Milk and vegetables in the diet of institutionalized elderly people in Finland

More than 95% of the institutionalized elderly subjects drank milk, and more than 50% ate raw vegetables one or more times a day. There were no statistical differences between the frequencies of men and women, and the mean frequency index for age groups 65 to 74, 75 to 84, and greater than or equal to 85 years was the same for milk throughout. For vegetables, the mean value rose slightly toward to older age groups. More than half of the edentulous denture wearers and of the dentulous subjects ate raw vegetables every day, while only 38% of the edentulous without dentures did. The availability of vegetables alone is not enough; the intake of these vegetables must be actively encouraged.