The Elderly’s Most Important Dietary Nutrient?

Protein is the single most important nutrient for aging well. A lack of protein = a susceptibility for musculoskeletal injury (e.g. a broken hip) AND cognitive dysfunction (e.g. dementia). The thing to remember is older populations have less ability to absorb nutrients  than younger populations. Therefore, eating frequent, small amounts of protein daily rather than large amounts of protein once or twice a day is ideal to offset this nutrient absorption limitation. As a general measure, you can calculate your daily protein requirement (grams) by multiplying your body weight (kilograms) by 0.8 (e.g. 70kg x 0.8 = 56g of protein minimum per day).