Patient Daily Living

According to the CDC's most recent data, there were 463 choking deaths related to food among people aged 65 to 85+ years old in 2006. There is a lot you can do to safeguard your loved ones and avoid this.

When you’re planning a menu for family get-togethers that will include elderly folks, consider what Ellen Krasnoff, RRT, says to avoid: steak, hot dogs, popcorn, peanut butter, and several other no-nos.

The Dr. Gourmet Diet for Coumadin Users by Timothy Harlan, MD, shows you how to enjoy healthy, tasty food and improve your health.

Recent long-term research studies have pointed to a number of essential nutrients that many seniors lack, but that are especially valuable for those who have a risk or history of heart disease, stroke or Alzheimer’s disease. Here are three “super foods” that are loaded with these essential nutrients. So go ahead and eat up!

Hypertension is not an easy disease to manage, but one approach that may help is the DASH eating plan.

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.

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.