Aging Changes Our Energy Needs
An interesting part of aging is the changes we see in our bodies, not only on the outside, but inside as well. Our energy needs drop as we grow older. This means we don’t need as many calories or as much food as we did in our younger years. It also means our appetites may not be as large as they once were. Even with the decline in calorie needs we don’t need less nutrition, in fact, we need to be more aware of our nutrients than ever. Because we tend to eat less, the foods we do eat need to be nutrient rich and packed with vitamins and minerals. Some ways to keep your nutrition up when your intake is down are:
- Try smaller, more frequent meals.
- Make easy to prepare items like a baked potato topped with shredded or cottage cheese.
- Sip on fruit smoothies with fruit, low fat milk and/or yogurt.
- Snack on slices of cheese paired with seasonal fruit and whole grain crackers.
