How To Deal With Changing Nutritional Needs As We Age
A healthy diet can help you live longer, feel younger, and have more energy to stay active. Even if you’ve always been a healthy eater, the diet that was sufficient in your 20s, 30s, and 40s, might not be nutritionally adequate today. The process of ageing affects nutritional needs, thus, a balanced diet can help the elderly to keep various medical conditions, such as low immunity, decreased energy, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and osteoporosis at bay.
Nutritionists suggest that a typical meal of seniors should be an ideal balance of vegetables (40 percent), grains (30 percent), protein (20 percent) and fruits (10 percent), as well as some dairy. They should also consume fiber-rich foods, drink water and other low-sugar beverages, and use fortified foods or supplements to meet their needs for vitamins.
Unfortunately, many seniors don’t eat nutritious meals on a regular basis for varied reasons ranging from physical limitations to loneliness to cognitive challenges and more. This challenge is very well addressed by senior living communities which ensure a range of well-chosen facilities and activities that very well take care of health and fitness of their residents. Seniors who reside at senior living communities have benefits of receiving their daily nutrition and enjoying wholesome meals in the company of their peers and friends.
Here are some of the ways senior-living communities focus on nutrition and dining:
1. Balanced and nutritionally assessed meals: Most modern senior-living communities include meals prepared by expert chefs who create delicious, fresh, and healthy options that the residents enjoy. They also create an atmosphere in the dining room, where residents can relish fresh meals in the company of their peers. For instance, at Antara — a luxury senior living community in Dehradun, one can indulge in their culinary favourites with a personal chef or; if one has special nutritional needs, they can have a dedicated nutritionist recommend fresh, healthy, nutrition-assessed meals.
2. Locally grown and freshly prepared meals: To help people age well, one of the best things that senior living communities are doing is to serve up fresh foods that are seasonal and have been locally grown. They either grow it themselves or source from a local produce supply chain. The focus is on fresh, local food and recipes that address residents’ specific dietary needs including those with specific medical conditions.
3. Dining as an Experience: While it is essential for the elderly to maintain a healthy diet and it is not uncommon for this segment of the population to experience a loss of appetite as they age — especially when living alone. This can be very well dealt with a proper fitness regime, an active lifestyle and dining options that elevate the dining experience. Most luxury senior living communities today offer a range of well-chosen activities that raise your levels of health and fitness- thus appetite and urge to eat well. To elevate dining experiences, Antara accommodates multiple dining options ranging from garden restaurants to eat-out verandas to all day dining to private dining room or even community kitchen. Progressive seniors here, can also enjoy the flexibility of special menus that can be custom created for special occasions or festivals or may be just to make a regular day interesting and special.
Choosing to stay at a senior living community can help foster a lifestyle that is healthier, more meaningful, and closer to home.
