 |
Nutrition and Aging:How Do We Help Our Parents Live HealthierNutrition and aging is an issue that all of will face with the seniors in our lives at some time. It is very important to the health of our senior community. Seniors are more likely to have health issues related to malnutrition. Sometimes they lose a spouse and dont know how to cook and feed themselves properly or they can suffer a health challenge that makes it more difficult for them to prepare Problems caused by lack of good nutrition and aging in seniors; Fatigue Digestive issues Lungs Heart disease Weakened immune system Pneumonia Mental confusion Blood clots, bed sores, depression Death Nutrition and aging issues often develop slowly. One may not even be aware that it is happening. At first, it seems pretty straight forward, healthy seniors who live alone start to not cook for themselves. Shopping and cooking become more difficult and other health issues become a strain on the appetite. How does it start: Physical causes: Physical challenges can sometimes trigger a lack of desire to eat. Chronic Illness, trouble chewing, a recent hospital stay, medication, diminished taste and smell. All of these can effect how a senior eats. Social and Psychological causes: These can include: Limited income (makes harder to by good food), Depression ( lack of desire to cook or eat. Alcholism (drinking calories and worsening depression), Reduced social contact (worsening depression, no fun to eat alone), Restricted diets due to health issues( restricted diets are often bland and hard to follow and can make cooking even more cumbersome) Dental issues: making eating no fun at all.
What should you look for when considering Nutrition and Aging: If an elder that you care for seems to be suffering from malnutrition there are some things you can do. A. Ask the senior about his/her eating habits. What do they eat, how often do they eat, etc.B. Look for new physical problems i.e. dental, dementia, trouble getting around, etc.C. Know what drugs they are taking and find out if they can effect appetite.D. Ask the doctor. What can you do? You can help them to find ways to enrich their diets. Take meals to them that can be frozen in single serve microwaveable dishes. Teach them how to restore life to their bland meals and help them find simple easy to prepare recipes. Plan out in between meal snacks. (High protein, complete carb i.e. apples, cheese, nuts, fruit, tuna or even protein shakes. There are some good ones out there that taste great and provide wonderful healthy nutrition.) Consider finding outside help. Most communities have programs that will take meals to your seniors. Whenever possible make meals social events. Make them fun and an opportunity to be around other people and laugh. Create stimulating conversation about things they are interested in. Get the doctors involved. Let them know that you are concerned and ask for their help in monitoring and providing suggestions. Encourage regular exercise. Find them a program at a local senior center or just encourage them to walk. There may be another elderly person in the neighborhood who would like to have a walking partner. Exercise can do wonders for the appetite. Sit down with them and go over some the basic principals of nutrition. Remind them of the food groups and what good choices are. Maybe go to the store with them and show them how to shop for healthy, whole food and to read labels. Good nutrition is a simple way to lessen the effects of age related illness and contributes to a higher quality of life. Many times it is helpful to incorporate a high quality supplement into a senior's daily routine As we as a society get busier and busier trying to meet all of our obligations its easy to overlook the basic nutrition and aging needs of the seniors in our lives. I hope you have found some valuable information here to help you bring better health to your Senior.
|
