Keeping your senior as healthy as possible involves making sure that she’s getting the nutrients that she needs. These are just a few of the most important nutrients your senior should be getting from her diet on a regular basis, and how senior care can help.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is tremendously important in ways that are only just recently starting to be fully understood. Vitamin D is crucial for bone health, but it’s also essential for regulating cellular function throughout the body. It supports immune health, brain function, and muscle function, too. Without enough vitamin D, your senior isn’t able to absorb calcium, another crucial nutrient.
Calcium
Alongside vitamin D, calcium helps your senior to maintain healthy bones and teeth. If your senior has been diagnosed with osteoporosis or even if she’s lost just a little bone density, her doctor may recommend some hefty calcium supplements. But calcium is also important for keeping your senior’s cardiovascular system healthy, too.
B Vitamins
There are quite a few B vitamins, and some of the most important include folic acid and vitamin B12. All of the B vitamins are helpful in avoiding anemia, and they’re also a vital part of protecting nerve health. This is especially important for helping your senior’s brain to stay healthy. Without enough B vitamins, your loved one can very quickly lose muscle tone, lose nerve health, and develop anemia.
Iron
Iron is also important in avoiding anemia. It’s an essential nutrient for red blood cells in particular, which is even more crucial if your senior has any lung health concerns. That’s because the red blood cells ferry oxygen throughout the body via the circulatory system, and low iron levels affect the health of red blood cells. Too few, and there isn’t anything to carry oxygen around, which causes breathing issues for your senior.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Healthy fats are something your senior’s body and brain crave, especially in the form of omega-3 fatty acids. Getting enough omega-3 fatty acids is also associated with preventing macular degeneration and can help your senior’s joints to stay healthy. Omega-3 fatty acids are available in fatty fish as well as plant sources like flaxseeds and walnuts.
Eating a healthy diet is the best way to get all of these nutrients into your senior’s body on a regular basis. It may be time to consider hiring senior care providers to help with meal preparation and even reminding your senior to eat. You’ll also know exactly what your senior is eating, which can alleviate a lot of worry for you.
