Eat Real Food? Nutrition Advice · Episode 9 of 9 · 24 min
What Should You Actually Eat? — The Best Science by Age and Sex
After a century of shifting food diagrams, a durable consensus remains: more vegetables, fruit, whole grains and fiber, and less added sugar and ultra-processed food. On top sit reference numbers that shift with age and sex, plus live debates, chiefly how much protein a healthy older adult needs.
Who's who
- Jürgen BauerLead author of the 2013 PROT-AGE paper on protein for older adults
Timeline
- 1941First U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowances published
- 2005Protein RDA of 0.8 grams per kilogram affirmed; unchanged since
- 2013PROT-AGE group recommends 1.0-1.2 grams per kilogram for healthy adults over 65
- 2021STEP 1 semaglutide trial shows a large share of weight lost is lean mass
- 2023JAMA study finds about 38.6 percent of U.S. females aged 12-21 iron-deficient
- January 7, 20262025-2030 Dietary Guidelines released; the stable core survives
Still debated
The ideal protein intake for older adults is argued between those who see the 0.8 RDA as a conservative minimum and those who say it understates needs. Saturated fat, red meat, sodium and alcohol thresholds, and the vitamin D age cutoff, are also debated.