Posts Tagged ‘eating healthy’

We should all be doing our best to maintain a healthy diet all year long, but it’s especially important for seniors to eat healthy, since a nutritious diet can help keep both their body and mind strong, avoiding or delaying the effects of dementia, and reducing the chances of breaking a bone if they should fall or bump into something. While fruits and vegetables are necessary ingredients in any nutritious diet, seniors need to take extra measures to make sure they’re getting certain vitamins and minerals in their daily diet, as well as loading up on some of these foods:

Calcium and Vitamin K

We talk a lot about the dangers of seniors breaking bones due to the fact that their bones tend to lose density as they age, making them more brittle and therefore more susceptible to fractures and breaks. Calcium is obviously an important nutrient our bodies need for building strong bones, but a lot of people forget about vitamin K, which the body needs to transport calcium from the blood stream to the bones. So, while it’s important to include a healthy amount of milk and cheese to make sure you get your calcium, it’s equally important to make sure you eat some dark leafy greens with your dairy to get the benefit of vitamin K.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is another important ingredient for building strong bones. Our bodies make vitamin D from sunlight, but as we age, our bodies start to lose the ability to made vitamin D, making it necessary for us to get it from food. There are plenty of vitamin D supplements on the market, but you can also get milk enriched with vitamin D, and bone broth and mushrooms are both natural source of vitamin D, so make sure your older loved ones are getting at least one of those things in their diet on a regular basis.

Collagen

Collagen is an essential nutrient that a lot of Americans are missing from their diet, especially seniors. It’s necessary for building and maintaining strong tendons and ligaments, which means getting enough collagen can also prevent fractured and broken bones by building a strong support network for those bones.

Collagen can be found naturally in bone broth, but they also sell powdered collagen as a supplement. It dissolves easily in liquid and doesn’t have much flavor, so you can just add it to your cup of coffee or tea in the morning as a quick and easy way to get this nutrient.

Healthy Fats

Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for building and maintaining both a strong brain and a strong heart. They’re found in a variety of foods, but fatty fish, such as salmon, are especially rich in omega-3 fatty acids. If you don’t like fish, you can take fish oil as a supplement to make sure you get your daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids.

Some correlations have also been found between the consumption of coconut oil and brain health, although there is not currently enough data to definitively say whether coconut oil is capable of preventing, much less curing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. What we do know is that coconut oil is high in medium-chain triglycerides (MTCs), a kind of fat that is easily digested and used by the brain for energy. Regular consumption of coconut oil, combined with a low-carb diet, can also prompt the liver to make ketones, which the brain uses for energy when there is no sugar available, and there is evidence to suggest that these ketones promote a healthier brain function.

As part of our services as an assisted living community, we offer customized meals for our residents, so they can maintain their dietary preferences, even if they aren’t the ones doing the cooking. If you’re curious about what we serve in our dining hall, you can view our weekly menu here.