How To Stay Healthy As An Active Senior
With the ever-growing population, there has been a growth in the elderly population as well. This has become a reason of concern for many. The senior age group has been turning vulnerable to many health and social problems. One major concern would be the inability to move around. Even though there are many medical problems, the elderly still wish to lead a healthy and fruitful life. Independence, good health and the ability to live more productive lives are important aspects of a senior's general well being.
Health tips for the elderly
Following are some health tips for the elderly
1) Drink at least eight glasses of water per day. This includes juices, tea and coffee, tea,
2) For prevention of osteoporosis, increase the amount of calcium intake you have. People above 51 years should have approximately 1200mg intake of calcium per day.
Calcium is found in different types of foods. This includes yogurt, milk, tofu, legumes and broccoli.
Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis. One can get ample amount of vitamin D by eating vitamin D foods fortified like cereals and milk or spending ten-fifteen minutes of sunshine twice a week.
Consult your doctor about vitamin D and calcium supplements if you feel you it will be difficult to get these nutrients through food.
3) To help prevent impaired balance and poor memory:
Increase vitamin B 12 levels through intake from foods
For example: white turkey meat, skinless chicken breast, fish, cereals fortified vitamin B12, and cheese.
4) To help increasing your appetite
Add spices and herbs to give food a pleasant taste, making it more palatable. For instance, add onion or garlic powder to meat before you cook. Lemon pepper, thyme, rosemary and oregano are other herbs, which can be added to your favorite dishes.
5) Dental Care
Brush and floss teeth after meals or at least twice a day
Have them cleaned twice a year
If you use dentures, make sure that are clean and get them checked by your dentist.
6) Maintain Physical Activity
If the elderly engage in physical activity very often, they can lessen the risk of some medical conditions like and muscle degeneration, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart diseases.
For instance gardening, mall walking water aerobics, chair yoga, "water-bottle" lifting, etc., are excellent ways to increase the physical activity level. The elderly can check the local senior or community center for additional activities. One should always check with the doctor before following any exercise regime.
Improve your food habits
Eat the right kind of food. You cannot expect your car to function properly if you have given it the wrong fuel. Similarly, ensure that you feed your body with healthy and nutritious foods, which contain the necessary minerals and vitamins for achieving optimal performance. When winter approaches, build up the immune system by having a well balanced diet of nourishing protein, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. You can add a few supplements to help you. Multi-vitamin tables are quite beneficial. Echinacea, Vitamin C, selenium, fish oils, ginko biloba and EPA are helpful for aiding circulation. Healthy eating is a boon for the elderly as the right choices assist in digestion and leads to overall wellbeing.