Our Thoughts

How Senior Choice in Nutrition Can Assist in Coping with Dementia

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Thaves admin

According to the Alzheimer’s society of Canada, “Nutrition can influence our risk of developing dementia and our chances of ‘living well with dementia’ if diagnosed with the disease.” Factors which play into the importance of senior nutrition are healthy brain development earlier in life, obesity in midlife, long term gradual weight loss and difficulty in maintaining regular diet.

 

Healthy Brain Development

It is really important for those who have significant cases of dementia or early onset Alzheimer’s to be cautious of the diet they have and the lifestyle they lead. Having and developing a healthy brain can assist in preventing dementia and its effects in later life. Keeping the brain strong will assist in maintaining cognizant functions.

 

Obesity in Midlife

Carrying extra and unnecessary weight can put a lot of stress on the brain and heart as well as other crucial organs which can cause them to have delays and underperformance. Part of a healthy brain is constant and healthy blood being transferred to the brain. With stress put on the heart because of extra fat, the under performance of the heart can affect the blood fluidity and therefore lower the effectiveness of the brain’s commands. Nutrition can be a significant factor in maintaining an acceptable weight for body measurements and provide less stress and inflammation around the heart and lungs.

 

Long term gradual body mass decrease.

Dementia can be developing and onset as early as 20-30 years before noticeable symptoms are detected. Part of dementia developing is a gradual (usually at least a decade) of gradual weight loss and body mass decrease. Proper nutrition will assist in keeping bones strong and the body fueled with energy as the decline becomes more rapid.

 

Maintaining a diet with dementia can be difficult

A significant aspect of Dementia is the memory loss. Remembering when you last ate or when to eat at all is not something that is easily triggered. Without proper maintenance, some dementia sufferers can go through hours or even days without eating a proper nutritious meal. Without the proper diet, lowered cognitive functions and brain stimulation can contribute to other health issues or physical delays in movement and speech.

 

ContinYou Care is really focused on making life with late life diseases as cope-able as possible. Regulating meal times and including residents of Long Term Care Facilities in the process of choosing foods may also increase their ability to consume at all. For many, taste and palette is very important to what they will and will not eat. With such a delicate disease as dementia can make a person, skipping meals due to distaste could be eliminated.