For the senior's health — Sokołów culinary workshops

The Sokołów aims to create new food trends and to promote healthy lifestyle. Its experts are devoting much attention to people with special dietary needs, so the last workshops were devoted to senior’s nutrition.

The main topics of the meeting were centred around today’s average diet of the elderly, what it should be like, and how to change it. The workshop was attended by senior citizens, bloggers and editors of the “Kukbuk” magazine. The program included group preparation of food suitable for the elderly, and thematic presentations. Laura Osęka, a psycho-dietician and nutritional educator, has presented the psychological aspects of seniors’ nutrition.

Old age brings big changes in health — including those that are in direct relationship to eating (digestive problems, loss of appetite, deterioration of the teeth, weakening of the senses of taste and smell). Often, seniors do not have enough knowledge about proper nutrition, and the decline in living standards, loneliness or inability to go shopping, all have a negative influence on their diet. Seniors’ malnutrition is a serious social problem, and their average menu is monotonous and lacking nutrients (too little complete proteins, vegetables and fruit, and too much of processed foods and refined sugar).

What are the basic principles of a well-balanced diet for the elderly? The senior citizen’s energy demand is at least 10% lower than in the case of an adult, while the demand for vitamins and minerals increases. Typically, the diet of a senior person should consist of 60% carbohydrates, 20% protein and 20% fat. The senior should consume lean meat, fatty fish, good quality grain products, dairy, nuts and grains, fruits, and plenty of water. The proper diet of the elderly person is a responsibility of the younger generation — children and grandchildren. How to do it? It’s good to eat together with seniors as often as possible, to eat the same things (seasoned differently), to prepare interesting, colourful meals and to help in choosing inexpensive but healthy products. You can find many ideas for tasty, simple and affordable meals for seniors at www.smakidobregozycia.pl.

Protein is a very important part of the senior's diet and a good quality meat is its significant source. One of the recommended products is pork — revealed Łukasz Konik (Sokołów-affiliated chef, chief cook at the Konstancin-Zdrój Spa) during the workshop. It contains little fat (15% less than 20 years ago) and little cholesterol, but has saturated fats, valuable elements, and vitamins. The workshop participants could learn how to prepare attractive and healthy meals for the seniors during a cooking session with two chefs: Łukasz Konik and Dominik Moskalenko.

You can see the films from the workshops here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaxGplyCanU&feature=youtu.be