What is the role of Nutrition in Aging?

Good Nutrition plays a very important role, no matter what your age is. It can help you to control your weight and also gives you energy which helps to prolong life and delay aging. Healthy nutrition and balanced diet are also used to prevent diseases like cancer, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, Heart diseases, etc. Aging also leads to reduction in several nutrients and also deficiencies like iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, etc. It may also reduce the ability to find some sensations like feeling thirsty and hungry.

Under eating or over eating are the poor habits, which cause poor nutrition. Under eating means not consuming enough of the healthy foods which we need to take every day. Over eating means having too many types of food items and drinks, which are high in fat and low in fiber. Consuming more sugar and salt also causes poor nutrition. Nutritional theory of aging says that, aging also causes loss of function in organs and tissues and is explained and said by different theories such as endocrine theories, nutritional intervention in the name of caloric or dietary restriction (CR/DR), free radical or reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Nutrition is varied with age and gender. Generally speaking, men need more calories and energy in a day, compared to women throughout the life. The amount of energy we need daily depends on height, age and how active we are. But, as you get loss in the muscle mass, energy levels tend to reduce with the age. This is not meant do get fewer nutrients, like fiber, vitamins, minerals, proteins, water, fat, carbohydrates, etc. It will remain roughly the same. A good example for this explanation is calcium. Usually, calcium is used for the strong bones and teeth. Some sources of calcium are yoghurt, leafy green vegetables like spinach, cheese, sesame seeds, low fat milk, kale, tinned salmon, etc.