Senior Care News

Why a Senior Needs to Eat More Protein

Proper nutrition, including adequate protein intake, is crucial for seniors to maintain health and muscle mass as they age, and home care services can help ensure their dietary needs are met.

Your loved one will need to focus on nutrition as they age in place; this is something that should not go on the back burner. There is a myth stating that seniors need to consume less food than older adults, but that is not true. In fact, to maintain muscle mass and stay healthy as seniors age, they will need just as many calories as a younger person, plus a ton of protein.

If you or a loved one is unsure of how many calories they should be eating every day, ask a doctor or nutritionist.

Your senior needs to focus on filling up with tons of protein, and here is why and how home care services can help.

Protein Helps Build Muscles

Your senior loved one may start to lose muscle mass, which can be bad. Muscle helps seniors move around, stay stable, and remain independent. The more muscle they have, the more they can do on their own around the house.

The best way to ensure they maintain what muscle they do have is through diet and exercise. They will need to eat a certain amount of protein to maintain and build muscle but also need to move around. Your senior should be focused on eating lean meats, cheese, milk, and other foods to get protein.

If your senior loved one needs help making protein-based meals, home care providers can assist them.

Protein Will Help a Senior Stay Full for Longer

If your senior loved one is focused on maintaining weight or lowering their weight, protein can help with those goals. When a senior eats more protein, they will feel fuller and stay full for a lot longer because it takes more time for their body to digest it. Your loved one may find a salad with chicken to be more filling than a whole plate of vegetables and that is because the protein helps fill them up.

Remember, there are other ways to get protein, like beans and milk. Garbanzo beans can be a great addition to a senior’s diet because they are filling and contain tons of protein.

Protein Helps Fuel Their Bodies

When your senior has little to no energy, it may be due to their diet. Home care services can help ensure that seniors are eating regularly by helping them create a routine that focuses on eating enough to fuel their bodies.

When they have enough calories and protein, they will have more energy to take on the day. Your seniors may notice they struggle to keep up with daily activities when they are not eating enough protein, and home care can help them manage this.

Protein Helps Repair Damage

If your senior loved one has sore muscles or moves around a lot, their muscles can tear and hurt. One of the best ways to quickly recover is by eating more protein.

If your loved one has trouble eating enough, home care professionals can help prepare protein shakes to ensure they hit their daily protein target.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care in Oak Ridge, NC, please contact the caring staff at Affordable Family Care.

Serving Raleigh, Greensboro, and the surrounding areas in North Carolina. Call today at (919) 676-1070

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Donnie Shelton

Owner at Affordable Family Care Services, Inc.

Donnie graduated from Elon University in 1987 with a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing. He has worked in a variety of medical fields including a hospital equipment company, a medical equipment company, and home care. He opened Affordable Family Care Services in 2006 and it has grown to include upwards of 125 caregivers and many award-winning programs. Donnie, his wife Lesley, and their son Spencer live in the Raleigh area.Donnie is an avid golfer and fisherman.

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