5 ways to solve vegetable shortfall in older adults | Making use of dried vegetables

What you will learn from this article

• The three causes that make the elderly prone to a vegetable shortfall
• Vegetable cooking techniques that are easy to eat even with weakened chewing strength
• Easy nursing-care food recipes using dried vegetables
• The vegetable intake needed per day and the reality data for the elderly
• Ways to support the meals of parents who live far away

"Lately Dad has stopped eating vegetables entirely." "Mom's meals have become just rice porridge and pickles."

Worried about the meals of a parent who lives far away, you quietly check the fridge every time you go home. Have you had that experience?

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's National Health and Nutrition Survey, the average vegetable intake for people 70 and over is about 260g a day. Against the target of 350g, that's about 90g short. And that's the average; in reality, many eat even less.

A vegetable shortfall among the elderly has three walls: "can't chew," "can't cook," and "can't go shopping." This article tells you concrete ways to clear those walls with dried vegetables.

The three causes of a vegetable shortfall in the elderly

Decline in chewing and swallowing strength

As we age, the number of teeth decreases and the jaw muscles weaken, so "chewing strength" declines. The average number of remaining teeth at age 80 is about 17. With 20 you can eat most things, but with 17, fresh vegetable salads and fibrous root vegetables are quite hard.

Even trickier is the decline in swallowing strength (swallowing function). Cases where someone dislikes the feeling of leafy vegetables sticking to the throat and naturally comes to avoid vegetables are really common.

The cooking burden is heavy

In households of a single elderly person or an elderly couple only, cooking each meal is itself heavy labor.

Vegetable dishes take a surprising amount of effort. Washing, peeling, cutting, heating. What to note here is that for the elderly, "using a knife" itself becomes a risk. Weakened grip strength can make a knife hard to handle, and standing to cook can be exhausting.

As a result, meals of "buying prepared deli food" or "just rice and miso soup" increase.

The difficulty of shopping

In a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries survey, about one in four people 65 and over answered that they "have trouble shopping for groceries." This is the so-called "shopping refugee" problem.

Fresh vegetables are heavy. Even in the fridge they spoil in a few days. For the elderly who want to reduce how often they shop, fresh vegetables are the number one "hard-to-buy food."

More people are using delivery services and online supermarkets, but fresh vegetables have to be used up within a few days of arriving. This is where dried vegetables have a big advantage.

Five reasons dried vegetables suit the meals of the elderly

Reason 1: they become soft when rehydrated in water

The greatest feature of dried vegetables is that rehydrating them in water or hot water makes them softer than the fresh state. Because the cell walls break down in the drying process, the fibers loosen easily when rehydrated.

This is a big benefit for those with weak chewing strength. Root vegetables that are hard when fresh, like burdock and lotus root in particular, become an easy-to-eat texture as dried vegetables.

Reason 2: no knife needed, cooking is easy

Dried vegetables are already cut. No knife or cutting board needed.

The cooking steps are simple. "Take them out of the bag, put them in a pot or cup, pour hot water (or rehydrate in water)." That alone completes a vegetable dish.

Even those with weakened grip strength can cook safely. Since the time using fire is short too, you can reduce the risk of forgetting to turn off the gas.

Reason 3: long-term storage at room temperature

The best-before date of dried vegetables is generally about 6 months to a year. They store at room temperature, so they don't take up fridge space either.

Even elderly people who shop infrequently can eat vegetables anytime if they keep a stock. Being able to prevent the situation of "no vegetables in the fridge" is significant, isn't it?

Reason 4: the nutritional value is surprisingly high

It's easy to think "doesn't drying make the nutrition fly off?", but that's actually not so.

Some water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C decrease, but dietary fiber, potassium, iron, and beta-carotene remain firmly intact. If anything, drying concentrates the nutrients per unit weight, so you can take in nutrition efficiently even in a small amount.

Dietary fiber, which the elderly especially tend to lack, can be topped up easily with dried vegetables. Many elderly people struggle with constipation, and just adding dried vegetables to a daily soup makes quite a difference.

Reason 5: complete just by adding to miso soup or soup

The easiest to work into an elderly person's meals is using them in miso soup or soup.

Just add a handful of dried vegetables to the usual miso soup. It hardly needs any simmering time. Soups are easy to swallow, and the vegetables' umami dissolves into the soup, so the taste naturally becomes delicious too.

Agriture's dried vegetables are slowly dried at low temperature from vegetables grown by Kyoto farmers, so the flavor when rehydrated is close to fresh vegetables. Even people who shy away, saying "it tastes like dried goods," often tell us, "if it's this, I can eat it."

Concrete ways to use dried vegetables in nursing-care food

Three-stage cooking methods matched to chewing strength

Nursing-care food has stages according to chewing and swallowing strength. The strength of dried vegetables is that they can be used at any stage.

For regular food

Rehydrate dried vegetables in water for about 15 minutes and use them in miso soup or simmered dishes. They come out softer than fresh vegetables, so they're plenty as is.

For soft food

Simmer the rehydrated dried vegetables longer than usual. Daikon and pumpkin become soft enough to break apart easily with chopsticks.

For blended food

Blend the rehydrated dried vegetables together with soup for a smooth potage. Carrot and pumpkin potage have a nice color too and whet the appetite.

A "quick add" recipe for the daily miso soup

The easiest is a "quick add" to the usual miso soup.

Basic method (serves 1)

1. Put 200ml of water in a pot and heat
2. Add a handful (about 5g) of dried vegetable mix
3. Once it boils, simmer on low for 2 minutes
4. Turn off the heat and dissolve in the miso

That's all. No knife, and a vegetable-packed miso soup is done in 5 minutes.

5g of dried vegetables becomes about 50g when rehydrated in water. That's 50g of vegetables in one bowl of miso soup. Keep this up every meal, and by the math you get 150g of vegetables a day from miso soup alone.

Using it in rice porridge and zosui

When you have no appetite or aren't feeling well, rice porridge and zosui are easy to eat. Adding dried vegetables here makes the nutritional balance dramatically better.

Vegetable-packed zosui (serves 1)

• Half a rice bowl of cooked rice
• 5g of dried vegetable mix
• 300ml of dashi stock
• 1 egg
• A little salt and soy sauce

Just add the dried vegetables and rice to the dashi stock and simmer. Pour in beaten egg at the end for a warming vegetable zosui.

Ways to support the vegetable shortfall of parents who live far away

Send dried vegetables regularly

Send fresh vegetables and they may be "wilted by the time they arrive," but dried vegetables arrive by courier with no problem. They're light, so shipping is cheap too.

Just sending a set of dried vegetables once a month can improve a parent's vegetable intake considerably. Rather than calling to ask "are you eating vegetables?", sending the actual ingredients is more effective.

Include a how-to-use note

When sending dried vegetables, include a simple how-to-use note.

"Just add a handful to miso soup" or "just pour hot water and wait 3 minutes." Whether or not there's a note with just this much written on it completely changes the odds it actually gets used.

Don't forget the consideration of writing in large letters, either.

Make it together when you visit

Seeing is believing. When you go home, showing them right in front of you -- "this, you just add hot water" -- greatly raises the chances they keep using it afterward.

Eat together, saying "this is good." That experience becomes the trigger for using dried vegetables even when they're alone.

The gap between the daily vegetable target and reality for the elderly

About 90g short against the 350g target

The daily vegetable target the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare sets is 350g. But the average intake for people 70 and over stays at about 260g.

What to note is that intake turns to decline from the 60s into the 70s. Up to the 60s, many people are highly health-conscious and eating vegetables, but from the 70s on it drops for physical reasons.

What happens if you fall short?

When a vegetable shortfall becomes prolonged, it has especially serious effects on the elderly.

• Worsening constipation: a lack of dietary fiber disrupts the gut environment
• 栄養バランスへの影響：ビタミンA・Cが不足しがちに
• Progression of osteoporosis: a lack of vitamin K, which aids calcium absorption
• 毎日の体調：栄養バランスの偏りにつながることも
• Acceleration of frailty: undernutrition leads to muscle weakness and reduced activity

From the standpoint of frailty prevention especially, a balanced diet including vegetables is extremely important. The effort to turn "can't eat" into "easy to eat" is the key to extending healthy life expectancy.

Summary

A vegetable shortfall in the elderly is caused by the three walls of "can't chew," "can't cook," and "can't buy." But with dried vegetables, you can clear all three walls at once.

Rehydrate in water and they turn soft, so they're easy to chew. Pre-cut, so no knife and cooking is easy. Long-term storage at room temperature, so you can reduce shopping frequency too.

Just add a handful to the daily miso soup and you can add about 50g of vegetables per meal. Keep this up across three meals and it's 150g. That's plenty to cover the 90g shortfall.

If you're worried about the meals of a parent who lives far away, try sending one bag of dried vegetables first. With a note that says "just add it to miso soup." That alone should make the daily table a little richer.

Agriture's dried vegetables are carefully dried from vegetables grown at contract farms in Kyoto. We're proud of a good flavor that even elderly people can find "delicious." Why not support a beloved family member's health from the daily meal?

FAQ

Q1: Does the nutritional value of dried vegetables drop compared with fresh?

Some water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C decrease, but dietary fiber, potassium, iron, and beta-carotene remain firmly intact. Seen per unit weight, the nutrients are concentrated, so there's the benefit of taking in nutrition efficiently in a small amount.

Q2: Can they be used even for someone with almost no chewing strength?

Yes. Rehydrate dried vegetables in water and then blend them, and you can make a smooth paste or potage. They can be used for blended nursing-care food for those with declined swallowing function too, so adoption in care facilities is increasing.

Q3: How much dried vegetables should one take per day?

Dried vegetables become about 10 times the weight when rehydrated in water. To make up the daily vegetable shortfall of 90g, about 9 to 10g in the dried state (about 2 tablespoons) is a guide. Dividing it across three bowls of miso soup lets you take it without strain.

Q4: Are they okay for an elderly person on a salt restriction?

Dried vegetables themselves contain no salt, so even those on a salt restriction can use them with peace of mind. If you want to keep the seasoning light, cooking while making the most of the dashi flavor gives a delicious result even with less salt.

Q5: What kinds of dried vegetables are there?

There are many kinds -- carrot, daikon, burdock, komatsuna, spinach, pumpkin, cabbage, green onion, and more. There are single types and mixed types combining several vegetables, so for miso soup a mixed type is recommended.

Q6: How long is the storage period?

In an unopened state, about 6 months to a year is typical. After opening, if you put it in a sealed container away from direct sunlight, it keeps its quality for 1 to 2 months. Since flavor drops when it takes on moisture, keeping a desiccant in with it gives peace of mind.

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