Holiday Nutrition and Healthy Eating for Seniors

Holidays can be especially tricky for seniors with dietary restrictions, as high-calorie meals, extra portions and tempting desserts may derail a healthy eating regimen.

Maintaining a healthy weight and eating nutritiously is crucial to managing diabetes, strengthening bones and muscles, and maintaining cognitive function as we age. Follow these simple tips this holiday season for making more intelligent food choices!

Intuitive Eating

At a time of endless diet fads and trendy diet plans, intuitive eating stands out as a unique philosophy that promotes a healthier relationship between body and food. Based on the principle that our bodies naturally strive to align themselves with their environment, intuitive eating allows you to adjust its own nutrition needs instinctively without restrictions or counting. It offers no weight restrictions or calorie counting.

Although IE is not intended as a weight-loss program, evidence shows it may help people who follow its principles to lower their BMIs. Unfortunately, given the short follow-up periods and small sample sizes of clinical studies and the homogeneous nature of its population, it’s difficult to assess if this effect persists long term; additionally none of the clinical studies provide information regarding program adherence both during and after intervention periods.

Few existing studies on intuitive eating (IE) and its relationship to other physical health indicators have had varied findings. One such research paper that investigated Health at Every Size programs discovered that participants reported more positive emotions and improved body image after completion, than before starting. Another research study discovered IE’s association with improved psychological health but not with changes in cholesterol or blood pressure levels.

Studies examining links between intuitive eating (IE) and other physical health measures have been performed by three studies, two using Tribole and Resch’s original ten principles of IE defined by them while one used Hawks’ alternative Intuitive Eating Scale (Hawks IES). All three found that IE was associated with healthier eating patterns; one study being distinguished as having “Intuitive Eaters” who scored above or below average on Hawks’ IES scale as its definition for an “Intuitive Eaters group”.

Finally, of the seven available studies that examined links between IE and physical activity levels are RCTs or cross-sectional surveys examining My Body Knows When programs – three RCTs were devoted specifically to IE programs while the remaining was an investigation of My Body Knows When programs. At publication time, these findings suggest that IE was negatively associated with BMI but positively associated with various psychological health indicators and improved eating patterns but not physical activity levels.

MyPlate

Since 2011, when MyPlate took its place as the visual representation for a balanced diet, many seniors have adopted its use to encourage eating vegetables and fruit alongside grains, protein foods, dairy and sugary drinks in moderation – as well as limit sugary drinks and fatty foods. Both the website and mobile app feature resources including daily checklists, recipes and interactive tools that make this visual diet easy to use.

MyPlate can be customized for each individual, making it simple and effective in helping to make healthy lifestyle changes even over time. With its intuitive graphic, MyPlate helps people make small but lasting steps toward leading healthier lifestyles.

MyPlate can be an invaluable tool for people of all ages, particularly older adults. According to studies, eating healthily during later life can help maintain cognitive and physical wellbeing as well as reduce or postpone chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.

MyPlate website features a section specifically dedicated to older adults that provides resources tailored to meet their nutritional needs, including tips for making the most of SNAP benefits, making food budget savvy decisions, and discussing individual dietary needs such as higher vitamin and mineral needs that may be difficult to meet with a lower calorie intake.

Making smart food choices can be challenging, particularly with limited time or finances. Luckily, there are numerous free tools and resources available to support you on this journey.

MyPlate website and mobile app make it easy to track your diet step-by-step by setting goals and offering support as you make healthier food choices. Plus, Shop Simple allows you to locate savings near you while finding new ways to prepare budget-friendly foods!

Consider trying the MyPlate Alexa Skill for nutrition tips delivered straight to your voice device. Available on any Alexa-enabled device, this skill provides quick and convenient nutrition tips when cooking, cleaning or doing other chores around the house – such as reminding you when it is time for vegetables at meals or snacks!

Portion Control

As people age, maintaining a healthy weight becomes ever more critical to overall wellness. Portion control can assist seniors in eating well-balanced meals and reduce the risk of overeating and weight gain – both which may contribute to serious health problems – yet understanding proper portion sizes may be challenging for some seniors. Personal care services at home may assist seniors by teaching important eating practices as well as offering healthy meal options and snacks.

Fox: To reduce holiday calorie consumption effectively and easily, try drinking plenty of water before and during meals. Being thirsty may cause your body to misinterpret hunger signals, so always have water ready before every bite you take. If a festive beverage is part of the festivities, try cutting back its serving size or opting for low-cal alternatives like seltzer water as part of celebrations.

Another key tip for holiday eating success is focusing on whole foods that naturally have lower caloric and fat intake than processed or high-sugar or fat foods. Don’t forget to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables as sources of essential nutrition!

Pre-portioning snacks is easier when they’re put into small bags or bowls – this way they’re out of sight and out of mind, and less likely to tempt us into overeating them! Furthermore, it can be helpful at buffets to take a stroll around before filling your plate so you can see all available choices before piling on more items than necessary.

When planning holiday meals, select lean meats and limit fatty dairy products like butter and lard. Use healthier cooking methods such as steaming, roasting and baking instead of deep frying or excessive use of oil and butter. It is also helpful to include proteins, carbohydrates fruits and vegetables at every meal to provide comprehensive intake of vitamins and minerals while aiding healthy digestion and satiety. With these simple yet effective strategies you can still experience all the flavor, tradition and nostalgia associated with holiday celebrations without jeopardizing your nutritional goals!

Slow Eating

Eating slowly is an effective way to promote digestion, reduce gastrointestinal problems and shed pounds. Eating slower can also increase enjoyment at mealtimes while creating healthier eating habits in seniors. Reframing mealtimes as an opportunity to quickly devour food to viewing them as opportunities for enjoyment, connection and wellbeing is crucial when transitioning seniors away from quicker-paced eating patterns; but it is possible to switch over by serving smaller portions or choosing foods easier to chew/swallow such as soft foods (GentleFoods moulded soft food/bentos).

Researchers from the University of Rhode Island discovered that when eating quickly, your stomach may not have enough time to break down food into chyme – an alkaline liquid consisting of partially digested food mixed with hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes, and water that passes through your pylorus on its way out for elimination. Chyme is important in digestion by breaking down proteins and fats so they can enter the bloodstream – and its formation may result in stomach upset if improperly done.

Research at URI also demonstrated that slower eaters experience reduced hunger and desire for food after meals, possibly due to how their bodies process chyme or because slow eaters take larger bites and chew their food more thoroughly than fast eaters. Furthermore, slow eaters reported greater levels of satisfaction with their meals while showing greater suppression of ghrelin (an appetite hormone), recalling these memories more vividly than those in normal rate group.

URI research revealed that participants experienced distress when instructed to consume meals more slowly, perhaps because this practice isn’t part of our culture. They might also have found the slow eating regimen challenging because they didn’t feel they were getting enough nutrition; though tolerance may develop with continued exposure.