“34% of Canadian Seniors are at Nutritional Risk … says Statistics Canada”.
When I first heard this statement on the news last year, the first thought that came to mind was “I believe that statistic in reality is higher”.
Additional highlights which the study found were:
• 34% of Canadians aged 65 or older were at nutritional risk
• 15% skipped meals almost every day
• 18% ate fewer than two servings of fruit and vegetables daily
• 23% never or rarely ate with someone
• 18% found cooking a chore
To how many of the above statements can you say “Yes, that’s me!”? The study went on to say that all of the above contributed to malnutrition in seniors. It also suggested that there seemed to be a connection between mental illness and impaired nutrition.
Food and socialization is an important factor no matter what age you may be. A great way to ensure you are getting the nutrition you need in your diet is to seek help with your daily meals. Ask a family member to come for a visit to help make some soup and prepare some of your favorite meals that you can freeze for later use. Check out your local senior community centre or community church to see if they have senior cooking gatherings; if they don’t ask if they would possibly facilitate one. These cooking gatherings are a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and have some delicious dinners in your freezer. Alternatively, sign up with a local meal provider service.
The best gift you can give your family and yourself in 2014 is being both mentality and physically fit, and better nutrition seems to be a step in the right direction.
Dinner For One is a local provider for the Veterans Canada Food Nutritional Program; contact us for more information.
Sandra Holomis
Email Dinner For One
Website: Dinner For One
See all articles by Sandra Holomis
This article was in the February edition of Sunrise of Victoria’s newsletter.
Breakfast has long been called the most important meal of the day, and for good reason. Not only does not eating breakfast lead to potential weight gain, a study published in the journal Circulation suggests that skipping breakfast could also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack.
The researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health relied on answers to food frequency questions taken over a 16 year period. After analysing data from more than 26,900 participants the study team found that people who skipped breakfast were about 27 per cent more likely to die from coronary heart disease or a heart attack. Interestingly, this stayed the same regardless of the subjects other lifestyle habits including exercise, sleep and alcohol intake.
This is not the first time breakfast has been mentioned as a hallmark of senior living. Eating breakfast provides numerous health benefits including mental function and aiding in lowering cholesterol.
Trish Summerhayes
http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com/communities.aspx?city=victoria&state=BC&radius=30&service=alz&cat=csb
You raise some very important points, Sandra. The concept of “nutritional risk” raises the whole issue of “food security”, a topic we would like to begin discussing with our readers. If anyone is interested in carrying on this conversation, please leave a comment in response to Sandra’s post or go to the “About Us” page of the Island Woman website.