It’s extremely important for sick and elderly people to have a healthy eating diet! Watching what you eat can make such a difference in your loved one’s daily life. Not to mention it can improve your mental health along with your physical health.
Making a healthy diet schedule that is well-balanced is one of the most important parts to getting on the right track to becoming healthy. Doing this will help your loved ones get into a daily routine and hopefully helping them stick to it in the long run!
Eating healthy is a challenge for so many people so imagine how hard it is for older people. Follow these 7 tips below to help your loved one to start eating better!
7 Tips to Eating Healthy
- Limit Empty Calories
Cut back or take empty calories out of your daily diet! Some examples of empty calories include: chips, soda, candy, and pastries. Taking junk food like this out of your diet is going to make all the difference. Eating foods like this can cause so much damage mentally and physically to a person.
- Drink Water!
It’s a known fact that drinking water throughout the day is so good for you. At times, older people don’t tend to be as thirsty so drinking water daily is even more important for them. It is recommended for elderly people to drink 8 glasses a day.
- Buy Nuts & High Fiber Foods
Fiber helps fight heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels. Eating these high fiber foods such as oats, almonds, walnuts, and beans helps seniors lower their cholesterol. High fiber foods can also help lower the chance of getting certain types of cancers, such as colorectal cancer.
- Less Table Salt
The U.S. Food and Drug administration reports that consuming too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, which can ultimately lead to heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. As you age your sense of taste declines, but you need to watch how you compensate for this. Salt can be extremely bad for you unless used in moderation.
- Consider Supplements
Your loved one may not be the biggest fan of eating healthy. Getting them to eat their veggies and fruits can be very difficult, a great alternative is to take supplements. Different vitamins and minerals could be a great way to get your loved one to get the daily dose they need.
- Plan Your Meals
Planning out your meals is a great way to keep track of what you are eating on a daily basis. Doing this will also make it less likely you will pick up something unhealthy to snack on. Meal prepping is a great way to plan ahead and freeze your meals for later. The staff at Gracepoint Home Care are fully able and ready to help your loved one meal prep!
- Follow Recommended Serving Sizes
Following recommended serving sizes is a really easy way to keep and stay healthy. It’s a great way to maintain a healthy weight. It’s really easy to see the serving sizes on everything you eat.