Patient Daily Living

While studies will continue to debate whether certain foods or specific vitamins and minerals can prevent cancer and other diseases, one thing is clear: Eating a diet that provides these nutrients is certainly healthier for you than not.      

 If you know the less obvious underlying causes of malnutrition, you’ll be in a better position to spot them and intervene.

Malnutrition is a serious health issue in the elderly. Liquid senior nutritional supplements can help aging parents maintain complete, balanced nutrition for everyday health and wellbeing.

Eating can be one of the most pleasurable and sociable parts of the day for seniors, or it can be frustrating and unfulfilling. Even the most active people slow down as they age and can develop food allergies and other difficulties with eating. But the bottom line is: along with exercise, healthy eating is vital for all of us, especially as we age.

Nutrition for the elderly is essential and, done properly, can lead to healthy aging. Senior nutrition is not complicated, but as we age we do have some different health and nutritional concerns of which we need to be aware.

Have you ever noticed how an aroma can produce a wonderful memory? Our olfactory senses are very powerful in that way. One whiff of fresh baked bread, cookies, or a holiday meal can immediately take you back to being a child. Our sense of smell is so tied into our sense of taste that most people don't even realize how efficiently the two work together. When the elderly lose their sense of taste and smell, they often also experience a lack of appetite. Understanding the human sense of smell is an important step in appetite stimulation in the elderly.

Comedian Phyllis Diller once said, "Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home." People aged 65+ represent about one-eighth (12.6 percent) of the total US population of 308 million, and while many older Americans live active and independent lives, some turn to nursing homes for nurturing support. Nursing home residents hope and expect to be in a place where they will feel safe, comfortable and cared for by committed and caring individuals. Nursing home residents will likely live in accommodations that have more in common with a hotel than a hospital with a room of their own, access to gardens and lounges and three meals a day served in the dining room.

Whether you’re planning a two-week cruise or visiting out-of-town relatives for a few days over the holidays, senior travel can be great for the whole family. Traveling with an elderly loved one can be more than just manageable—you can all enjoy the time away from your usual routine. The secret to successfully traveling with a senior is taking along the equipment and daily living aids, usually in portable formats, that you depend on at home. Some versions are designed to fit flat in a suitcase to make bringing them even easier. Of course, these aids for seniors can also be ordered and shipped to your destination ahead of time.

Who doesn’t enjoy playing a great game with their family or friends, or even by themselves? My favorite thing about board games is that they are ageless. Everyone from a 5 year old to a 95 year old can enjoy them.

Every time seniors play a card, board game or even computer game, they’re staying sharp—stimulating their brains and staving off the onset of dementia or even Alzheimer’s disease. This conclusion comes from long-time and recent studies that found that seniors who engage in mentally demanding leisure activities lowered their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia by as much as 75 percent.

Quality of life issues are vital in elderly care circles. Whether you're a caregiver for an elderly parent in the home or overseeing care for someone in an assisted living facility or nursing home, it's up to caregivers, family members, and friends to ensure that our elders maintain dignity, self-respect and confidence in themselves. The best way to do that is to make sure that the elderly person or senior feels good about him or herself.