Recap: How to adapt your diet for later life | Dr Federica Amati

0:00Hello, and welcome to Zoe Recap, where each week we find the best bits from one of our podcast episodes to help you improve your health. Today we're discussing food for the future. A lot of things change as we age. Our dress sense, our taste in music, and importantly, our body. The truth is your body is not the same as it was 20 or even 10 years ago. So why should your diet be the same? Dr. Federica Amati is here to explain why our nutrition needs change as we enter later life and how we can adjust our diet to support this.

0:38we need to be aware that our bodies change throughout our lives we are not static beings we evolve every year we become someone new in terms of physiology and metabolism a lot of the people i've worked with one-on-one jonathan come to me and they say i've always eaten this way it's always served me and now suddenly it doesn't and what i would love for people to embrace and understand is that we're supposed to change and changing is part of the privilege of aging So if we're lucky enough to live a long life, then we should expect that our bodies and our physiology and our needs change with that.

1:13Federica, is there anything specifically that you're talking about then as we go into later life that is different about the dietary advice from what you've been talking about in these earlier stages? Yes, there is. So as we get older, there's a few things that happen and it means that we become slightly less efficient at absorbing nutrients and also utilizing them. So this is really talking 65 plus, but also in this midlife period, it becomes really important to go back to these principles of having a high nutrient diet, but also making sure that we're not over consuming energy dense foods because our metabolism and our lifestyles often don't allow for that.

1:56So our metabolic flexibility, which is what we were talking about earlier, how our body clocks have become a little bit less like punchy. So when we're really young, you know, our insulin increase in the morning is really marked. When you look at the 20-year-old, their insulin in the morning goes right up, ready to have the breakfast and make the most of it. That really starts to like flatten as we get older. So your ability to cope with the cake or whatever is just much lower. Is that what you're saying? And so we have to be aware of that and feed our bodies food that is a bit kinder to the metabolism.

2:29And also because our metabolism is changing, we are become less efficient at absorbing and putting nutrients in the right place at the right time. So the biggest concern in people over sort of 70, 65, 70 years, their appetite tends to be reduced. And actually this is when thirst starts to be a little bit less efficient. So people worry like in their 20s about making sure they get enough water, but really that's not an issue. we don't need to be carrying like 20 liter jugs of water with us at that age our thirst response is really good when we're younger we get thirsty we drink as we get older that's less efficient so the risk of dehydration starts creeping up and what's really crucial here is that if you're in your 70s and you live alone and perhaps you have a bit of arthritis on the hands or perhaps you don't have all of your own teeth it is much easier to eat very soft easy to eat easy to handle ultra-processed foods.

3:21And ultra-processed foods, aside from being low in nutrients, are also incredibly dry. It's one of the ways that they have such a long shelf life. So whereas it's great for us to get some water from our food, from fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, soups and stews, they're all quite naturally hydrating foods. If when we're older, we start reverting to cake bars and biscuits, mostly because they're just easy to eat, then we also lose the opportunity to hydrate through our food. And I'm guessing they're also just not good for you. Not enough nutrients, yeah. But also the ultra processed food itself is likely to be having negative impact.

3:59There is no positives to them, yeah. So with older people, if they become malnourished, if they become dehydrated, it is a much worse picture. So it's a much more severe effect. So, you know, an elderly person who's dehydrated could easily fall over and fracture their hip, for example. that's something we really want to avoid so making sure that we nourish the older people in our lives or if there's somebody listening to this and maybe they're 70 and they're approaching their 70s i have clients who are in their 70s embracing nutrient-dense foods making like these really delicious soups and stews with beans and lentils and whole grains and making the most of these foods that we know are brilliant at nourishing us and they are naturally hydrating and they naturally help with decreasing the risk of constipation, which is a huge problem later in life, then, you know, we can really help someone's quality of life and we can add extra life years.

4:54And is there anything, because I think a lot of people listening to this will be saying, hey, I've already made a big shift to my diet. Maybe they're Zoe members, maybe they're not, but they've been listening to this podcast for a long time and they've been making a lot of changes. is there anything around the diet itself that for the average person in, let's say, their 70s or 80s listening to this is different from this average advice you were giving to somebody who was 40? Yeah, so it's really focusing on foods and on meals that are really complete because of this reduced appetite. So every meal opportunity needs to be really nutrient dense.

5:34And that's why I talk about these stews and these soups and making things like lentil shepherd's pie because a you can batch cook and freeze in portions so making it easier for the older person to have the meals ready to go and b they are nutrient packed and they are also a little bit hydrating those two things are really important as we get older and i think there has to be a bit more of a focus as well on fiber rich i mean fiber rich foods are focused throughout our lives but i can tell you that one of the things that I find really amazing is the difference that not being constipated can make to an older person because older people tend to be less mobile and the less mobility or reduced mobility with ultra processed food consumption which is devoid of fiber plus dehydration is the perfect storm for quite severe constipation and it's not something you want to be dealing with for like days on end.

6:34So I really, yeah, looking after your gut. We have like a natural aging of the gut as well. So it needs a bit more love. And just really making sure that we provide opportunity for these very nourishing, hydrating foods that are high in fiber. And Federica, we had a lot of questions about protein. Yeah. Do you have any change in the advice around protein? So I think, as I mentioned, we're less efficient at absorbing protein. and typically we become more insulin resistant. And insulin is this hormone which is really important for the uptake of all nutrients into cells. So if we become more insulin resistant, we also have more difficulty absorbing amino acids into tissues, which is why there's a recommendation for more protein for older adults because they're just a bit less good at absorbing it.

7:24Now, what I will say is this increase is minimal. So we're talking about from 0.83 grams per kilogram of body weight as recommended by all of the global public health authorities, it's like maybe up to one gram per kilogram. And actually, working that out in your head is really hard, and I don't recommend anyone tries to track it. It's more about having that awareness piece, and it's kind of what I just said about really nutrient-dense meals. So make sure that every meal opportunity for the older person in your life, if that's you, has a really good source of plant protein in it, or perhaps it's eggs every now and then, or perhaps it's oily fish.

8:02But really make every meal opportunity an opportunity to get some high quality food, which will no doubt have the amino acids you need. So it is real. You do need to increase your protein intake as you get older, because you're not absorbing as much. but it doesn't mean that you need to be paranoid about making sure that you're eating sort of red meat every day. No, no. Yeah. And I think what's really important, Jonathan, I think people often overlook the importance of, yes, we need to eat protein, but we also need to move. Because actually, if you're trying to maintain muscle mass or create new muscle tissue, the biggest driving factor for that is using your muscles and giving them something to do.

8:43So just eating the protein isn't going to help by itself. If you're eating enough food, if you're eating enough whole foods, nutrient-dense foods, you will be getting a variety of amino acids and enough protein. I'll leave you with one final thought. What if there was one simple habit that, when repeated, could change how you feel for the better? I'd like to tell you about something that I do daily for my own health. It's called Daily30, the gut supplement developed by our scientists here at Zoe. Daily 30 is made of over 30 hand-picked plants, including seaweed, fungi, and different types of fiber.

9:21It's a source of plant protein, omega-3, and vital minerals. You simply add a scoop to any meal once a day to support your health and increase the plant diversity in your diet. And unlike synthetic supplements, Daily 30 actually tastes great. It's designed to be enjoyed, because when a habit brings you joy, you're far more likely to stick with it. So next time you feel like your plate is missing extra plants, do yourself a favor, try Daily 30. It's a delicious and healthy habit that you'll feel good about and one that your gut will definitely thank you for. By the way, whenever we talk about Daily 30 as a good source of fiber, we're required to say that it contains four grams of total fat per serving.

10:02Obviously, that's all amazing healthy fats from plants. So, order yours today at zoe.com slash Daily 30. See you next time. Bye.