How Can You Help Your Senior Improve Her Eating Habits?

How your senior approaches eating is really important. If she’s haphazard and just eating whatever sounds good, she might be missing nutrients in key areas. These ideas can help you and your senior to put together a plan that works well for her. Reading labels is one of the most important changes you can make.

Home Health Care in Hawthorne NJ: Improving Senior Eating Habits

Aim for a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are one thing that your senior can pretty much eat as much as possible. A variety of both fruits and vegetables is really important, too. Aim for creating a rainbow of each to get the most nutrients. Remember that frozen and canned fruits and vegetables last longer than fresh options do, but be attentive to the label so that you avoid added salt and sugar.

Look for Whole Grains

Whole grains offer much greater nutritional value for your aging adult than other options do. This is something that you can usually find right on the label, but be aware of statements like “made with whole grains,” which are actually a statement that there are fewer whole grains in the food than you think there are. Pasta, bread, and cereals made with whole grains are higher in fiber and have greater nutritional value.

Limit but Don’t Eliminate “Unhealthy” Options

Be realistic about your senior’s diet. There are likely plenty of foods that she likes a lot that isn’t necessarily healthy options. That’s something that you’ll want to limit rather than eliminating completely. This helps your senior to feel a little more comfortable with the eating changes she’s making. You’re not doing this to punish your elderly family member, and removing everything that she likes to eat can make this eating plan feel like a punishment.

Work with Her Doctor to Set up an Eating Plan

It’s really important to work with your senior’s doctor when making changes to her eating plan. This helps to keep her overall health and any health conditions in consideration while adjusting her diet. Your elderly family member’s doctor may even recommend working with a nutritionist or a dietician to help you find recipes that work well for her new way of eating.

If you’re not able to cook for your senior as often as you’d like, think about hiring elder care providers to cook for her. They can help her to stick to a healthy eating plan without expending a lot of her own energy.

If you or a senior family member are considering hiring Home Health Care in Wayne, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Caring Solutions Home Care LLC.  In-home senior care servicing Bergen & Passaic Counties. Call today (973) 427-3553.