Older adults often change their diets — cutting out meat and vegetables — in ways that go unnoticed by those around them. Zhibek Zholdasova, head of Almaty’s Center for the Treatment of Neuroses and Alzheimer’s Disease, explained the consequences of these nutritional deficiencies and how to spot them early.
«Keep an eye on the diets of elderly people. They may start changing what they eat on their own, removing vegetables, fruits and all types of meat from their meals. They might even try to convince everyone that bread with butter and sweets are the best things to eat,» she said, noting that such a diet also carries a risk of diabetes.
If a person stops eating meat and vegetables, they deprive their body of vitamins B12 and B9, which are naturally found in animal products, eggs, and vegetables. A deficiency can cause memory loss, anemia and low hemoglobin levels.
«You can assess the quality of someone’s diet through blood tests for these vitamins. If their diet is monotonous and poor in quality, these tests will show low levels,» the doctor explained.
Be careful with supplements
Although supplements can address vitamin deficiencies, Zholdasova said taking them without a specific medical recommendation is not advised. First, you need to measure vitamin levels in the blood to determine what you should and shouldn’t take.