A juicy steak, a hearty stew or a tempting dessert can still be a culinary delight for senior citizens. Even though the senses of smell and taste diminish with increased aging, no one must forego good, diversified food, according to doctors and nutritionists.
"But it could be necessary to season those dishes more intensively than before, with plenty of herbs and other spices," recommends Dorothee Volkert from the Institute for Biomedicine of Aging at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
"Smelling and tasting are just like the other senses," said the scientist. "Naturally, it is completely different individually how strong the limitations are perceivable. But this is an entirely normal symptom of old age as long as it is not caused by an illness or is the side effect of a pill for example."
"The number of taste buds decreases with age. While an adult has between 4,000 and 6,000 taste buds, elderly persons have only between 2,000 and 3,000," says the German Nutrition Society (DGE) in Bonn. But that is no reason to limit the menu according to cooking experts.
"I am absolutely against special senior citizen meals," said Germany's youngster star chef Sybille Schoenberger. "What is important is that the food looks good, smells good and has good aroma. Salt alone is not enough," said Schoenberger. The elderly persons often prefer very strong-smelling cheeses ("the more stinky it is, the stronger the taste"). And that goes along with the experiences of the scientist.
"Food often tastes too unsavoury to older people. Therefore it should be accordingly spicy," said Volkert. "If everything just tastes bland, then you don't want to eat. The consequences one day could be malnutrition or under-nutrition. Loved ones definitely have to watch out for that."
If in doubt, the general practitioner should also be informed of the issue. The other extreme is also not seldom. "Many senior citizens eat too many sweets because the sense of taste apparently is more distinctive for them. The consequence is a strong, sometimes excessive weight gain," said Peter Grote of the Federal Association of Private Providers of Social Services. The causes for malfunctioning or diminished senses of smell and taste other than aging could be an illness - especially dementia - and medicines.
It also makes sense in this aspect to consult the treating doctor about the issue and check if the odd drug could be discontinued.
"In the case of a dementia, a decreasing sense of smell often arises ahead of time," said Volkert. That makes it all the more important to appeal to the senses with the nutrition. "Good things are those that have an intense smell. That starts already at breakfast with coffee and toast," said Volkert.
In general, seniors should maintain a balanced vitamin and aroma rich diet. "Diversified cooking or preparing new meals could have a positive effect on the sense of taste. That also includes a table made up with a bit of fantasy," recommended the DGE.
Comments
Comments are closed.