In the United States, the fastest growing sector of the population is the 65-and-over age group, currently numbering about 28 million. Students of demographics project that by the year 2050 one out of every eight of us will be 75 years and older. We all experience the effects of age on our bodies and can see its visible mark, but what does time do to the gut?
While age does make a difference, on the whole, the structure and workings of the organs of the digestive system are relatively spared many of the dramatic effects of age, unlike the central nervous system and the cardiovascular organs.
Does the Passage of Time Influence the Functioning of the Gastrointestinal Tract?
The short answer to this question is yes, but to a very limited extent.
Let us run through the entire tract. The mouth, the taste buds of the tongue, tend to decline in number as well as in their sharpness of function. The salivary glands may atrophy a bit with aging and thus lose their ability to moisten our food, and may diminish our pleasure in tasting our meals. Swallowing does not become disturbed with age, but the swallowing mechanism can be upset by the illnesses of age: stroke, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and the medicines used to treat parkinsonism.
The stomach makes less acid, both when resting and when stimulated by our meals, but I don’t think this causes much trouble. Yet the diminution in acids may lead to less antisepsis and sterilization of the upper gut leading to bacterial overgrowth. This may on occasion lead to diarrhea. The pancreas suffers no effects from aging. As we grow older, both men and women develop gallstones equally. And removal of these gallstones may lead to diarrhea, which is somehow related to the bile salts and a condition called bile salt catharsis in which bile in the colon then causes diarrhea.
Overall, our intestines will function less effectively than they did in our youth and adulthood, failing to absorb some substances, such as vitamins B1, B12, D, A, and its precursor substance beta-carotene, as well as folic acid (the vitamin needed to build red blood cells and hemoglobin). Functioning of the colon often slows down, and constipation becomes a constant complaint, most often due to decreased fiber intake and total bodily inaction.
Many of us also lose weight despite a good appetite, a good diet, and the absence of any obvious diseases of the intestine or other parts of the body. Part of this is because the intestine does not function as effectively as it did in earlier years, and we consequently absorb less of our intestinal contents. In addition to the vitamins which may no longer be absorbed as well, fats, too, may fail to be absorbed, and there are hints that the sugars of a carbohydrate breakfast may be incompletely absorbed.
In view of the current intense interest in calcium because of its role in preventing osteoporosis in women and its possible role in lowering high blood pressure and even in protecting against colonic cancer you should know it does seem reasonably certain that calcium absorption declines with age. The reasons for this are complex and include the failure of intestinal cells to function optimally, and the problems of diminished vitamin D absorption which helps absorption of calcium. By contrast, iron seems to be absorbed reasonably well, in the older age groups, as are most drugs.
‘ The causes of these variations with age are not clearly known. The aging liver makes normal amounts of bile, and the aging pancreas in its protected interior of the body makes adequate amounts of the enzymes needed for fat and protein digestion, so they do not help explain the decreased efficiency of the aging gut. Instead, it is reasonable to believe that the cells of the intestine which absorb digested materials either are sparser as we age or do not function as effectively as they did earlier in life. It seems unlikely that the blood flow to the intestine is at fault, as some have claimed.
Changes in the colonic bacteria may also interfere with intestinal absorption as we age. These organisms may migrate upstream into the small bowel, causing so-called bacterial overgrowth, and share the host’s diet and impair normal absorption which results in diarrhea. Sometimes this symptom may result from the low acidity of the older stomach (acid normally acts as an antiseptic sterilizing agent) or disturbances in the “housekeeping” waves of motion, which normally sweep through the small intestine but now fail to sweep this bacterial overgrowth out of the aging upper bowel.
Some older individuals who are malnourished and have diarrhea may have bacterial overgrowth without any apparent cause. Antibiotics may be a great help to these people but result in antibiotic-associated diarrhea in turn.
The Aging Colon:
People often experience an increased difficulty in moving their bowels with age. A gradual decrease in the amount of stool passed becomes apparent around age 65. Some of this may be due to loss of teeth and the choice of a softer, less fibrous diet; diminished food intake (because it is boring to eat alone after the death of a spouse); and changes in the intestine’s muscular activity in the very old, as well as diminished general muscular activity. This constipation may also be the result of neurological degeneration, or the cumulative effect of years of taking laxatives that were effective before, as well as the effects of parkinsonism or the drugs used to treat parkinsonis.
General Aspects of Nutrition in the Older Age Groups:
There is no evidence that any food or supplements (vitamins) can retard the aging process of the gastrointestinal tract. But it is important that we continue to eat a healthy diet and do not develop any serious deficiencies because we are eating less of our usual diet. The intake of calcium and iron-containing foods must be carefully continued.
• There is no evidence that the aging gut needs a special diet of bland foods. If anything, quite the contrary. Since your taste buds and salivary glands aren’t behaving as they once did, you may want to use your kitchen spices a bit more liberally. And you will want to make certain that grain and fiber are still a part of every meal.
If we wish to prevent or correct the constipation that seems to accompany the aging process, low-impact exercise, such as walking briskly, will also tone up all our muscles, including abdominal and intestinal muscles needed for bowel evacuation. Whatever program of diet and general lifestyle has kept you well until the category of old age, whether the “young” old of 65 to 80, or the “old” old of 80 and above, stick with it. Do not fall into the trap of food fads.
If your teeth are giving you trouble, then correct your teeth. Don’t skip meals because it is boring to prepare them or because you don’t enjoy eating them. Your gut needs fiber in adequate amounts to prevent constipation and to maintain your health. Aging is not a sickness!
Specific Nutrition in the Aged:
Recent studies have indicated that perhaps 70 percent of the population 70 years and older do have some degree of difficulty absorbing some substances of their dietary intake and the possible effects of this are under study. This problem of absorption is not the result of heart disease or blood flow through the intestines.
As a result, many older persons should take supplements with certain minerals and vitamins. Folic acid, or folate, is one of the substances that older people lack; it is found in green leafy vegetables, liver, wheat germ, dried peas, and beans. Vitamin B6 is also deficient in some older individuals and can be obtained from whole wheat bread, cereal, liver, avocados, spinach, green beans, bananas, and fish.
A considerable fuss has been made over vitamin B12 deficiency which, it is suggested, causes memory loss, disorientation, balance and coordination problems. These symptoms may result from a condition known as atrophic gastritis that commonly occurs in 60- to 80-year olds. In this condition, the stomach’s secretions diminish, and this may explain the inability to absorb vitamin B12 from foods. Folic acid and B12 can be absorbed in tablet form and are contained in most multivitamins.
Problems with calcium can contribute to osteoporosis, with the loss of bone and minerals, and may lead to fractures. A number of factors are believed to play a contributing role: high-protein diets, smoking, or sedentary lifestyle, coupled with a low intake of calcium in the diet, which is presumed to be the most important factor. The typical American woman appears to take only about half of the recommended daily amount of calcium, which is currently 1500 milligrams. The most popular calcium supplement, calcium carbonate, present in Tums, is not well absorbed.
The best sources are dairy foods like milk and yogurt. Be sure to look for the low-fat and nonfat forms. Foods rich in calcium include collard greens, peas, broccoli, canned salmon, and sardines because of the small bones. But the proper absorption of calcium is dependent on vitamin D which is often under consumed. Milk is fortified with vitamin D, and fatty fish like mackerel, salmon, and sardines are rich sources as well.
These include vitamins C and E, as well as beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A. Diets rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene seem to protect people against heart attacks, lower the blood pressure, and lower the incidence of several cancers, Although the complete story is not available, the apparent safety of large doses of vitamin E has prompted many experts to recommend daily supplements in the range of 200 to 400 International Units (IUs), especially after the age of 50. It is not possible to consume enough vitamin E from our foods without adding a great deal of fat. There is less agreement about vitamin C because mega doses cause problems like diarrhea and kidney stones and may interfere with the absorption of vitamin B12, There is no agreement on beta-carotene as a supplement.
So my advice is simple: eat plenty of food rich, in carotenoids carrots, dark green vegetables like spinach and broccoli, cantaloupe, and sweet potatoes.
As usual, feel free to email this link to your friends and family or Share it on your blogs, forums, or Facebook pages to help your friends live healthier.
If you enjoyed this article hit “Like” on the Facebook button up top!
A lot of useful information on aging and diet! Thanks for sharing!