Heart-Healthy Foods for Seniors and Elders

Heart healthy foods for seniors and elders. While it is important to begin healthy eating habits early in life, it can be just as vital to good health when healthy eating practices are followed in later years. The effects of some illnesses can be controlled and perhaps averted by practicing good nutritional habits.

Speaking in Tongues: Facts about Aphasias

Aphasia is a communication disorder that occurs when the language centers of the brain sustain damage from illness, dementia, or injury. In seniors, the most common cause of aphasia is stroke. Victims of aphasia have difficulty communicating with others and may also have difficulty comprehending what others are saying, and this difficulty can be quite severe or very mild, almost unnoticeable.

Physical Aspects of Senior Safety

There are many preventable actions that seniors and their families can take to ensure their safety and the safety of their loved ones. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that injuries, many of which are preventable, are the leading cause of disability and death for people of all ages.

Wellness through Creative Expression

Art therapy has been shown to have a direct impact on individuals’ wellness and can help the elderly adapt to changes and loss brought on by age and/or illness. By engaging in creative activities such as painting, drawing, clay work and sculpting, jewelry making, scrap booking, and so forth, seniors have a channel for expression.

Healthy Eating is Important for Senior Men

Healthy eating is important and can also be difficult for senior men. About 50 percent of men who live alone are at high risk nutritionally, according to a study published in the August 2004 Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly.

Uncovering Pain in Seniors with Dementia

Many studies indicate that although dementia patients experience severe or chronic pain, they regularly receive fewer analgesics than healthy senior adults. This can primarily be attributed to the fact that while a healthy senior can verbalize pain and discomfort, dementia patients, especially those in the late stages, cannot.

Living with Arthritis

With more than 100 forms of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases, approximately one in three (33.8%) senior males and one in two (50.6%) senior females reported suffering from arthritis. Arthritis can prevent seniors from accomplishing the simplest tasks such a walking, preparing meals, picking up objects or even sitting for prolonged periods of time.

Pneumonia: Making the Most of At-Home Recovery

You have a senior with pneumonia who is about to be sent home to recover, and you are worried and because this person is over 65, her risk of readmission is greatly increased. A greater concern for you, though, is that the mortality rate for seniors with pneumonia is significantly greater than that in the younger population.