6
Staying active
and on your feet
Many people don’t
drink enough water.
Dehydration is a
common cause
of older people
falling and hurting
themselves.
Eating healthy food in a balanced diet is very
important to help you get the energy you need,
maintain good health and have strong bones and
muscles.
We all know what healthy food is—a wide range of
fruit and vegetables, some protein sources such as
meats, dairy and pulses, and not too much fatty or
highly processed food. Drinking plenty of water is
important, too.
As we age, our bones are susceptible to becoming
fragile and breaking. For them to stay strong, they
need:
• calcium
• vitamin D.
Calcium
Calcium is only stored in your bones, although it is
essential for many different parts of the body, such
as muscles and nerves.
If you don’t eat enough calcium, it will be taken
from your bones to other parts of the body where
it is needed. As we get older, we absorb less and
less calcium from our food. This means we actually
need to eat more calcium as we get older.
People who smoke, who drink a lot of caffeine and
soft drinks, and who eat a lot of meat, absorb less
calcium from their diet than others.
Healthy eating