This month, The Saybrook at Haddam will celebrate “Jamaica Day,” serving traditional foods and drinks from the island nation, while enjoying Jamaican music, dance and decorations. This is just one of the fun activities we incorporate each month to make meals at our independent retirement and assisted living community interesting, different and enjoyable. Other ways include serving traditional holiday meals, preparing seasonal themed dinners, planning outdoor meals, and offering a wide variety of healthy favorites on a daily basis. Making mealtime social and special is one of the most important things we do to ensure seniors eat well and enjoy the best quality of life possible (without having to shop, cook or clean!).
Families often tell us they worry that their elderly parents or loved ones are not eating enough, are not eating well and consistently, are adding too much salt, or are having other struggles at mealtime. This is often one of the reasons they begin looking at retirement or assisted living communities.
We know from various studies that people begin to lose their taste buds as they age and their sense of smell changes. These are two major factors that affect eating, and they often lead to a decreased desire to eat or to eat well (adding too much salt or sugar to foods, for instance) – which, of course, can lead to malnutrition, weight loss, and other medical concerns. Even worse, poor diets have been linked to anxiety and depression in elderly people.
In a Clear Care article, Dr. Christine Gerbstadt from the American Dietetic Association and author of The Doctors’ Detox Diet says we don’t know why taste perception declines with normal aging, but we should be cautious to counteract the loss of taste. She recommends seniors check with their doctor to rule out any medical conditions that are affecting the sense of taste (which may have treatment).
So, to address these downsides of aging, our kitchen team uses fresh ingredients (purchased locally when possible) seasoned with herbs and spices (instead of salt) to create a wide variety of options to please every palate. We also use mealtime as a social time when residents get to know each other, share stories, and avoid the loneliness of eating alone. It is also a time our wellness team can observe the health of a resident and possibly detect other conditions related to loss of appetite.
For seniors who live alone, here are a few suggestions for helping seniors eat right:
- Limit times they eat alone. Try to arrange times for family members and friends to share meals with seniors and try to bring them to as many family celebrations, potluck dinners, and community meals as possible.
- Serve foods at the right temperature. Foods simply taste better when served as hot or as cold as the recipe indicates.
- Flavor foods with herbs, spices, citrus or vinegar. Basil, cilantro, oregano, turmeric, caraway and dill are just a few common herbs that define and enhance countless foods. Citrus juice, citrus zest, or flavored and aged vinegars are wonderful for marinades or dressings.
- Add variety and introduce new foods. Start with ingredients you know seniors like, then add in different vegetables or flavors to make meals different. Finely chopped vegetables, for instance, can be added to almost any type of filling or sauce.
- Pay attention to time of day seniors feel hungry. Help seniors get the most nutrition when they have the biggest appetite, whether that is at breakfast, lunch or dinner. If the other meals are smaller, you can worry less that they are not eating well.
We incorporate these suggestions (and more) at daily mealtimes at The Saybrook at Haddam. We know when people eat well, they are happier, more active, more sociable and enjoy a better quality of life. To us, that is truly the backbone of all our other successes – and is how we achieve gracious retirement living!
For a personalized tour of The Saybrook at Haddam and its Safe Harbor memory care neighborhood, please fill out the form below or call David Downey at 860-345-8779.
Many families tell us they are comforted that their loved ones have so many health resources available to them at The Saybrook at Haddam. There are many eyes and ears watching carefully for any signs of illness and health monitoring takes place directly and indirectly on a daily basis. When an issue is suspected, families and physicians are contacted and treatment is planned immediately.
Since we opened the Safe Harbor Memory Care community in 2011, we have held many different educational and support events open to residents, their families, and the general community. We have had social workers, Alzheimer’s Association counselors, and specially trained personnel lead these groups, offering valuable insight and information in safe and welcoming settings.
“For caregivers, gathering in a safe environment to discuss frustrations, isolation issues and sadness is a good opportunity to not feel as lonely,” Kathy said. “We take time to answer many questions, suggest tips, discuss loved ones’ stage and progression within the disease, and foster new friendships.”
It is a privilege to share the experience and education of our talented staff in all areas of aging – but most especially regarding memory-related illnesses. The success of our Safe Harbor memory care community has been in great part a result of the willingness of so many people to share so much of themselves – from our staff to our residents and their families to our volunteers and to the many Alzheimer’s experts who visit with us and help us grow. This does, indeed, contribute to a beautiful life.
The Saybrook at Haddam works closely with the Alzheimer’s Association and other professionals to stay ahead of the curve regarding treatments, therapies, and care recommendations. We are always fascinated by the amount of information the Alzheimer’s Association makes available to patients, families, and caregivers – and we try to share as much as we can with the people connected to our Safe Harbor memory care community. This is important throughout most stages of the disease, but especially important at the beginning when families begin to suspect something more than “normal aging” is taking place.
Often, when Alzheimer’s is diagnosed (which can be in men as early as age 60 and in women as early as 70), many families become interested in understanding the brain more – a step that helps them better understand the changes taking place in their loved one. The Alzheimer’s Association’s “
One of the most important exercises we work on as a group is strength-building with light weights. Under careful guidance, residents lift weights with their arms and legs, following various forms and repetitions – all designed to improve physical strength. It is interesting to note that seniors can use their own body weight to help build muscle by doing simple leg lifts and arm raises. Either way, these movements are important to help seniors manage daily tasks of living, maintain better balance to help avoid falls or injuries, and simply enjoy a better quality of life.
We are encouraged by what we do when experts tell us how valuable these exercises are. For instance, Webmd.com points to a review of multiple progressive resistance training, or PRT, studies of 6,700 older participants. They used free weights, exercise machines and/or elastic bands, two to three times a week, increasing difficulty and resistance over time. The study found “PRT produced a large improvement in muscle strength, a moderate to large improvement in doing simple activities such as getting up from a chair or climbing stairs, and a small but statistically significant improvement in doing complex daily activities, such as bathing or preparing a meal. After PRT, people had less pain from 
