Eating well as you age

Expert recommends these seven nutrition tips for older adults

Mark A. Mahoney
Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat

Healthy eating is recommended throughout life but, as we age, certain factors can affect our nutrient needs. Choosing a variety of foods from all of the food groups — vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy and protein foods — will help you build a healthy eating routine.

Eating better may assist us in our overall health and lead to a better quality of life by fostering a healthier lifestyle. Here are some tips:

1 Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables

Eat a variety of different colored vegetables, including ones that are dark green, red and orange. Beans, peas and lentils also are good choices. Fresh, frozen and canned vegetables all can be healthful options.

Look for “reduced sodium” or “no-saltadded” on product labels. Add fruit to meals, snacks or as dessert. Choose fruits that are dried, frozen or canned in water or 100% juice, as well as fresh fruits.

2 Make at least half of your grains whole

Choose breads, cereals, crackers and noodles made with 100% whole grains. Whole grain corn tortillas, brown rice, bulgur, millet, amaranth and oats all count as whole grains, too. Also, look for fiberrich cereals to help stay regular and cereals that are fortified with vitamin B12, which is a nutrient that decreases in absorption as we age or due to some medications.

3 Switch to fat-free or lowfat milk, yogurt and cheese

Older adults need more calcium and vitamin D to help keep bones healthy. Include three servings of fat-free or lowfat milk, yogurt or cheese each day. If you are lactose intolerant, try lactose-free milk or a calcium-fortified soy beverage.

4 Vary your protein choices

Eat a variety of foods from the protein food group each week. In addition to lean meat, poultry and eggs, choose seafood, nuts, beans, peas and lentils when planning your meals.

Spread your protein intake throughout the day by including a source with meals and snacks. Protein foods derived from animal sources also provide vitamin B12, and certain plant-based foods may be fortified. If you’re at risk for low levels of vitamin B12, your doctor also may recommend a supplement.

5 Limit sodium, saturated fat and added sugars

Look out for salt, or sodium, in foods you eat. Compare sodium in the foods you buy and choose those with lower amounts. Add spices or herbs to season food without adding salt. Switch from solid fats to oils when preparing foods.

Make major sources of saturated fats occasional choices, not everyday foods. Examples of these include desserts, fried foods, pizza and processed meats like sausages and hot dogs. Select fruit for dessert more often in place of treats with added sugars.

6 Stay well-hydrated

Drink plenty of water throughout the day to help prevent dehydration and promote good digestion. Other beverages that can help meet fluid needs include unsweetened beverages, like low-fat and fat-free milk, fortified soy beverages and 100% fruit juices. Choose these more often in place of sugary drinks.

7 Be mindful of portion sizes

Most older adults need fewer calories than in younger years. Read and become knowledgeable about serving sizes and other information on the Nutrition Fact Labels on products you purchase. Avoid oversized portions. Try using smaller plates, bowls and glasses.

More considerations

• Cook more often at home, where you are in control of what’s in your food.
• When ordering out, look for dishes that include vegetables, fruits and whole grains, along with a lean protein food. When portions are large, share a meal or save half for later.
• Consider consulting a registered dietitian/nutritionist if you have special dietary needs or would like assistance with other dietary concerns.

Mark A. Mahoney, Ph.D., has been a registered dietitian/nutritionist for more 35 years and completed graduate studies in nutrition and public health at Columbia University.

Cut to federal survey makes assessing hunger harder

Leah Douglas
Reuters

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s cancellation last year of a government food security survey could make it difficult to assess whether his cuts to the food stamp program lead to a rise in U.S. hunger, especially among children.

Trump’s tax and spending law signed last July shifted significant Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending to states and expanded work requirements, among other changes.

Since then, 4.7 million people, about 11% of participants, have lost SNAP benefits, or food stamps, with that figure expected to rise as states continue implementing the changes.

Trump, a Republican, last September canceled the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s survey, which for 30 years served as a measure of a household’s access to enough food for a healthy lifestyle.

At the time, the USDA called the survey, which officials used to inform policy and agency programs, “redundant, costly, politicized and extraneous,” in a press release.

Yet that report was the “gold standard” for understanding food access, said Craig Gundersen, an economist at Baylor University.

Without that data, experts said, understanding whether hunger will rise as a result of Trump’s changes to SNAP is much more difficult.

“It’s definitely going to be a void in information on prevalence of food insecurity,” said Michele Ver Ploeg, a senior fellow at the nonprofit National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, who previously worked at USDA’s Economic Research Service, including as chief of the agency’s food assistance branch.

A USDA spokesperson said the federal government, as well as some states, continue to collect hunger data through other surveys, and that the number of people receiving SNAP is not representative of food insecurity.

However, past USDA-backed studies have shown SNAP benefit increases reduced food insecurity among low-income households, while benefit decreases led to higher rates of food insecurity.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Between 1995 and 2025, the USDA funded the Census Bureau to administer an 18-question survey on food security as a supplement to its Current Population Survey.

The survey asked questions like whether anyone in a household had skipped meals in the prior year for lack of food and whether respondents could not afford to eat balanced meals.

Other surveys by the Urban Institute and the University of Southern California collect some data about household food security, but “the bottom line is there’s nothing quite comparable” to the USDA survey, Ver Ploeg said.

Food banks or other nonprofits may release their own survey data, but it won’t be as comprehensive or representative, said Parke Wilde, a food economist at Tufts University.

“It’s not like nobody is going to be reporting relevant statistics; it’s just that the statistics that they report won’t be as good,” Wilde said.

The final USDA survey, released last December, showed that 13.7% of households were food insecure at some point during the year, the highest figure in a decade that capped several years of rising food insecurity.

The USDA reports did not provide reasons for the increase. Other research has pointed to the end of pandemic-era food aid and inflation as major drivers.

Matthew Rabbitt, a visiting scholar at Cornell University who worked on the survey at USDA and led its final three years of publication, said policymakers have lost a tool for responding to hunger, including the impact of Trump’s SNAP cuts.

“If we don’t have measures of food insecurity at this point, we can’t make informed policy decisions,” Rabbitt said.

Child food insecurity will be particularly hard to assess, he said, as other available surveys don’t collect comparable information on children. “We’re no longer monitoring child food insecurity in the U.S.”

Maine lawmakers in March passed a law to produce an annual survey of food insecurity in the state, the first of its kind in the country.

The state previously relied on the USDA survey to benchmark its progress toward a goal of ending hunger by 2030, said Jackie Farwell, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

“The Trump Administration’s cancellation of the report means states are no longer able to measure progress against the national average and fellow states,” said Farwell by email.

Farwell said the governor’s office is working with nonprofits and national experts to produce a report on statewide hunger by early 2027.

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