Healthy eating for older adults Archive

News briefs

Three newly approved medications are garnering national attention. The first is an oral form of a powerful opioid painkiller that's been available by injection since 1984. Dsuvia is the sublingual (under the tongue) version of sufentanil, and it was approved by the FDA in November 2018. Dsuvia is 1,000 times more potent than morphine. The FDA says it may be helpful for use on the battlefield or in hospitals. Critics worry the drug will wind up on the streets, furthering the country's opioid crisis. Another medication of note is the first prescription drug made from marijuana. The FDA approved cannabidiol (Epidiolex) in June 2018 for the treatment of seizures associated with rare forms of epilepsy. The medication is made from a component of marijuana that does not cause intoxication or euphoria. And finally, baloxavir marboxil (Xofluza), the first new antiviral in 20 years to help fight the flu, received FDA clearance in October 2018. The drug is a one-dose pill that may help shorten the duration of the flu if it's taken within 48 hours of the start of symptoms. One caution: the new antiviral has not yet been tested in older adults, so talk to your doctor if the drug is prescribed and you have concerns.

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Olive oil is just one of many plant-based oils rich in unsaturated fats, the more healthful type of fat.

When you're cooking or baking, choose a fat that's liquid instead of solid at room temperature. That advice, from the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, is based on a large body of evidence showing that replacing solid fat (mainly saturated fat) with liquid fat (mostly unsaturated fat) is linked to a lower risk of heart attack and death from heart disease.

To be clear, all fat — whether it comes from seeds, nuts, meat, milk, olives, or avocados — contains a mixture of different fatty acids, the basic building blocks of fats. However, butter, lard, coconut oil, and palm oil contain mostly saturated fatty acids. Most plant-based oils, on the other hand, consist predominantly of unsaturated fatty acids, which include both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (see "The fats of life: Healthy oils").

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All beans are rich in fiber, but the top-ranking variety is the navy bean, allegedly named for its popularity in the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century. These pea-sized, cream-colored beans provide 10 grams of fiber per half-cup serving. Most Americans are woefully deficient in dietary fiber, which helps lower harmful LDL cholesterol and is linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

Navy beans are just one of many varieties of white beans, which include cannellini, great northern, and white kidney beans. Cook's Illustrated magazine describes cannellini beans as having a "meaty, lush texture with a buttery, subtle mushroomlike flavor" whereas great northerns are "slightly chalky and mealy, with strong mineral notes." Lima and baby lima beans (also known as butter beans) are also considered white beans.

Research we're watching

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A vegan diet may help lower heart-damaging inflammation more than the diet recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA), a new study finds.

The study included 100 people with heart disease, which was defined as having at least one narrowed heart artery. Half were randomly selected to follow a vegan diet, which excludes meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, seafood, and fish. The others followed the AHA diet, which encourages lean poultry, fish, and low-fat dairy products, along with plant-based foods. All of the participants received weekly groceries, a cookbook, and sample menus. They also provided 24-hour diet recall records twice a week on random days.

People often become more sensitive to noise as they age, which can affect their mental and physical health.

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Are you more sensitive to noises than you used to be? Do certain sounds now feel too loud and jarring? Don't worry; it's actually quite normal.

Age-related hearing loss is common among older adults and affects about two-thirds of men in their 70s and 85% of men ages 80 and older. Although it's not clear why, this can also make people hypersensitive to sounds that they used to tolerate easily, which in turn can affect their well-being.

Here is why squats may be the most important exercise you do.

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More than half of an average person's day is spent sitting — from watching television to working at a computer — and that time tends to increase as you age and become less active.

All that sitting can have a profound impact on one's health, too. In fact, a study in the Oct. 3, 2017, Annals of Internal Medicine, involving almost 8,000 adults ages 45 and older, found a direct relationship between time spent sitting and a higher risk of early death.

In the journals

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For the first time in 10 years, the U.S. government has updated its guidelines for regular physical activity. The guidelines, published in the Nov. 20, 2018, issue of JAMA, still suggest adults get at least 150 to 300 minutes each week of moderate-intensity physical activity, and the more you can do, the better. Examples of moderate-intensity activities include brisk walking, swimming and cycling.

What is new are specific suggestions for certain age groups. For adults ages 65 and older, the report recommends their allotted minutes include multicomponent activities that offer balance training, aerobic exercise, and muscle strengthening, all of which can help older adults reduce their risk of falls. They noted that many recreational activities like dancing, yoga, tai chi, gardening, or sports often incorporate the multiple types of activity you need.

In the journals

Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplements have had mixed results when it comes to preventing heart attacks, strokes, and cancer in people who have already developed these problems or are at high risk for them. Yet a new study published online Nov. 10, 2018, by The New England Journal of Medicine found they may actually prevent these conditions among people who have never had these problems before.

Researchers recruited almost 26,000 people, ages 50 and older, who had no history of heart disease or cancer. The participants were divided into four groups. People in one group were given daily doses of 2,000 international units of vitamin D (an amount found to be linked to lower disease risk in observational studies) and 1 gram of a drug called Lovaza, which contained 840 milligrams of omega-3s (two to four times the amount in two servings of fish per week). The second group took vitamin D and a placebo, the third group took the omega-3s and a placebo, and the final group took two placebos. After more than five years, the researchers found that those given omega-3s were 28% less likely to suffer a heart attack compared with those given a placebo. Those who ate fewer servings of fish (less than the average of 1.5 servings per week) appeared to have a greater benefit from the additional omega-3s while those with higher fish intake had minimal benefit.