Show Older Persons Must Keep Careful Guard Over Diet By y DR MORRIS 1 FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical l Association and amI of Hygeia the Health Magazine l Older people must be careful not to overeat Persons over 55 years years of age in m fact should eat and drink a little less every year Moreover they must choose food that is easily digestible and does not disagree with them All All' foods likely to cause indigestion such as rich and highly spiced dishes should be e avoided Since the teeth in old age ago are not what they were in younger younger days the food eaten caten should be howell well sieved or strained There are arc two periods of life In which the stomach and intestines do better with thin and soft foods foods first first and second I childhood Burden Bur en on Heart Older people should consider whether they do better with five small meals me-als a day than with three c larger ones Large amounts of food and particularly the wrong kinds of food may put a burden on the heart Many people with weakened circulation of ot the blood have havo circulatory circulatory circulatory accidents immediately after eating a large largo meal Old people suffer too from disturbances disturbances dis dEs of digestion because of the changes that have taken place in their body secretions And th they y have difficulty in keeping infection away from their teeth The principal meal of the elderly person should be taken the middle of the day and may include soup a small portion of meat chicken chick chIck- en or fish two well sieved or broken little up green vegetables and a stewed fruit with a small amount of tea coffee or milk according to individual preference As the older person tends to be overweight he should avoid excessIve excessive excessive sive amounts of ot sugars sugars and starches He should sidestep cereals potatoes potatoes potatoes pota pota- toes macaroni macaroni and spaghetti except in small quantities An excessive intake of ot water In Incidentally in- in throws an unnecessary extra strain on the tho heart Mineral Oil on Helps The bowels in old age are not as active as they were when the person person person per per- son was younger In many Instances Instances in instances In- In stances aged persons escape constipation con con- by using mineral oil This serves the purpose purpose of softening the nutritional mass and making elImination elimination climE climE- nation easy Mineral oil Is practically harmless harmless harmless harm harm- less and adds years of health to many older people And though as mentioned pre pie teeth grow less efficient with age modern dentistry has made it possible for old people to chew steaks or vegetables with considerable considerable considerable con con- fibrous content For this reason many an older person person will try to handle foods with which the rest of his body may have culty Thereafter he may resort to laxatives laxatives laxa laxa- tives or cathartics to rid himself of accumulations of ot foods which he never should have havo eaten |