In the age of fast food and busy life styles, well-rounded nutrition is a difficult thing for almost anyone to achieve. It’s much easier to go through a drive-through on the way home than it is to prepare a home-cooked, well-balanced meal for you and your family. The temptation to skimp on nutritional food choices is obvious in younger and even middle generations, so where does that leave those who are more advanced in years?

As people age, their nutritional needs change. For seniors a well-balanced diet is of the utmost importance, as it can help delay various forms of sickness, such as cancer, stroke, and heart diseases. Because their nutritional needs change, it may be harder for family caregivers to effectively meet the dietary needs of their elderly loved ones.

Here are some of the dietary changes that occur with age:

- Total necessary caloric intake drops
- More protein is necessary for the body to respond to incidental injury or surgery
- Cardiovascular changes result in blood pressure increase
- Bones become more vulnerable to fractures and osteoporosis, increasing the need for calcium and vitamin D
- A decrease in appetite due to dentures, ineffectual taste buds, and in some cases depression

While these changes alone are enough to complicate a senior diet, those suffering from Diabetes face even more challenges, requiring:

- Diets that are high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and low on refined carbs
- Smaller, more controlled portion sizes
- Regulated meal and snack times throughout the day

In all of its forms, the challenges that come with changes in senior nutritional needs can cause additional, unnecessary stress. If you are caring for a senior family member yourself then you have to worry about making sure that you are providing them with the proper nutrition. This responsibility, paired with the other demands of day-to-day life, can prove to be incredibly stressful. On the other hand, if your loved one lives alone and you are unable to be there to care for them, then you are forced to face a whole new worry: Are they willing and able to get themselves the proper nutrition?

Here at Synergy HomeCare we want to help your senior family member get the nutrition they need to ensure the quality of life they deserve.

Here are just a few of the services we offer that are specifically designed to care for your loved one in this way:

- Assistance with menu planning, motivation, and meal preparation
- Mealtime feeding assistance
- Kitchen cleaning and organization
- Errand services, such as grocery shopping
- Schedule planning and assistance, including meal and snack reminders
- Encouragement in light exercise

Want to learn more about how our caregivers can help meet your family member’s nutritional needs? Give us a call at (877) 844-9217 and watch for more information in our blog and social accounts.

By Chantel Heister