We all want our families to live healthy and safe lives, but each family is a bit unique and has their own perspective on how this can be best achieved. This can become even tougher as our parents age. They might not have the same appetites or taste in food that they once did. Some seniors even begin to lose weight rapidly because they don’t have the desire to eat like they once did.
For some people losing weight can be good. It helps us to stay healthier when it comes to our cardiovascular system. But for a lot of seniors, age related weight loss is actually really dangerous. When a senior loses weight, it’s often muscle that is atrophying, and not fat. Rather than helping to enhance health, it does the exact opposite.
To help combat this, a lot of people turn to nutritional drinks. But do they really help? Here, I’m going to take a very brief look at what these drinks do and what you should look for if you’re going to use nutritional drinks to help your elderly parent or grandparent maintain a healthy weight.
What to Look For
Calories: Calories are the main unit of energy within a food or drink. If you’re looking to help your parent maintain or gain weight, then calories should be your number one focus. The more calories, the more likely that weight will be put on. It’s the same concept with our diets; the more calorie-rich things we eat, the more weight we gain. With our older family members, this is a good thing!
Vitamins: A well rounded diet is always smart and replacing the vitamins and minerals that your parent is missing with a drink can be helpful. Some, like Vitamin C, are water soluble–which means it’s hard to take in too much of it. Others, like iron, should be used with more caution.
Taste: Like it or not, this is going to be your parent’s biggest concern. While you might be looking at things like calories, sugar content, and vitamins, the person drinking it is going to want something that tastes good to them. There are many flavors to choose from, and everyone has different things that they like. Be patient with your mom as you go through the flavors. They probably won’t like the first one that you try. Keep looking at the nutritional value on the back, but remember that taste is perhaps the most important element for the person that’s drinking these.
Other things: Not everything that you will find in nutritional drinks is good. Things like caffeine can actually be harmful. Caffeine is a stimulant and diuretic. Depending on the health and needs of your loved one, it can do more harm than good. Other additives, like taurine, might also have detrimental effects. Some artificial sweeteners can also be unhealthy, depending on your loved one’s needs. If diabetes is a factor, then these might be necessary. Speak with a doctor about anything you see on a label that you’re not sure about.
Leave a Reply