Why is Nutrition Important for Seniors?
There is no doubt that things change as you watch your senior mom or dad become older. They need more help around the house, you may hire home care services, their eating habits change, and what they need changes too. It can be hard to keep up with all the things that change and that’s why many seniors who age in place need adult children to help them but also home care. Having a team of people a senior can trust allows them to age in place for much longer. One thing that will stay pretty consistent no matter how old someone gets is the need to focus on nutrition. A senior may eat less but they still need to focus on eating highly nutritional food that will fuel their body.
Here are all of the reasons why nutrition is so crucial to focus on.
Food With High Nutritional Value Fuels Your Body
Home Care Somerset County NJ – Why is Nutrition Important for Seniors?
A senior needs to fuel their body especially if they want to remain independent for a long time. If they want to live at home they need to be able to maintain their household and do as much as possible without tons of help. Even when they have home care or adult children helping they will need to do things on their own when they can. To have this energy they need to fuel their bodies with proper nutrition. One of the best ways to see what a senior is lacking is by getting blood tests done. Going to the doctors and getting labs done will help determine what a seniors should be eating and help them decide if they need to take extra supplements on top of eating food. This will allow them to fuel their bodies and feel like they are healthy while aging in place.
Nutrition Helps Manage a Healthy Weight
Even as someone gets older they should be focusing on maintaining a healthy body weight and trying to maintain as much muscle as possible. Obesity is a risk of eating unhealthy foods that are not high in nutritional value. If a senior is obese they risk battling tons of other health conditions that could be avoided if they were at a healthier weight. Of course, you and home care should never be body shame. Always encourage a senior to make better choices when it comes to food and health.
Focusing on Healthy Foods Will Help a Senior Feel Better
There is a huge connection between how your body feels and what you’re eating. When you eat tons of heavily processed foods that are filled with sugar, chemicals, and bad fats you may notice you feel sluggish, bloated, unhappy, and you just don’t feel good. This is true for seniors too! That is why focusing on fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats can have such a positive impact on a person who wants to age in place. Everything that goes into a senior’s body’s energy and fuel that they can potentially get back out of it. Nutrition is not something that should be placed on the backburner it should be a focus and it will help keep your senior loved one happy and healthy while living at home.
