We all know how easy it is to get off track when it comes to eating a healthy, well balanced diet. And it doesn’t seem to matter if you’re 25, 55, 75 or 95-years-old. There are many sayings, like ‘an apple a day will keep the doctor away’ for a reason and that’s because at any age maintaining a healthy diet is important and more often than not that includes a broad array of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Paul Mount, the new Head Chef and Director of Culinary Services at Rotary Villas at Crocus Gardens, said seniors want to look and feel healthy, but sometimes they rely on others to help them make healthy food choices.
“Those who have dietary restrictions when they are diabetic or have celiac disease are very conscious of what they are eating, but others will often put their trust in people like myself to help ensure they are getting the nutrition that they need,” said Paul.
As a result, in his position Paul said he tries as much as possible to provide food that is less processed and is free of additives. He’s conscious of the adjustments that should be made to our diets as we age and he tries to sneak in foods with the most benefits as much as he can.
“As we get older, our body doesn’t need as much protein. We need to learn to cut down on protein, but increase fibre with beans, lentils and whole grains. Fibre is very important in a diet as it helps with digestion. Without that fibre in your diet you can be very sluggish. As well, a lot of seniors will take iron in a pill form. It’s a well-known fact that most of that iron passes through your body and it isn’t absorbed. But, you can get natural iron in green vegetables like broccoli and Brussel sprouts. That iron actually gets absorbed into your body and into your cells and that’s very, very good for you,” said Paul.
So, without any doubt, the advice of mothers for generations still stands the test of time…’eat your vegetables’!