Eating Choices Affecting Aging Well with PPS

Eating Choices Affecting Aging Well with PPS
By Carol Prellberg

What you eat can help determine if you will be "aging well with PPS". This was the message from Beth Young, MS, RD, as she explained the importance of good nutrition at the PNNJ annual conference on the late effects of polio. Ms. Young is a registered dietician and nutrition consultant and is president of Princeton health systems, Inc. She explained that several symptoms of PPS, including fatigue, muscle weakness, and sleeping and swallowing problems, are related to nutrition and may be minimized with proper diet.
Ms. Young began by identifying the basics of a healthy balanced diet, giving information about carbohydrates found in milk, vegetables, fruit, and strarches are the primary source of energy and should compose about 50% of the daily calorie intake. She added that the fiber found in many of these foods is very important and that a good diet includes about 25 grams of fiber per day. She cautioned, though, that foods containing refined sugars, such as candy, baked goods, soft drinks, and alcohol provide no nutritional value and should be limited.

Proteins may help muscle weakness of PPS

Proteins, Ms. Young explained, are the buiding blocks for tissues and cells and may help with the muscle weakness of PPS. She reccommended that 15-20% of the calories in a healthy diet should come from proteins found in meat, dairy products, nuts, and beans, but cautioned against consuming too much protein, which can sap calcium from the body. She added that amino acid supplements do not get absorbed well so are not a good substitute for real food.

Ms. Young explained that fats, especially polyunsaturated fats found in plant sources, are important to polio survivors because they help cushion organs and the spinal cord, provide energy, and help with the endocrine function. She said that fats should make up about 25% of our daily calorie intake per day (or 56 grams of fat in a 2000 calorie diet), but that saturated and partially hydrogenated fats should be avoided because they are harmful to the circulatory system.

Weight Management

Weight management, Ms. Young explained, starts with determining a goal weight based on height and frame size, and establishing an appropriate calorie range (gola weight X 11 for a person with little exercise who is trying to lose weight). She added, though, that it is important to be realistic about what really works for each individual's lifestyle for the long run. She said that planning and journaling food intake, eating frequently (5-6 times a day), balanced meals, exercise, and drinking fluids (8 glasses of non-caffeine beverages) are the key to weight management. Food choices should always be as close to natural as possible, and should be varied with lots of "color".

In closing, Ms. Young explained that the measurement of success from good nutrition is that, even if your weight does not change, your health will improve.
For more information about good nutrition, go to the American Diabetes Association at http://www.eatright.org/

Breakfast Video!
http://eatright.org/About/VIdeos.aspx

Credit: The Polio Network of New Jersey Newsletter
Winter 2010 Vol 19 No. 2 issue