How former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lost weight: Let’s examine his diet with a doctor

Since the beginning of 2023, 79-year-old former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has noticeably lost weight and looks younger and more energetic. His fifth wife So-Young Schröder-Kim developed the diet for him. She actively shares the success of her husband in the fight against excess weight in social networks.

The diet of the ex-chancellor of Germany

The diet of the former Chancellor of Germany includes fish, oatmeal, a large number of fruits and vegetables, nuts, oat milk, various berries, cocoa beans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin and flax seeds.

The approximate diet for the day of Gerhard Schröder is as follows:

• breakfast: oatmeal and oat milk with fresh fruit;
• lunch: fish and lots of vegetables (sometimes meat);
• dinner: mostly vegetables;
• dessert: natural yogurt with cocoa beans and pumpkin seeds.

The last meal of the spouses must necessarily be before 18:00.

Opinion of a nutritionist

Nutritionist, nephrologist, Hadassah Clinic branch in the Skolkovo International Medical Cluster

“Can such a diet with this set of products be called healthy? In general, yes.”

According to the expert, the diet of the former German chancellor includes animal protein, fats, vegetables, fruits and fermented milk products. From these products it is possible to make a healthy and low-calorie diet.

As for the secret of weight loss on the principle of “do not eat after 18:00”, it is a simple limitation of daily calories. After all, as follows from statistics, the main overeating in a person happens just in the evening. This is the time when we either come back from work (and a tired person eats more), or have an evening feast.

For many people, there is a certain cult of dinner. It’s a moment of gathering with family around the table, where it’s just as easy to overeat, or it’s business dinners or meeting friends at a restaurant – where by definition the food is more calorie-dense than home-cooked at the expense of refills.

In general, the food set of the diet followed by Gerhard Schröder is relatively diverse. The only question is about the cereal group, which is limited to oatmeal.

What’s wrong with the rest of the cereals? After all, it is grain products that are important sources of slow carbohydrates for energy. Despite the large amount of vegetables in the diet, it is grain products that are an important source of dietary fiber, important for proper gastrointestinal (GI) function.

As for oatmeal, it contains a rather difficult to digest prolamin, an avenin protein that irritates the intestines. It can stimulate an immune inflammatory response in the upper GI tract, triggering both an innate and adaptive immune response.

This can result in damage to the villi of the small intestine and consequently impair digestion and absorption of nutrients. Therefore, oatmeal is not recommended for frequent consumption, including in old age, when the absorption of vitamins and minerals is important.

If we talk about the pros of the diet of the ex-chancellor of Germany, then, perhaps, its main advantage is discipline. In addition, this type of diet resembles a certain interpretation of the Mediterranean diet recognized and recommended by the medical community.

How to eat properly in old age

In old age, metabolism changes slightly: it takes more time to digest, physical activity decreases, and the body does not need as many calories as it used to. Accordingly, the daily calorie intake decreases (in the absence of serious diseases).

How should the diet be organized?

1. Do not forget about fiber. Older people often complain of constipation, so their diet should have enough dietary fiber. At the same time, you should pay attention to your individual reaction when eating some raw vegetables – it may be more comfortable for your intestines to eat them in stewed or baked form.

2- The basis of the diet is carbohydrates. This is buckwheat, bulgur, millet, hercules, quinoa, pearl. But white rice, as well as semolina in old age, are undesirable, because these are products with a high glycemic load (many elderly people have impaired glucose tolerance), which contain almost no useful dietary fiber and can provoke constipation.

3. Emphasize protein. More emphasis in the diet of the elderly should be made on animal protein products, and the protein should be easily digestible. Such products include fish, rabbit, turkey, chicken (lean parts), cottage cheese, eggs.

In old age, the need for protein increases (in the absence of renal failure), but the norms of different medical associations differ, on average it is 0.85-1.2 g / kg of body weight. For an average weight – about 60 grams of pure protein, which is equivalent to 150 grams of cod fillet, 100 grams of cottage cheese, a can of yogurt and one egg a day.

4. Sufficient fluids. At any age it is very important to drink water, the average need is eight glasses a day.

5. Extra help to the body. In older people, there is a violation of absorption and assimilation of vitamins and trace elements. Therefore, nutritionists recommend considering with the attending physician the use of vitamin and mineral complexes, necessarily including calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, iron, vitamins D and B12.

Sometimes it is difficult for the elderly to use vitamins in tablet form, since they already have, as a rule, a large number of preparations. Therefore, you can pay attention to specialized mixtures that are enriched with vitamins and minerals, contain readily available protein, and consume in the form of a drink.

Note that before taking vitamin and mineral complexes, you should definitely consult with a doctor. He will give recommendations based on your tests, dietary habits and other individual parameters.

Uncontrolled intake of even seemingly useful vitamins and minerals can cause serious harm to the body.