At present, with the winter in various parts of China, respiratory diseases have entered a period of high incidence, and a variety of pathogens are superimposed, which is a big challenge for the elderly who are riddled with chronic diseases. What are some other ways older adults can help improve their ability to fight disease, in addition to vaccination?Can I boost my immunity by taking supplements or nutritional supplements?
On December 15, the 2023 Academic Annual Meeting of the Clinical Nutrition Branch of Foshan Medical Association and the New Progress in Clinical Nutrition Xi Class were held in Foshan First People's Hospital. The clinical nutrition professionals attending the meeting answered the hot questions of concern to the elderly.
What to eat to boost immunity?
Nutrition is closely related to immune function, and 100% of immune function will be affected if the nutritional status is poor. Pan Wensong, chairman of the Clinical Nutrition Branch of Foshan Medical Association and director and professor of the Clinical Nutrition Center of Foshan First People's Hospital, said in an interview with Yangcheng Evening News that nutrition is essential for repairing damaged organs and maintaining normal functions of the body.
We have observed in clinical practice that some elderly people have impaired gastrointestinal function since they were infected with the new coronavirus at the end of last year, and have not fully recovered so far, which is manifested by loss of appetite, which in turn leads to problems such as insufficient nutritional intake, decreased immunity, and easy to get sick. Pan Wensong suggested that this group of elderly people can improve their digestive function by supplementing with probiotics or traditional Chinese medicine. In addition to improving digestive function, supplementing probiotics can also adjust the intestinal microbiota, which is also closely related to immune system function.
To improve the immunity of the elderly, it is very important to eat three meals a day carefully. Professor Pan Wensong reminded that the elderly have more time than young people, and try to prepare three meals a day carefully to ensure balanced nutrition, and eat staple foods, meat (or eggs, beans), vegetables and fruits at each meal. "Cantonese people like to drink soup before meals, and it is best to drink only half a bowl of rice to avoid diluting stomach acid and affecting digestion. In addition, we have been calling for many years to eat soup residues, the soup is just delicious, and the nutrition is mainly in the soup residues. ”
What nutritional supplements help boost immunity?Pan Wensong introduced that supplementing vitamin C, trace element zinc, and deep-sea fish oil can help improve immune function. "Deep-sea fish oil should be more than 90% pure, and it is mainly based on EPA, which is more beneficial to improve immune function. ”
It is better for older people to save money than to save muscle.
Many elderly people think that 'it is difficult to buy old and thin', in fact, this is a wrong perception, for the elderly, 'saving money is not as good as saving muscle', muscle mass is also very helpful to improve the ability of the elderly to resist disease. Li Qiaoyun, deputy chief nurse of the Clinical Nutrition Center of the First People's Hospital of Foshan City, said in an interview with a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News. She explained that the elderly walk unsteadily and are prone to falling, which is related to the lack of muscles in the lower limbs to a certain extent, in addition, once the elderly are sick and need to stay in bed, the muscle mass will be rapidly reduced, which means that the muscle mass reserve should be done at ordinary times, and nutritional management should be done during the bed rest.
How to increase muscle mass in the elderly?Li Qiaoyun introduced that in addition to strengthening strength exercises, nutrition is also very important, and it is necessary to "eat enough first and then eat well", that is, to appropriately increase protein intake on the premise of ensuring adequate calorie intake. Some elderly people hear that protein powder is good, so they eat protein powder as a meal, and the main meal is not delicious, this way of eating is not enough calories, insufficient nutritional intake is not balanced, and at the same time increases the burden on the kidneys, which is very undesirable. "Some elderly people can't eat a lot of food because of bad teeth, insufficient nutritional intake, and will become thinner and thinner, and their immune function will decline. ”
Nutrition plays an important role in clinical practice.
It is understood that the 2023 Academic Annual Meeting of the Clinical Nutrition Branch of Foshan Medical Association and the New Progress in Clinical Nutrition Xi Class are held to promote the exchange and cooperation of clinical nutrition professionals and technicians in Foshan and improve the level of regional nutrition. All the members of the Clinical Nutrition Branch and the medical staff of the Clinical Nutrition Department of the medical and health units directly under the municipal government and various districts attended the meeting.
Wu Lixian, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the First People's Hospital of Foshan City, gave a keynote speech on "Nutritional Intervention for Liver Disease", Liang Jianmiao, director of the Department of Medical Oncology of the First People's Hospital of Foshan City, shared on "Comprehensive Thoracic and Abdominal Tumors and Nutritional Strategies", Tan Rongshao, Professor of the Department of Nutrition of Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, made a report on "Nutritional Intervention for Chronic Kidney Disease and Hemodialysis", Li Qiaoyun, deputy chief nurse, shared his experience on the development of medical weight management projects, and Wu Dan, deputy director of the Nutrition Department of Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, introduced traditional Chinese medicine In the role of postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery, Director Pan Wensong made a keynote report on the construction and policy support of clinical nutrition.
Text |Reporter Chen Hui.
Figure |Provided by the interviewee.