Making smart dietary decisions is more important as you get older, because you’re at risk of falling short on certain key nutrients. “Adequate nutrient intake in older age, especially for women, is important for maintaining health, independence, and quality of life,” says Rachel Lustgarten, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Weill Cornell Medicine. Pay particular attention to these six nutrients.
1. Calcium. “Calcium is essential for lowering blood pressure, preventing osteoporosis, and lowering cholesterol values,” says Lustgarten. “Adequate calcium intake is essential for the preservation of bone mineral density.” Experts advise getting most of your daily calcium needs from dietary sources, including fortified foods, and spreading intake throughout the day for maximum absorption. Lustgarten adds, “Good food sources of calcium include hard cheese, milk, yogurt, fortified cereals, nuts, seeds, and vegetables such as kale, broccoli, and watercress,” Lustgarten says.
2. Protein. Protein is essential for almost everything your body does, including building, maintaining, and repairing bones, muscles, blood, and skin. It helps make enzymes, hormones, antibodies, and neurotransmitters, and prevents fluid retention. Consume 0.37 grams of protein per pound of body weight (e.g., 56 grams for a 150-pound person). You’ll find protein in poultry, fish, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and soy foods. Limit red and processed meats.
3. Vitamin D. Vitamin D promotes the absorption of calcium. “It has been shown to be preventative against several bone diseases, which is important for older women,” Lustgarten explains. Vitamin D also plays a role in immune function, brain health, insulin regulation, muscle strength, and many other vital processes.
Your skin makes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, but this ability declines with age, and older people often spend less time in the sun. “Vitamin D is found naturally in very few foods,” Lustgarten says. “Fatty fish and fish oil are good sources. Vitamin D is found in smaller amounts in beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks, and is added to dairy milk, alternative milks, orange juice, and breakfast cereal.”
4. Fiber. Most Americans don’t get enough fiber in their diets. The Daily Value is 28 grams, but women average 15 to 16 grams a day. Says Lustgarten, “Fiber is beneficial for lowering cholesterol levels, helping to control blood sugar levels, keeping bowel movements regular, and aiding in weight loss by increasing the feeling of fullness. We find fiber easily in whole foods such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and beans.” (When you increase your fiber intake, also increase your fluid intake; water helps keep waste moving through your intestines.)
5. Vitamin B12. Your body needs vitamin B12 for proper blood cell formation, neurological function, DNA synthesis, and other tasks. That requirement doesn’t change with age, but your body’s ability to extract this vitamin from foods might decline.
“Bodies absorb a decreased amount of vitamin B12 as we age, and some medications can interfere with absorption as well, so it’s important for women to focus on this essential nutrient, found naturally only in animal products,” Lustgarten explains. “B12 is found in poultry, fish, and eggs, as well as in fortified products such as breakfast cereal and supplements.”
6. Zinc. According to Lustgarten, “Zinc deficiency affects the aging process and the development of age-related chronic illnesses such as atherosclerosis and increased inflammation.” Research studies have suggested that getting adequate zinc may help strengthen older adults’ immune systems, increasing the function and numbers of T-cells—white blood cells that target and destroy invading pathogens, such as bacteria. Zinc can be found in whole grains, milk products, oysters, poultry, baked beans, chickpeas, and nuts, Lustgarten says.
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