Elderly people lose the sensation of thirst or may limit their fluid intake in order to minimize trips to the toilets as a result of mobility problems.

This can lead to insufficient fluid intake and hence dehydration, which unfortunately is associated with irritability, headaches and constipation etc.

Six to eight glasses of fluids, ranging from water, juice and milk are recommended per day. It is good to consume milk as a great way to increase fluid intake and at the same time providing range of beneficial nutrients.

This can be helpful, especially to the elderly who find it difficult to eat enough food to meet their nutritional requirements. So what to eat in your late years: Calcium, during old age, the bones are brittle and prone to fractures. So an old person should take foods that are rich in calcium (such as milk, yoghurt, fish and fruits) in order to strengthen his or her bones. This is because until the age of 30-35 the human body stores calcium in the bones. However after that age bracket when the body tries to remodel bones, its only source of calcium is ingested calcium. Therefore when one doesn’t eat enough calcium during old age, the body has nothing to use.

Also not that calcium deficiency leads to osteoporosis, increasing the risk of fractures e.g. in the hips, spine, wrist and pelvis. Its also recommended to add vitamin D to the calcium foods because vitamin D helps the calcium to become more easily absorbed in the blood stream and bones.

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