Ways Senior Care Can Monitor Nutrition

By Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP | July 6, 2021 |

Lack of nutrition can lead to increased loss of muscle tone, increased health issues, fatigue, and so much more for your senior. It’s absolutely vital that she’s getting the nutrients that she needs every day, but where do you start? Getting a good idea about what nutrients your senior needs can help and senior care providers can guide her with this.

Set Aside Some Time to Talk to Her Doctor about Nutrition

Senior Care Scotch Plains NJ – Ways Senior Care Can Monitor Nutrition

Every person’s nutritional needs are slightly different and the same is true for your senior. She may have complicated health needs that require special attention to specific nutrients. It helps to sit down with her doctor and determine what foods and nutrients are most important to focus on as you’re adjusting your senior’s diet.

Read Nutritional Labels Carefully

Nutritional labels are incredibly important for gathering information about nutrients your senior needs. When your senior is focusing more on eating whole foods, labels aren’t as complicated. But prepackaged foods can have ingredients that she might not need or want. They also may have some surprising information in terms of what you expect those foods to contain that are actually missing.

Pay Special Attention to Salt and Sugar

Excess salt and sugar both have harmful effects on your senior’s health. She likely doesn’t have to eliminate added salt and sugar entirely but paying attention to how much of each is in the foods she eats is important. This is another big reason to check nutritional labels on prepackaged foods.

Find a Meal Solution That Works for Your Senior with Senior Care Help

Cooking is often something that becomes difficult for aging adults. Either pain makes cooking more complicated or cooking for one person just doesn’t feel like a good expenditure of energy. Finding a way for your senior to enjoy healthy meals on a regular basis might involve hiring senior care providers to do the cooking. That way you know your senior is eating well, but she’s still not having to expend excess energy.

Don’t Forget about Hydration

Most people think about water and hydration as separate from nutrition. But proper hydration is key to ensuring that your elderly family member is getting the nutrients that she needs. Sipping water throughout the day is a great way to ensure that it continually hydrates your senior.

Malnutrition can quickly create big problems for your senior. The easiest way to resolve possible nutrient deficiency is to just make eating healthy meals as easy as possible.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Senior Services in Scotch Plains NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.

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Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP

Co-Owner at Generations Home Healthcare LLC

Susan is the Co-Owner of Generations Home HealthCare and has 35 years of business experience and entrepreneurship. For the last 10 years she has been a Registered Nurse working at St. Luke’s Hospital (Bethlehem, PA) in the Neuro/Trauma Unit and as a critical care nurse at Hunterdon Medical Center. She has a B.S. from Rutgers University and a BSN from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.Susan is currently in the process of obtaining her Master’s in Gerontology. Susan is married, has 2 children and 2 grandchildren.

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