How Seniors Can Get The Most Nutrition From Their Food

A nutritious diet is one key to good health. Including a balance of vitamins, minerals, protein and carbohydrates is important for everybody, senior citizens in particular. Seniors and those that are cooking for them, such as family members and senior home care professionals, should pay special attention to foods that are low in cholesterol, fat and sugar, but high in vitamins and protein. A variety of fruits and vegetables, milk and cheeses, protein and whole grains is important for any diet. Interim Healthcare can help its patients choose the right types of foods for a healthy diet. Within our senior care services we offer meal preparation and planning and shopping assistance to help keep seniors on track with a well-balanced diet.  

Where to find foods with high concentrations of vitamins and minerals can be perplexing sometimes. Here are a few tips. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends a healthy diet including foods from five of the six food groups to promote good health and lower risks of chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain cancers. The five food groups for a well-balanced daily diet are fruits; vegetables; breads and cereals; milk and cheeses; meat, fish, dry beans and poultry. Fats, sweets and alcohol also make up a food group, but eating choices from this group should be limited.

Seniors should especially focus on calcium, protein, fiber, and vitamins A, C and E. Here are a few ideas on which foods are rich sources of these.


Foods that have no cholesterol are especially good for you. Fruits and vegetables fall into this group. Most of them are low in fat as well. Find vitamin A in fruits and vegetables like Chinese cabbage, pumpkin, spinach and cantaloupe.  Other foods high in vitamin A include picked herring, liver and cooked cereals.

Vitamin E is great for the skin and helps the body in healing. Find high levels of this vitamin in tomato products, avocados, spinach, nuts, peanut butter and herring. Look for it in lower cholesterol oil, such as canola. Sources rich in vitamin C include citrus fruits, cantaloupe, guava, strawberries, pineapple, green pepper, broccoli, kale and peas.

Calcium is found in foods traditionally referred to as “dairy products.” Milk that is low-fat or no-fat is especially good for you, although other types of milk have calcium as well. Cheese and yogurt also have high calcium levels. Other high-calcium foods not in this food group are oatmeal, tofu, pink salmon, white beans, okra, clams, collards and molasses.

Foods high in fiber help the body stay regular. High-fiber foods include various types of beans, such as kidney, pinto, black, soy, and Navy. Also look to artichokes, crackers, pears, bulgur, bananas, parsnips, oat muffins and apples for a rich source of fiber.

Protein is the body’s fundamental building block. It replaces enzymes and cells, an important function in seniors. While some foods high in protein are also high in cholesterol and fat, varying sources of protein and choosing carefully will keep a nutritious diet on track. Eat foods like poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds and meat.

Source: http://www.interimhealthcare.com

Hitting 50? Work out tips for the middle-aged

By Tarek Yacoub 

The older you get, the more susceptible your metabolism is to slowing down, making it difficult to lose weight or gain any muscle.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, we enter the premises of being called “middle-aged” when we begin to lose lean muscle mass from the body – this condition is called Sarcopenia.

However, what if you were told there is a way to reverse this peculiar reaction? Hollywood heavyweights Dwayne Johnson, Terry Crews and Hugh Jackman are prime examples of breaking the mold.

Hypertrophies

There are two types of muscle hypertrophies: Myofibrillar and Sarcoplasmic. The objective here is to concentrate on Myofibrillar exercises because it focuses on increasing fiber mass that is responsible for giving you that “pump” sensation when you finish training.

To delve more into it, you need continuously stimulate tension on the muscles so, when cellular fatigue happens, your fibers gets damaged. This ultimately results with it repairing itself to withstand bigger and tougher sets.

This is how most celebrities in their 40s and 50s stay in shape.

If you’re fairly new to the lifting scene, incorporate 10 to 12 repetition per set for the first week (regardless of the exercise executed) - just enough to get you warmed up. Then move into isometric, slightly heavier sets with 6 to 8 repetitions over a span of 4 weeks. Then repeat for another regimen (e.g. squatting, Barbell Row or Deadlift).

The whole point for this is to get your body out of that futile mode and into hefty training.

Rest Periods

Why is it important? As part of self-development, your body requires the adequate time to completely heal from the pounding that you’re putting it through day in, day out. Muscles become thicker when your growth hormone multiplies and it tends to be at its highest during resting periods.

Another reason would be to relax your nervous system. You don’t want to wake up feeling sleep deprived as this will consequently lower your Leptin (hormone) level. We don’t want your body to feel ravenous for fatty food, that’s not what we are after – unless it is a cheat day.

Nutrition

You will have to start eating fat. The good kind of course. So, what better way to take in raw omega-3 nutrients than from salmon and sardines. Aside from that, you’ll need to garnish your plate with vegetables. Every fitness enthusiast is big on consuming protein and carbohydrates, but what a majority of them fail to notice is having a considerable amount of Antioxidants post-working out. This is because Antioxidants minimize collateral damage that surrounds the tissues – oh, those fiber healing Samaritans. 

Source: http://english.alarabiya.net

Nutrition Tips for Seniors

The key to being healthy is to eat right and get plenty of exercise. As we age, the body tends to slow down, so getting enough exercise isn’t always possible. That doesn’t mean you should stop exercising just because you’re not able to do what you used to–but your exercise regimen may have to change. So should your diet. As your body ages, it may undergo a variety of changes, so your nutritional needs may be different. Following are a few nutrition tips for seniors.

Eat Whole Grains
One way to make sure you’re eating healthy and getting the nutrition you need is to include whole grains in your diet. The National Institute on Aging has recommended that at least half of your daily intake of grains be in the form of whole grains–the whole grains in pastas and cereal contain more nutrition per serving than refined grains and will help sustain the correct amount of blood sugar you need, which will give you more energy.

Get Lots of Fiber in Your Diet
Whole grains contain a great deal of fiber, which should also be an important part of your diet. Fiber-rich foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and beans, can help you feel like you’re full for a long period of time, so you’re not constantly snacking on unhealthy foods. High fiber foods can also help manage high cholesterol and prevent constipation. It would be a good idea to have a source of fiber in every meal you eat.

Include a Source of Calcium in Your Diet
As you age, your body undergoes a variety of changes. Among them is its propensity to absorb the calcium in your bones, which can make them weak, brittle, and susceptible to breaking. Including a source of calcium in your diet is important in order to replace the natural loss. Foods such as milk, cheese, and yogurt are rich in calcium, as are leafy green vegetables. You can also take a calcium supplement to make sure your body will replace the loss of calcium in your bones.

Drink Liquids
The aging process also takes a toll on your ability to regulate the fluid levels in your body. As a result, you could become dehydrated. Drinking plenty of fluids is recommended to alleviate this problem. Being properly hydrated will help reduce the likelihood of constipation and help prevent urinary tract infections, which can be debilitating. Make sure you drink plenty of liquids throughout the day to help ensure you’ll remain healthy.

Reduce the Intake of Sodium
It would also be a good idea to reduce the amount of sodium you have in your diet. Although sodium, also known as salt, enhances the flavor of your food, too much of it is bad for the body, especially as you age. In order to give your food a bit more flavor, you can try a number of different seasonings that don’t contain salt, or at least have a minimal amount. When you’re shopping, pay attention to the list of ingredients in such things as soup, bread, frozen meals, and canned vegetables. Pick the product that lists a lower amount of sodium content than competing products in order to reduce your intake of sodium.

Eat a Balanced Diet
As you age, it becomes even more important to eat a balanced diet than it ever was before. Making sure you receive the correct amount of each food group will help you get healthy, and stay that way. Your daily diet should include the proper amounts of grains, fruits and vegetables, meats and beans, dairy products, and oils. Even though it gets a bad rap, your body also needs fat to help it stay healthy. Of course, the fats need to be in the form that is contained in avocados, nuts, or vegetable oils, and not saturated fats.

See Your Doctor
In order to assure that you’re getting the right amount of foods, as well as the right types, you should see your doctor and have them work up a healthy diet plan for you. Seeing a doctor on a regular basis is extremely important as you age. Their examinations will reveal whether or not you’re in need of any special additions to your diet, or if you need to reduce your intake of certain foods.

Source: http://www.mayanz.com

Nutrition Tips for Women Over 50

By Carol Burns, RD, MS

As a woman ages, her body naturally loses muscle and body fat builds up more easily. These changes are triggered by alterations in a woman’s hormonal balance. Eating healthy and exercising regularly can help to slow down muscle loss and aid weight control. They can also help a woman with the prevention against heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, cancer and even the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. These are risks that increase with family history, inactive lifestyle and eating a poor diet.

Here are some tips on good nutrition and exercise for women.

Q: What are some good nutrition and anti-aging secrets?
Keep weight gain at bay. Cutting back on calories, regular exercise and strength training are all good ways to help build more muscle. With more muscle, the body is able to burn more calories.

Keep bones strong. Get adequate calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin D is critical to calcium absorption in your body. The body can synthesize vitamin D from sun exposure, as the body ages it’s less able to process the sun’s vitamins.

Prevent heart disease and more. Enjoy the bounty native to Mediterranean countries – plenty of seafood, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and use olive oil. Red meats are served less often and wine is consumed in low to moderate amounts. The good nutrition found in a Mediterranean-style diet is thought to lower heart disease risk, because it is low in unhealthy fats, especially trans fats and saturated fats and provides overall good nutrition and monounsaturated fats in olive oil.

Q: What should I be doing to improve my nutrition?

Try to eat a wide variety of foods, including 5 servings of fruits & vegetables daily. Boost calcium and vitamin D. That means three to four 8-ounce servings of low-fat dairy every day. If you are intolerant, try hard cheese yogurt, fortified products like orange juice, canned salmon, broccoli and legumes. Take 1000 to 1500 milligrams of calcium daily if you are not getting adequate calcium in your diet and try for the new Institute of Medicine’s recommendation for Vitamin D of 600 IU daily. Talk with your physician about your specific needs.

Eat more fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes because these will give you plenty of disease-fighting antioxidants, more fiber and less sodium. Get enough fiber from whole-wheat pasta, cereals and breads, oatmeal, brown rice, popcorn and fresh fruits and vegetables as all are high in fiber. Eat the right proteins by balancing lean protein (like skinless chicken), fatty fish like salmon (with omega-3 fatty acids) and vegetable proteins. Enjoy a vegetarian meal a few times a week as a plant-based diet is low-calorie and dense in vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting antioxidants.

Cut salt intake because too much salt is linked to high blood pressure. Choose fats wisely and keep fats to a minimum. Avoid trans and saturated fats. Limit butter, margarine, salad dressing, fried foods, snack foods and sweets. “Good fats” include many vegetables oils like olive oil and fish oils, such as salmon and tuna. Curb the sweets by limiting the soft drinks, sugar and sweets; they can be loaded with calories and have little nutritional value. 

Source:  http://www.womensjournals.com