Typically, a healthy diet for seniors consists of healthy fats, carbs, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients. These components are crucial for Alzheimer’s patients because they maintain brain health and decrease the disease’s development. However, depending on the stage of Alzheimer’s your senior has, they may not be able to cook for themselves. In fact, it can be dangerous to allow them to use the stove and oven unattended. If you are worried about your mom or dad living at home even in the early stages of this disease, you may need to consider hiring a home care professional. Here are some tips you or home care specialists can use to start helping your senior meal prep for the week.
Always Limit the Sugar
Typically, refined sugars lack the fiber, minerals, and vitamins required to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, a healthy meal plan excludes cakes, cookies, pasta, white rice, white flour bread, and processed meals. Instead, your elderly loved one should have low-fat yogurt, whole grain bread and pasta, fresh fruit, and dark chocolate. It is normal for older persons with Alzheimer’s to have dry mouth and constipation, so he or they should take liquids with little or no sugar and drink lots of water to minimize these concerns.
Eat More Leafy Vegetables
You may include veggies in your loved one’s breakfast, lunch, supper, and snacks to increase their vitamin, calcium, and iron intake. By consuming a few cups of leafy green vegetables daily, seniors may assist their brains in combating harmful chemicals that contribute to cognitive impairment. Kale, spinach, collard greens, and cabbage are the most nutritious leafy greens to include in your loved one’s diet.
Focus on Fatty Fish Intake
Choose to abstain from red meat and consume fish instead. Salmon, tuna, trout, and other fatty fish that contain omega-3 fatty acids are the greatest seafood selections. Consuming these fish improves cognitive function and general mental wellness
Fruit In Every Meal
Blackberries, cherries, and blueberries provide the body with the flavonoids required to activate the brain circuits that prevent cellular damage. Encourage your loved one to eat fresh fruit a few times each week, whether with cereal and yogurt in the morning, in a salad for lunch, or as a dessert after dinner.
Don’t Let Them Eat Too Many Fried Foods
The occasional consumption of fried fish or chicken by your loved one is OK. However, fried foods should not be a regular component of the diet since they might raise the consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol levels. To form clusters, amyloid-beta molecules adhere to lipid cell membranes containing cholesterol. Instead of fried meals, the meal plan for your loved one should include baked meats, seafood, side dishes, and snacks.
Avoid Butter But Not Olive Oil
Olive oil should be used instead of butter and vegetable oil while making meals and snacks. Olive oil’s vitamin E and monounsaturated fats help preserve memory and cognitive functions. Olive oil-prepared meals and salad dressings may help inhibit the production of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
