What to do when you have a poor appetite? Usually, people eat some sour foods to help stimulate their appetite. So, what's good to eat when you have a poor appetite? Let's take a look at these recommended foods. What to do when you have a poor appetite?
As people get older, many experience a loss of appetite, even treating eating as a chore, which affects their nutritional intake and health. This is because the digestive function weakens, and the decline of taste buds reduces the tongue's ability to perceive food flavors, leading to a loss of taste for everything and a progressively worse appetite. It is recommended that such elderly people eat some sour foods appropriately.
1. Vinegar
Vinegar can not only season food but also promote saliva secretion and stimulate appetite. Elderly people with insufficient stomach acid should add more vinegar when cooking to enhance their digestive function and appetite.
2. Yogurt
Yogurt promotes gastric acid secretion and enhances digestive function, significantly improving the digestive absorption rate of proteins, fats, calcium, phosphorus, iron, etc. It should be noted that yogurt should not be consumed directly after being taken out of the refrigerator to avoid stimulating the stomach and intestines due to being too cold.
3. Hawthorn
Hawthorn contains lipase, which helps digest meat. In addition, hawthorn can lower serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, effectively prevent atherosclerosis, and has the effects of dilating blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. Therefore, elderly people with indigestion accompanied by hyperlipidemia, hypertension, or coronary heart disease can take 15-30 grams of raw hawthorn daily, decocted in water as a tea substitute.
4. Tomatoes
According to traditional Chinese medicine, tomatoes can promote saliva secretion to quench thirst, strengthen the stomach, and aid digestion, making them suitable for the elderly with poor digestive function. The lycopene in tomatoes also has the function of anti-atherosclerosis and anti-oxidative damage. However, because tomatoes are slightly cold in nature, elderly people with a weak spleen and stomach should not eat them raw. It is recommended to eat them in soups or stir-fried.
In addition to the foods mentioned above, the elderly can also eat some sour foods such as oranges, apples, grapes, and kiwis according to their own constitution. It should be noted that although sour foods can increase appetite and promote digestion, they should be consumed reasonably based on individual needs. For example, elderly people with stomach ulcers should not consume them excessively.
Pay attention to these diseases if you have a poor appetite
If you have a poor appetite for a short period of time and are losing weight, be alert to whether you may have the following diseases.
1. Digestive diseases
Chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, decreased gastric juice secretion, and digestive system dysfunction can all cause loss of appetite. In addition to loss of appetite, symptoms such as stomach pain, a burning sensation in the stomach, or acid reflux may occur. Seeing a gastroenterologist is the first choice for further examinations, such as gastroscopy, blood biochemistry, blood routine, B-ultrasound, etc., to make a clear diagnosis and then treat the symptoms accordingly.
2. Mental illnesses
Appetite is controlled by the brain. High pressure from work and life, and poor sleep can all affect appetite. Anorexia is a type of psychological disorder. Patients with this condition excessively diet or refuse to eat due to a fear of gaining weight or low mood, leading to weight loss, malnutrition, and even refusal to maintain a minimum weight. It is a physiological disorder related to psychological factors and requires consultation with a psychiatrist.
3. Malignant tumors
Unexplained loss of appetite or progressive weight loss is one of the important symptoms of malignant tumors, and sometimes it is the first symptom of certain tumors. Moreover, most cancer patients experience this symptom when the disease is in an advanced stage. For example, primary liver cancer has an insidious and slow onset, and early symptoms are often not obvious. In addition to general digestive symptoms like loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal distension, another symptom is progressive weight loss.
In addition, a decrease in appetite is often an early symptom of hematological malignant tumors such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and malignant lymphoma. These diseases can lead to hypermetabolism in the body, with a continuous rise in body temperature, causing a large breakdown of protein and progressive weight loss in patients. In the early stages of stomach cancer, there are often no special symptoms, but progressive weight loss is very obvious, which is related to poor stomach digestion and impaired nutrient absorption.
4. Heart diseases
When heart function is insufficient, on the one hand, insufficient blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract leads to decreased digestive capacity and poor appetite; on the other hand, congestion of blood vessels in the gastrointestinal tract suppresses appetite. In addition, when there is severe heart disease, the body releases some substances that become inflammatory factors, which is also a cause of decreased appetite. For example, patients with severe coronary heart disease leading to heart failure may experience extreme weight loss due to poor appetite and consumption. Patients with pulmonary heart disease also have a significant decrease in appetite due to gastrointestinal edema, and may even experience abdominal distension. Some patients atypical myocardial infarction may have the only discomfort as a decrease in appetite.
5. Liver and gallbladder diseases
Poor liver function, such as in patients with hepatitis B, often leads to poor appetite. Pancreatic tumors have a very insidious onset, with the main symptom being unexplained loss of appetite and weight loss. These diseases require examinations such as liver function and liver-gallbladder color Doppler ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis.
6. Lack of trace elements
Loss of appetite caused by iron-deficiency anemia, zinc deficiency, etc., is also common in the elderly. It can be diagnosed by a blood test for trace elements. In addition, some elderly people like to drink strong tea and often chew tea leaves, which can lead to a deficiency of vitamin B1 in the body, causing loss of appetite and a decline in physical condition. It is recommended not to drink tea that is too strong or in excessive amounts.
7. Cerebrovascular diseases
Cerebral hemorrhage or thrombosis can affect the blood supply to the brain, leading to loss of appetite, mental fatigue, and other phenomena. If an elderly person suddenly has a very poor appetite, along with symptoms such as weakness in one side of the body and vomiting, family members should highly suspect a cerebrovascular disease and seek medical attention promptly.