The Essex Center Highlights the Importance of Diet in Senior Health Care.

Daily preventative care can be as important for senior health as medical treatment, so we do everything we can at the Essex Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation to promote healthy eating habits among our patients. We take special care to ensure that our patients receive the recommended sources of nutrition to support their well-being and bolster their immune systems.

Younger family members with sturdier bodies and stronger defenses don’t always consider the importance of nutrition, and some of our patients would rather limit their intake to those few foods they like best. While everyone agrees that our elders have earned the right to enjoy their twilight years as much as possible, it can be easy to overlook the non-immediate effects of too much indulgence or exclusion.

Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, memory problems, strokes, and various bacterial and viral infections can all be negatively affected by an improperly balanced diet. It is imperative for senior nutrition that our elders receive the proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fiber, while moderating intake of saturated fats, sugars, and carbohydrates.

For many seniors, sufficient fluid consumption can sometimes be an issue, but too much salt and fluid intake can be detrimental for those battling the risks of heart failure and kidney disease. Obviously, empty calories like those found in sodas, chips, cookies, etc., are to be avoided as well.

Both a lifetime of strictly monitoring one’s health and one of eating and drinking how we please can give us all the false impression that nutrition is not a critical element of our later years. On the contrary, proper diet while in nursing care can drastically affect a patient’s comfort and well being. So, the Essex Center asks that you cooperate with us in promoting healthy patient dietary habits whenever possible.