"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" is a common health mantra for many elderly people. They wake up around five or six in the morning, have a quick breakfast, and then go to exercise. Little do they know that this habit can lead to gastrointestinal diseases.
When sleeping at night, most organs in the body are at rest to ensure normal function the next day after a day's work. However, the digestive system remains busy at night, working hard to digest and absorb food left in the gastrointestinal tract, only resting in the morning. Coupled with the decline in physical function and weakened digestive system in the elderly, the stomach and intestines need at least 2-3 hours of rest in the morning to return to normal function. If an elderly person eats breakfast too early, it will interfere with the digestive system's rest,加重 the burden on the digestive system, and over time, can easily lead to gastrointestinal diseases.
In addition, the human body is in a natural detoxification period in the morning, with turbid blood and metabolic waste from the previous day urgently needing to be cleared. Eating too early can interfere with this detoxification process. Therefore, the elderly should not eat breakfast too early.
Chen Wei, a nutrition expert from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, suggests that it is more appropriate for the elderly to have their breakfast between 8:30 and 9:00. After waking up in the morning, they should not get up immediately. It is better to lie in bed for 15-30 minutes, then get up and drink a glass of warm water to clear waste from the stomach and intestines.
Regarding what the elderly should eat for breakfast, Chen Wei explains that it is best to eat warm, soft, and easily digestible foods. It is particularly suitable to have some porridge, preferably with ingredients like lotus seeds, red dates, Chinese yam, longan, and Job's tears. Oily, fried, hard, and highly stimulating foods should be avoided. Furthermore, breakfast should not be excessive to avoid exceeding the digestive capacity of the stomach and intestines, which can lead to a decline in digestive function.