AGING, EATING BACK THE YEARS - Part 2

FUTURE YOUTH

While it’s important to eat to prevent aging, you also need to adjust your eating habits as you age. As the years pass, your nutritional needs can change dramatically.

"We produce less saliva as we age, so food isn't as easy to digest and swallow," says Susan A. Nitzke, R.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the nutritional sciences department at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. "We experience changes in taste and appetite, so we eat less. We also have less stomach acid, which means that we don't digest foods or absorb nutrients as well as we used to."

In a study of 205 older adults, many of whom had weakened immune systems, researchers in Newfoundland found that almost a third of them were low in iron, zinc, folate, vitamin B12, or protein—or a combination of these nutrients. But the problems were easily corrected. Once the folks began getting the necessary nutrients, they had significant jumps in levels of disease -fighting immune cells.

Doctors don't always think to check for nutritional deficiencies in adults. This is unfortunate because a simple lack of nutrients can easily be mistaken for more serious illnesses, says Dr. Regelson. "I've seen people who thought they were having trouble with senility and who supposedly couldn't take care of themselves anymore. What they really had were nutritional deficiencies," he says.

Zinc, for example, is an essential mineral for maintaining a healthy immune system. It's also one of the nutrients that requires adequate amounts of stomach acid in order to be absorbed. When acid levels decline, getting enough zinc can be a problem, says Dr. Nitzke. This is especially true in people who are taking antacids, she adds.

The easiest way to get all the zinc your body needs is to have a plate of steamed oysters. Just six shelled morsels deliver 77 milligrams of zinc, 513 percent of the DV. Crab is also good, with 3 ounces providing 7 milligrams, 47 percent of the DV.

Many older people have trouble getting enough B vitamins, which are essential for keeping the nerves and brain healthy. "As we age, the lining of the stomach changes, making it harder to absorb these nutrients," says Dr. Regelson. "After age 55, it's particularly easy to be deficient in vitamin B6."

Potatoes and bananas are your best bets for bringing in the B-6. One potato provides 0.5 milligram, 25 percent of the DV, and a banana has 0.7 milligram, 35 percent of the DV. To get more folate (also a B vitamin), you need to eat greens and beans, particularly pinto and kidney beans. A half -cup of either of these beans provides over 100 milligrams of folate, more than 25 percent of the DV. Spinach is another good source of folate, with 1 cup containing as much an equal amount of beans. Finally, you can get plenty of vitamin B12 in meats and other animal foods. Clams are top performer: 20 small steamed dams provide an astonishing 89 micrograms of vitamin B12, 1,483 percent of the DV.

As bones get older, it's essential to get extra calcium to prevent them from becoming brittle, says Dr. Nirzke. "Many people believe that they can't eat dairy foods because they're 'lactose intolerant,' but in fact, most people can eat moderate amounts of dairy without trouble," she says.

Low -fat milk and skim -milk cheese and yogurt are your best sources of this hone -building nutrient. One cup of fat -free yogurt contains 415 milligrams of calcium, 41 percent of the DV. Skim milk is also good, with one glass providing 302 milligrams, 30 percent of the DV.

Iron is another mineral that can be tough to get in the correct amounts. Some people don't get enough, while others get too much, says Dr. Nirzke. To be safe, she recommends having your doctor do a blood test for anemia. If it turns out that you do need more iron, you won't have any trouble getting it. Lean meat and seafood contain an abundance of iron, she says. Cream of Wheat and other fortified cereals are also good, with 5 milligrams of iron per serving, 29 percent of the DV.

EAT LESS, LIVE LONGER

Even though we may need to eat more of certain foods in order to live longer, researchers are finding that the opposite can also be true: People who eat a little less sometimes live a little more.

Research has shown that laboratory animals on a restricted -calorie diet have lower blood pressures, higher levels of healthful high -density lipoprotein cholesterol, and lower levels of potentially dangerous blood fats called triglycerides than their all -you -can -eat companions, says George Roth, Ph.D., a scientist at the Gerontology Research Center. In fact, the lean eaters outlive their gluttonous kin by about 30 percent.

"We believe that one of the ways in which calorie restriction works is by shifting animals' metabolisms to a survival mode so that they use the energy they take in most efficiently," says Dr. Roth. "Right now, we are testing calorie restriction on primates, which will give us a better indication of how well it will work in people." So far, all the signs, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, are indicating that it will be beneficial, he says.

The research is still preliminary, so it would be a mistake to start cutting calories if you're already at a healthy weight. But it does seem likely that cutting unnecessary calories from your diet will help stretch your life span a little further, says Dr. Roth.

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