Seniors, Diets and Dementia

March 6, 2014 by Valerie VanBooven RN BSN

When it  comes to seniors and their diets there is a lot of discrepancy, both online and in many different books. It sometimes becomes difficult for caregivers to get the proper nutrition into their loved ones as there are many seniors who dislike a change in their diet as they age.

For those who have been accustomed to eating certain foods and snacks over the years, it would be difficult to change diet although the body would be changing rapidly. Seniors can resist the change as it seems scary and uncomfortable, even though there may be problems with their digestive system or teeth. Some diet changes may be immediately necessary depending on if there are health issues.

Many studies suggest different diets are best for seniors. One thing to keep in mind is that for diets at any age are best with fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy meat. It is proven that processed foods are not good for us and making sure part of seniors diet is fresh and healthy is important.

There are also studies that suggest that a high carb diet may increase the risk of dementia. Even small doses of carbohydrates in the blood sugar can be bad for the health and for the brain. It can be detrimental for brain health to have high sugar in your bloodstream. High Carb diets have been linked to dementia, Alzheimer’s, impaired cognitive ability and more physical detriments. This happens to be a controversial study done by Dr.Perlmutter.

Dr.Perlmutter is a neurologist and fellow of the American College of Nutrition and he has just become an editor of a educational peer journal. The journal will publish research dedicated to exploring a whole body system approach on how to heal the body. It will focus a lot on the relationship between the digestive system and the brain.

Dr. Perlmutter states that “We live with this notion that a calorie is a calorie, but at least in terms of brain health, and I believe for the rest of the body as well, there are very big differences between our sources of calories in terms of the impact on our health. Carbohydrate calories, which elevate blood glucose, are dramatically more detrimental to human physiology, and specifically to human health, than are calories derived from healthful sources of fat.”

How to keep your senior sticking to a healthy diet? Keep it interesting, keep it fresh and continually make that your protein and fruit/vegetables are locally sourced. It’s essential to focus on more greens and less processed foods and breads.

 http://www.alzheimerscaretoday.com/blog/seniors-diets-dementia/