Eating healthy to maintain a healthy heart is essential nutrition for seniors.
You have to be careful in choosing food for seniors to avoid heart disease. Their diet should contain less fat, sodium, calories, and have more fiber content to lead a heart-healthy life.
Typically, meat, butter, cheese, and milk contains more fat and should be eaten in limited quantities. Consuming less sodium will help reduce blood pressure, and this may assist in avoiding the risks of developing heart disease.
One of the factors that lead to heart disease is a sedentary lifestyle. Keeping your seniors moving, especially walking is a good exercise for heart health.
These activities can be done for at least 20 to 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week. It is better to have an exercise schedule every alternate day. This habit helps them exercise regularly and without getting bored.
Here are a few more ways as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist you can help maintain a healthy heart for seniors:
- Give up smoking – It’s the single best thing they can do for heart health.
- Staying active can reduce the risk of developing heart disease. It can also be a great mood booster and stress buster.
- Manage weight – Being overweight can increase the risk of heart disease. Stick to a healthy, balanced diet low in fat and sugar, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, combined with regular physical activity.
- Eat more fiber – Offer plenty of fiber to help lower the risk of heart disease – aim for at least 30g a day.
- Cut down on saturated fat – Eating too many foods that are high in saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in the blood. This increases the risk of heart disease. Choose leaner cuts of meat and lower-fat dairy products like 1% fat milk over full-fat (or whole) milk.
- Get 5 A DAY – Offer at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day. They’re a good source of fiber and vitamins.
- Cut down on salt – To maintain healthy blood pressure, avoid using salt at the table, and try adding less to your cooking. Once they get used to the taste of food without added salt, you can cut it out completely.
- Eat fish – Eat fish at least twice a week, including a portion of oily fish. Fish such as mackerel, sardines, fresh tuna, and salmon are a source of omega-3 fats, which can help protect against heart disease.
- Read the food label – When shopping, it’s a good idea to look at the label on food and drink packaging to see how many calories and how much fat, salt, and sugar the product contains.
Understanding what nutrition seniors need to lead a heart-healthy life will help them make healthier choices.