases and polyacetylenes are some of the bioactive compounds that gives protection against leukemia.
Spinach is a source of vitamins such as Vitamin K (phylloquinone), Vitamin A (beta-carotene), Vitamin C and folate and minerals like
manganese, iron and magnesium. Since, spinach contains high amounts of insoluble fiber; it acts as a roughage and helps to prevent constipation,
which is important for preventing constipation in the elderly people. Some of the plant components found in spinach includes Lutein, Kaempfrol,
nitrates, Quesrcetin and Zeaxanthin. Their antioxidant property helps in reducing cancer and the cardiovascular diseases.

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Garlics should be included in the diet of the elderly people as it helps to lower the level of the cholesterol because of the antioxidant
property of the Allicin present in garlic. Some of the compounds present in garlic are diallyl disulphide and s- allyl cysteine. The active
components are found to be reducing blood pressure and diabetes (Padiya and K Banerjee 2013). Antioxidants property of the garlic prevents
the formation of the free radicals that normally is responsible for the physiological process of ageing (Taguchi et al. 2013). A large 12-week
study by Qidwai and Ashfaq (2013) has found that the average length of the cold symptoms were reduced to 70 % in comparison to the placebo
groups. Garlic extract has been found to be useful against cold and congestion in elderly people.
Oily fishes like salmon contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA that enhances the brain health and reduces the risk of
having neurodegenerative diseases. An analysis on 12 controlled studies have found that 0.45-4.5 grams of the omega-3-fatty acids a day leads to
a significant improvement in the arterial function (Calder 2012). A 3.5 ounce of salmon can contain approximately 22- 26 grams of proteins. The
amount of potassium present in Salmon helps in reducing the blood pressure. Salmon fish is loaded with selenium that improves the bone health
among the elderly and reduces the chance of the autoimmune thyroid diseases (Calder 2012). Asparagus is a spring vegetable that contains
proteins, fibers and asparaptine , that helps in improving the blood flow and helps in lowering the blood pressure. It also possesses small
amounts of micronutrients that are involved in blood clotting and bone health (Jagdish et al., 2015). Asparagus has been found to contain high
amounts of flavonoids, quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin that has been found to be having a reducing effect on blood pressure (Jagdish et

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al. 2014). Halloumi cheese is useful as it contains high content of calcium and sodium. Halloumi cheese is a good source of proteins and the can
be a good option for the vegetarian (Tieland et al. 2012). The percentage of this cheese should be low (Kaminarides et al. 2015).
Conclusion
Older persons are vulnerable to malnutrition and due to their varied nutritional requirements, providing them with adequate nutrition can
be challenging. As both the basal metabolic rate and the average body mass decreases, the energy requirements also decreases. Hence, the food
should be chosen carefully for the diet, keeping in mind comorbidities of the geriatric population. The protein, vitamins and the mineral contents
of the food should suffice the nutritional requirement of each of the elderly people and should meet the nutritional standards of the UK.
While the preparation of a meal plan, it is important to have a note about the presence if any forms of allergies among the residents. It is
due to the fact, that may people might suffer from shellfish or shrimp allergies. Again, some of the foods that can be suitable for some people
might not be suitable for the other people. However, apart from the choice of healthy foods, physical activities are also required to promote a
healthy living among the elderly adults.

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