Foods to Stay Away From as a Senior With Heart Problems
So many seniors are worried about heart health, and for a good reason: as more people become seniors, the more those people are diagnosed with heart disease. This is a disease that causes damaged blood vessels, blood clots, and structural problems; if it is not diagnosed and treated, it can mean death for people suffering from heart disease.
If your loved one has been diagnosed with heart problems or heart disease, diet is going to be a key focus in maintaining heart health. Your loved one may need help preparing meals, avoiding foods, and maintaining nutrition as they age in place, and these are all tasks that senior home care can help with.
As senior home care providers are helping with food, both your parents and senior home care should know what foods to avoid.
Fast Food Hamburgers
Everyone loves a good hamburger, but fast food is not the best choice for a loved one. If they are craving a hamburger, senior home care providers help them make fresh patties to grill up or cook on the stovetop.
Fast food is bad for your heart, and no matter what age you are, it is not something anyone should eat regularly. Burgers, especially fast food, tend to be a bad choice when focusing on cardiovascular health. Most hamburgers are packed with salt, saturated fats, and empty carbs, which makes it a wrong choice for seniors; on top of all that, most of them have extra sugar and sweetened condiments that are not good for overall health.
Soft Drinks
If you don’t know what a soft drink is, that’s okay. Soft drinks are sodas, pops, and drinks you get from a fountain. They are filled with sweeteners, sugar, and chemicals that are extremely bad for the heart. A senior may drink one occasionally and be fine, but they should never consume multiple drinks a week, and it should never be considered a daily beverage for them.
Senior home care professionals should encourage your loved one to stay hydrated by drinking water and other fluids that will help with hydration levels but also not increase their sugar intake. The more sugar a senior drinks, the more it puts their heart at a greater risk.
Anything Deep Fried
Deep-fried foods tend to be so tasty, but they are so bad for your heart, and this is especially true for seniors. They are fried using oil and are usually coated in carbs to make them extra crispy. By frying any food, you add so much saturated fat into that food, and there are no health benefits to eating anything fried.
Your senior mom or dad should focus on eating fresh fruits and vegetables filled with antioxidants and nutrients their bodies crave. The older a senior gets, the more imperative it becomes to stop eating fried or fast foods.
Avoid Candy
The truth is that sugar is not good for your heart. Unfortunately, many seniors have become addicted to sugar over the years, and they want something to satisfy their sweet tooth. This is when they need to start eating more sweet fruits with natural sugars rather than straying toward candy.
Senior home care providers can help with grocery shopping and meal prep to help seniors understand why they should avoid candy and other unhealthy foods.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care in Holmdel Township, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Lares Home Care (732) 334-3323.
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