How Skilled Nursing Facilities Support A Healthy Diet For Seniors
As people age, they have a greater risk of suffering from chronic health conditions, including:
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Cancer
- COPD
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- High cholesterol
- Hypertension
- Obesity
Maintaining a healthy diet that’s ideal for senior citizens can help older adults reduce their risk of some medical conditions and maintain their quality of life as they age.
Importance Of Nutrition For Seniors
Maintaining a healthy diet for seniors offers the following benefits:
- Maintaining energy and strength: Eating healthy foods helps maintain energy levels and boosts strength.
- Managing or preventing chronic conditions: A healthy diet can help prevent severe health conditions, including:
- DiabetesHeart diseaseHypertensionOsteoporosis
- Some types of cancer
Diet can also be used to manage diabetes and other health issues, preventing worsening symptoms that affect quality of life.
- Support immune health: Including micronutrients, such as iron and vitamin D, helps strengthen immune systems, enabling seniors to fight off viruses and inflammation.
Challenges Seniors May Face With Diet At Home
Older adults may have difficulty maintaining a healthy diet at home for the following reasons:
- Decreased appetite.
- Dietary restrictions, due to health issues or medications.
- Difficulty with meal preparation, due to mobility issues, poor eyesight, and poor coordination.
- Interactions with medication that affect their ability to absorb and digest nutrients.
- Lack of awareness of their nutritional needs.
How Monument Health Group Supports Healthy Diets
Monument Health Group’s skilled nursing facilities focus on the individual needs of each resident. Each person receives an individualized meal plan that’s designed to meet their health needs.
Our team monitors residents’ diets and adjusts the meal plans as needed. Adjustments are made in collaboration with our medical staff, ensuring each resident receives the nutrition needed to promote optimal health.
Our expert team also prioritizes food safety to prevent foodborne illnesses. We promote proper portion sizes, helping each resident maintain a healthy weight, and provide appropriate support when needed.
We’re also available to help residents who need assistance with meals or provide assistive devices for eating and drinking.
Benefits For Seniors
Maintaining a healthy diet offers seniors many benefits, including the following:
- Decreased risk of complications from diet: Some foods interact with medications, causing serious health risks. Maintaining a healthy diet, particularly when monitored by experts in a skilled nursing facility, can help you avoid complications.
- Decreased risk of malnutrition: Consuming a healthy diet ensures you receive all the essential nutrients required for optimal health.
- Improved health: A healthy diet supports your physical and mental health and can help you prevent cognitive decline.
- Increased energy: Healthy diets increase your energy levels.
- Managing symptoms of chronic conditions: Consuming healthy foods helps prevent or manage chronic conditions, such as diabetes.
- More strength: Eating healthy foods boosts your strength, enabling you to stay active and healthy.
Benefits For Families
Suppose you have an older loved one who’s recovering from illness or injury, hospitalization, or surgery. You’ll want to find the most effective way to support their recovery.
Skilled nursing facilities feature expert teams of medical professionals who customize care plans for each individual, ensuring every part of their care prioritizes their needs and recovery goals.
When your loved one receives expert care at a skilled nursing facility, you’ll enjoy the following benefits:
- Certainty your loved one has a professional team managing their diet and ensuring they receive the nutrients needed for optimal health.
- Certainty your loved one receives guidance about dietary practices for seniors.
- Certainty your loved one receives personalized guidance about their dietary needs, including foods to say away from to avoid adverse interactions with medication.
A Healthy Diet As Part Of Skilled Nursing Care
At Monument Health, we prioritize our residents’ dignity and respect their individual needs and preferences. This means we help customize dietary plans featuring foods they enjoy, while ensuring they get the nutrients they need to maintain or restore their health.
Monument Health delivers compassionate, personalized care to each individual. Whether you or an older loved one needs skilled nursing care, you can find a location in Utah where you or your loved one will receive optimal, personalized care, featuring a knowledge-driven approach overseen by medical professionals, tailored to support health goals.
