Abstract

TRONCOSO PANTOJA, Claudia. Food, nutrition and microbiota: what about the elderly?. An. Fac. Cienc. Méd. (Asunción) [online]. 2021, vol.54, n.1, pp.125-132. ISSN 1816-8949.  https://doi.org/10.18004/anales/2021.054.01.125.

The global demographic transition has allowed to identify a growing increase in the population over 60 years old, which entails the need to generate policies, programs or actions that preserve or improve the quality of life of people at this stage of life. A balanced and sufficient diet guarantees an integral well-being; however, globalization has permeated the conceptions of a healthy diet, a situation that has favored the presence of malnutrition and, therefore, the deterioration of systems and organs including the gastrointestinal tract. In care for elderly aging, gastrointestinal health is of outstanding importance, due to the role that the microbiota is currently recognized in the gut-brain axis, in the modulation of the immune system and in the etiology of inflammatory, neurodegenerative or mental health diseases. The following review presents the objective of developing a search in various sources of information on the relevance of food and nutrition for the maintenance and balance of the microbiota in older people. Among their results, general concepts about the microbiota and the intertwining that is generated with nutrition and food are recognized. On the above, the review focuses on the role of the microbiota in older people, mentions some contributions from new research and ends with reflections about the importance of incorporating microbiota care in maintaining healthy lifestyles.

Keywords : Microbiota; food; nutrition; elderly..

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