Nutrition Services
What Level of Care Do You Need?
Discover the level of care you or your family member requires.
Nutrition and Good Health
As we age from children to older adults, we notice the changing nature of taste and smell. We may be more sensitive to certain smells as we get older, or a lifelong favorite food may begin to taste different. This can lead seniors to eat less. Many seniors also struggle to complete the long list of tasks necessary to prepare meals from scratch. Because of this difficulty, some turn to unhealthy eating habits, such as relying on prepackaged foods that don’t need cooking.
Watching loved ones deal with this nutritional struggle can be scary and painful. Fortunately, senior care specialists have incorporated time-proven dietary solutions to help increase nutritional health while reducing food anxiety.
Why Is Nutrition Important for Seniors?
As seniors reach the golden years of their lives, their daily living routine transforms. This includes food choices and food preparation abilities. While your loved one’s taste or desire to eat may change, their nutritional needs remain unchanged. If an older family member experiences diminished taste as a side effect of a medication they’re using, they may not realize that they’re eating differently than before.
Older adults often need assistance in achieving their nutritional needs, such as an increased requirement for vitamins and minerals. Many seniors also need a specific diet that avoids contributors to high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease. Although seniors can have a decreased appetite and may need fewer calories, their body’s needs for nutrient-dense food increase.
How Senior Care Helps
By balanced meals or food preparation that offers nutrition and dietetics expertise, senior care helps residents eat a nutritious, tailored diet. Whether choosing a short-term or long-term stay in assisted living, seniors often notice improvements in their diet. The nutrition specialists in a senior living community understand how to achieve results through nutrition and can help residents target issues like unhealthy weight loss.
Senior care offers a wide range of nutrition services, from meal preparation to specifically designed meal schedules. Residents and their families work with an assisted living facility to craft meals and eating environments that best serve their health needs.
Benefits of Nutrition Care for Seniors
The benefits of nutrition care from assisted living providers are many, and seniors can experience positive results beyond improvement in health. The following are some of the most prominent benefits:
Senior care offers three nutritious meals per day, often serving them in a group setting that allows residents to feel connected and sociable while they're eating.
The meal specialists who create food for seniors ensure the proper balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats and sugars supporting the heart, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetic health.
By taking advantage of the nutritional services that assisted living offers, seniors can feel confident their meals are contributing to good health, and are not exacerbating issues like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Since seniors in assisted living have access to nutrition management, they avoid dehydration, eat regular well-balanced meals, and have the opportunity to enjoy their food in the presence of friends. This contributes to an increased sense of well-being, a reduction in stress, and a boost in confidence about food and its effects on the body.
What Level of Care Do You Need?
Discover the level of care you or your family member requires.