A healthy diet is essential for overall quality of life. Eating nutritious foods helps not only with our physical well-being but with cognitive health and memory. The right foods regulate our moods, help us maintain an active lifestyle, and encourage a better life through our senior years. However, the opposite is also true – some foods can be detrimental to overall health and cause disease, mood swings, anxiety, and more. To reduce the risk of health issues as they age, seniors should ask their doctor about avoiding these foods.
Fast Food: Fast food chains have become prolific in the last couple of decades – there are several options on every block. The food is affordable and temporarily satisfying, but it is loaded with fat and calories while delivering virtually no nutritional value. Consuming fast food regularly increases the chance of obesity, especially if the senior’s lifestyle is inactive and sedentary.
Deli Meats: Most deli meats, like ham, salami, and bologna, are pumped full of harmful additives such as sodium and nitrates when they are commercially processed. Eating too many servings of these meats is likely to increase cancer and heart disease risk. While deli meats are cheaper, seniors who love these types of foods should buy directly from the butcher if possible.
Soft Cheeses: Frequently, soft cheese is manufactured utilizing unpasteurized milk – meaning the cheese likely contains more bacteria than other varieties. For older adults with sensitive digestive systems, this can cause medical issues. Instead, seniors may be safer choosing cheese varieties made from pasteurized dairy products maintained at recommended temperatures.
Bagels: While a staple of breakfast foods, bagels have a high glycemic index that can spike insulin levels and add to inflammation issues. Those issues can speed up the aging process or adversely affect skin conditions. Instead, seniors should choose low-glycemic bread varieties like whole-wheat or pumpernickel.
Raw Seafood: The bacteria and viruses in raw seafood can cause people of all ages – including seniors – to feel ill. Before eating raw seafood, older adults should speak with their doctor to make sure that their digestive systems can still process these bacteria.
Undercooked Eggs: While you might not consider eating raw eggs out of your refrigerator, other foods such as homemade eggnog, ice cream, and mayonnaise also contain raw eggs. For senior citizens, consuming raw or undercooked eggs can boost the risk of food poisoning, resulting in sepsis or other medical issues. Older adults should make sure that their eggs are cooked adequately, for instance, by boiling over high heat to prevent the accidental consumption of undercooked eggs.
Sprouts: For senior adults with less robust immune systems (or digestion issues), raw sprouts can be dangerous as they may contain bacteria such as salmonella. If contaminated sprouts have been eaten, sudden weight loss and pneumonia can be the result. The good news is that seniors have dozens of other options for vegetables that will provide a huge health benefit for overall nutrition.
Grapefruit: Although an otherwise healthy fruit, grapefruit may be problematic for seniors living with insomnia, high blood pressure, or anxiety. Grapefruit can increase the effects of certain medications, making them dangerous to consume together. Before enjoying a grapefruit for breakfast, seniors should speak to their physicians.
While these foods can be hazardous to consume, there are so many other foods that can be beneficial to overall health. Try some of these healthy alternatives.
A Banyan Residence is an assisted living and memory care center located in Venice, Florida.
