Health Topic

Nutrition for Older Adults

Studies show that a good diet in your later years reduces risk of osteoporosis, high blood pressure, heart diseases, and certain cancers. Read more.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Nutrition for Older Adults

Nutrition is about eating a healthy and balanced diet so your body gets the nutrients that it needs. Nutrients are substances in foods that our bodies need so they can function and grow. They include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Good nutrition is important, no matter what your age. It gives you energy and can help you control your weight. It may also help prevent some diseases, such as osteoporosis, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.

But as you age, your body and life change, and so does what you need to stay healthy. For example, you may need fewer calories, but you still need to get enough nutrients. Some older adults need more protein.

Some changes that can happen as you age can make it harder for you to eat healthy. These include changes in your:

  • Home life, such as suddenly living alone or having trouble getting around
  • Health, which can make it harder for you to cook or feed yourself
  • Medicines, which can change how food tastes, make your mouth dry, or take away your appetite
  • Income, which means that you may not have as much money for food
  • Sense of smell and taste
  • Problems chewing or swallowing your food

To stay healthy as you age, you should:

  • Eat foods that give you lots of nutrients without a lot of extra calories, such as Fruits and vegetables (choose different types with bright colors)
  • Whole grains, like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and brown rice
  • Fat-free or low-fat milk and cheese, or soy or rice milk that has added vitamin D and calcium
  • Seafood, lean meats, poultry, and eggs
  • Beans, nuts, and seeds

Sometimes health issues or other problems can make it hard to eat healthy. Here are some tips that might help:

  • If you are tired of eating alone, try organizing some potluck meals or cooking with a friend. You can also look into having some meals at a nearby senior center, community center, or religious facility.
  • If you are having trouble chewing, see your dentist to check for problems
  • If you are having trouble swallowing, try drinking plenty of liquids with your meal. If that does not help, check with your health care provider. A health condition or medicine could be causing the problem.
  • If you're having trouble smelling and tasting your food, try adding color and texture to make your food more interesting
  • If you aren't eating enough, add some healthy snacks throughout the day to help you get more nutrients and calories
  • If an illness is making it harder for you to cook or feed yourself, check with your health care provider. He or she may recommend an occupational therapist, who can help you find ways to make it easier.

It sits within Older Adults and Food and Nutrition.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute on Aging.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Nutrition for Older Adults

159 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Related Issues

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Nutrition Disorders. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Nutrition for Older Adults, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.