One point that is generally agree upon, however, is that older people tend to take in less energy, or calories, than younger people. This may be due, in part, to natural decline in the rate of metabolism as people age.

Many other factors can affect the nutritional needs of older people and how successful they meet those needs, including their access to food. For instance, some of the changes that take place as people age can affect the kinds of foods they can tolerate, and some can affect their ability to shop for or prepare food.

As people age, problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes become more common, necessitating certain dietary modifications. Digestive system problems become more common, and some people may have trouble chewing or swallowing.

Generally, current dietary recommendations for adults also apply to older people. Here are some helpful guidelines:

Limit:

- Sweets
- Regular coffee and tea
- Greasy or fatty foods
- Alcohol
- Oil, margarine, and “junk” foods
- Other saturated fats
- Salt

Eat Plenty Of:

- Fruits
- Whole grain breads and cereals
- Vegetables
- Drink plenty of fluids, especially water

To portray an idea of how a senior assisted living community functions, degrees of independence are defined.

High Degree of independence:

• Seniors who prefer living in a “low-key” environment, close to medical facilities due to chronic health condition

• or may also need occasional temporary regular medical attention for wound care or surgery recovery.

Otherwise they are

• able to take care of daily grooming and dressing

• able to keep premises clean and in order (optional assistance)

• able to keep track of financial responsibilities

• able to drive, or may prefer to use the regular van service

• social participation

Medium Degree of independence: needing temporary regular nursing care and regular amenities

• assistance with wound care or surgery recovery

• occasional assistance, as requested, with grooming and dressing

• able to use a computer

• able to keep track of financial responsibilities

• able to drive, or may prefer to use the regular van service

• social participation

Lowest Degree of independence: needing regular nursing case and physical amenities

• assistance with wound care, surgery recovery or chronic illness

• assistance with daily grooming and dressing

• daily premises maintenance provided

• able to use a computer

• able to keep track of financial responsibilities

• access to communal dining, or prepared meals are delivered

• unable to drive; will use van service

• discretionary less active social participation

In the final analysis, physical independence determines how a senior assisted living community is structured. Communities come in a variety of physical arrangements, with options that include individual detached housing, group living, facilities that offer a suite of rooms in a large building, similar to a hotel arrangement, or a facility that provides individual rooms, all located on the same campus.

It’s impossible for you to imagine what your parents are going through as their health slowly declines, and they likely resist admitting that they might need to visit a doctor. These kinds of issues are incredibly delicate, which is why it’s so important that you approach your parents in a way that allows them to feel respect and dignity. Make sure you don’t yell at your parents, and try to simply talk to them about the basic things you think they should have a doctor look at. By visiting a physician, your parents can each take a short hearing test that will help determine how good their hearing really is and what kind of help they may benefit from. These kinds of appointments are quick and easy, but if your parents are resistant to visit a doctor, they can often find a clinic that will offer them the opportunity to take a free hearing test as well. Generally, these tests simply require patients to listen to different beeping sounds and to notify the test giver when they can no longer hear the sounds.

Since people’s ability to hear declines slowly on a daily basis, many people never even notice the change. Yet, hearing loss can seriously affect the quality of your parents’ lives. As their ability to hear declines, they’ll likely have to ask many people to repeat themselves, and since they may feel too embarrassed to do that, people will often miss out on a lot of the things that are going on around them. If your parents always miss half of a conversation because they can’t hear it, then they’re going to feel confused and lost. Your parents don’t have to live like that, however, as there are multiple hearing solutions that may be of use to them. Talk to your parents’ physicians and once they have taken some tests, you may discover that hearing aids are the perfect answer to all of their problems. These days, aids are more affordable, comfortable and discreet than ever so you parents’ don’t have to worry about how much they cost, what they look like or how they’ll feel.

Researches have also shown that race is a risk factor for osteoporosis, with Asians and Caucasians being the most susceptible. Those with Asian and Caucasian ancestry are more prone to have osteoporosis than others. There is also an increased risk for those who have a family history of the disease. Heritability is quite high, between 25 and 80 percent.

Osteoporosis can be acquired through an unhealthy lifestyle. Excessive alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, excessive caffeine consumption, excessive soft drink consumption, exposure to heavy metals and high protein consumption can increase the risk of osteoporosis. These foods and activities introduce chemicals to the body which either prevent calcium (the main component of the bone) absorption or promote the excretion of calcium.

Lack of exercise as well as excessive exercise are also very big risk factors. Without exercise, bone remodeling, which is dependent on physical activity, is slow. Physical inactivity leads to bone loss. Excessive exercise, on the other hand, increases the risk of damage to the bone structure. It has almost the same effects as physical inactivity.

Even with his medical training, Dr. Gomez says he missed the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease until three years ago, when he discovered his father had lost every dollar he’d earned. His father retired OB/GYN Dr. Max Gomez, Sr., admittedly was poor with money management, but Dr. Gomez suffered more than a few bad investments. He is now penniless, living in a care facility paid for by Medicaid. Although no longer practicing medicine, Dr. Gomez still had the title of medical director at a clinic. The clinic named him legally responsible for multiple commercial loans, and took out mortgages in his name. The FBI began investigating the situation when Dr. Gomez’s identification was found to have been used to file millions in false Medicare claims. It was also discovered that a former girlfriend had been writing checks worth thousands of dollars against his savings account.

In Alzheimer’s disease, nerve cells die in key brain regions. One of the first is the hippocampus. Damage to the hippocampus, and later the frontal lobe, affect the ability to plan, organize and reason, both crucial aspects for managing money. “You can’t retain the facts because of memory, and you can’t utilize the facts efficiently,” explained, Mony Jon de Leon, director of the NYU Center for Brain Health. “It’s very hard – as people become deteriorated – to manage finances.” In conclusion, even though an elderly parent is functional, lucid and appears to be in control, taking an inventory of sorts of their financial situation and how they are handling their money, may be a good safeguard. If you suspect your loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia it might be a good idea to get a consultant from an Assisted Living Dementia facility to help assess their condition.

Warning Signs Of Alzheimer’s Disease:
Challenges in ability to plan or solve problems
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
Decreased or poor judgment
Withdrawal from work, family or social activities
Changes in mood and personality
Memory problems that affect behavior and reasoning. For example, losing or misplacing an item with the inability to retrace steps and actions to locate it.

It is obvious that any nutritional supplement should meet the minimum amounts of vitamins and minerals required within the diet however when selecting a nutritional supplement for older adults it’s important to select a full food supplement with a guaranteed supply of quality antioxidants such as Omega-3 fatty acids. such as Vita Lea Gold. Antioxidants are essential for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by free radical damage either from exposure to environmental toxins or naturally occurring through the method of aging. Free radical injury could contribute to disorders such as cancer, DNA degradation, neurological disorders and cardiac disease. Most ancient Vitamins can contain solely one or 2 omega-3s and will focus solely on DHA and EPA. Complete whole food Senior Vitamins can have a a lot of wider range of Omega-3 fatty acids as there are literally 7 completely different styles of Omega-3.

It is conjointly important to seem for not only the basic vitamins and minerals found in most supplements however to be sure that the Senior Vitamins like Vitalizer Gold contain an entire array of both Vitamin B and Vitamin E as there are eight of each. Most Vitamins will include only 1 type of Vitamin E and a few of the Vitamin Bs. This is not so with whole food supplements as they are not chemically created. Everything nature supposed a person to eat is already in there.

Phytonutrients such as lignans, carotenoids and lycopene, essential components of Senior Vitamins are proven to prevent DNA degradation and defend against development of cancers related to aging such as colon, breast and prostate cancers along with different conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis. Nature’s synergistic balance of the whole spectrum of nutrition will solely be found in Senior Vitamins created from whole foods. Though rare, a product that additionally contains probiotics can be very beneficial in promotion of digestive health.

Optimally, nutritional supplements like Senior Vitamins ought to only be purchased from an organization that has quality standards, experience and name and one that stands behind the product they sell by giving a guarantee of purity and satisfaction.

Daily Activities for senior should be listed along with the time meals are eaten, the time medications are taken and other physical and mental activities along with other job duties for the caregiver.  The information should include the following:

Nutrition:  Food prepared and meals eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner, fluid intake (number of glasses of water)

Health & Hygiene:  Transfers from bed to chair, bathroom visits, showers, dressing, hair care, skin care, nail care, dental care, exercise routine.

Daily Routine & Vital Signs:  Wake-up time, nap times, bed time, blood pressure, weight, doctor appointments.

Physical and Mental Activities:  Exercises, walks, physical therapy routine, reading books, mental exercise games.

Household Cleaning:  Cleaning kitchen, bathroom, laundry, changing bed linens, sorting mail, sweeping floors, dust rooms, vacuum, run errands, pet care

Seniors should also ask their doctors if there are any activities they would like to track to monitor the success of medications or the symptoms of their medical conditions.  By monitoring daily routines such as times of sleep, meals and exercise, doctors can better measure the impact of medications and the progression of memory loss or the loss of physical capabilities.  This can sometimes result in better diagnosis and slowing down the progresion of age-related diseases.

One of these is likely to be osteoporosis. This is a condition which will weaken the bones and can lead to an increased risk of fractures. A  healthy eating plan for senior who have, or are at risk of getting osteoporosis would include a possible reduction in protein.

You are not saying that you should discard it from your diet, just do not eat too much. Your body uses acid in the digestion of protein and if there is too much you may need to counterbalance this by taking calcium from your bones.

Other conditions that the elderly are prone to include rheumatoid arthritis. There are many debates regarding the affect of certain foods on rheumatoid arthritis and healthy eating for senior who suffer with the condition.

Some claims have been subject to research and others are still just a case of hearsay. It is very difficult to say if there is any link between diet and the condition and many studies are underway.

The good advice that can be given regarding healthy eating for senior is to eat a good, balanced diet with plenty of fresh foods. Do not eat too much protein and try and reduce red meats a little. Calcium is good for the strengthening of bones but do consider the fact that this is protein and bear in mind what we said earlier.

Often, as you get older, you find that your appetite is not as great as it was when you were younger. You may find it easier to digest more, smaller meals rather than one or two larger ones.

Following a careful diet is one way to avoid having to take medication to lower cholesterol. Eating foods with lower levels of cholesterol decreases health risks. Fruits and vegetables have no cholesterol. This is a good place to start. Follow a diet of lean meats and foods made with vegetable fats, most seafood and fish.

Avoid foods with a high content of saturated fat. Many processed items fall in this category, such as cookies, candy, crackers, fried and fast food. Also high in cholesterol are cocoa butter, coconut oil and high-fat dairy foods.

Sodium
Another dietary risk that many seniors are affected by is sodium. Although some sodium is important to help the body with its regular functions, too much can cause high blood pressure, stroke, kidney and heart disease.

Foods high in sodium are not good for health, especially for seniors. One of the most common sources of sodium is table salt. Most Americans sit at the table with every meal accompanied by salt and pepper shakers. One solution for avoiding a high-salt diet is to stop using table salt.

There are many foods that contain salt, or sodium, in them. Adding salt to them only increases health risks. Most processed foods, such as canned soup, pizza, frozen meals, sauces and gravies have a very high sodium content. Foods produced from animals, such as meat, milk, cheese and shellfish are also in the high sodium category. Seniors should limit intake of these foods when possible and focus on labels with printing such as salt-free, low sodium or no salt. Fresh fruits and vegetables are also low in sodium.

A very common choice is nursing home care. Nursing homes represent places where the elderly go to die! Let’s face it. Yes, they get around the clock coverage but most seniors know this is the last place they will ever live. Many seniors are disheartened with the idea of leaving their home and can become very depressed, which can further worsen their health condition.

When making such decisions, it is neccessary to realize that not all elderly people need to go to a nursing home. Nursing homes are great options for elderly people with severe dementia who might harm themselves if left unattended. However, a large portion of the aging population doesn’t need such extreme measures. Many elderly people just need some extra help with the tasks they can no longer do and someone to check up on them and make sure they are alright.

Home care is a terrific option for aging loved ones who do not need 24-hour care and monitoring. Possibly they are recovering from an operation or illness and just need somebody to help with medication, light nursing and even some light physical or mental therapy or other personal care. With senior care, Mom and Dad get to stay in familiar surroundings. Nurses and other professionals visit their house for a certain number of hours per day or week depending on how much care they need, but they still have the freedom and independence that comes with staying in their home.

Being able to remain at home is a great source of self-esteem for elderly people who may otherwise start to become depressed as they realize they can’t do everything they used to do. Home health care is the best option for the well-being of elderly people. Nursing homes should only be used as a last resort, and even then, beginning with home health care can help ease the traumatic transition into full-time residential care.

Your decisions might be financial as well as practical. Nursing homes aren’t cheap! It is encumbant upon seniors and their children to protect their finances well before this decision is imminent. Many seniors own their house which of course becomes a source of income. However, in the present real estate market, the value of the home has diminished substantially. This is why is keeping the elderly at home versus going to an independent living facilitise and nursing homes. On the plus side…seniors are happier in their homes.