How To Help Your Senior Parent Cut Back On Sugar
If your senior loved one has spent their whole life eating sugar, stopping sugar for good will be considerably more difficult. On the other hand, sugar may be contributing to a broad spectrum of chronic disorders in the elderly. As a consequence, learning how to quit sugar is in the best interests of the elderly. Individuals’ overall health should improve if they can learn to stop craving sugar and give up sugar for good and an in-home care specialist can help
In-Home care in Sacramento CA: Sugar Intake
Our taste receptors diminish and become less sensitive as we age. As a result, an aged person’s sense of taste deteriorates. Furthermore, a senior’s sense of smell, which adds to taste, deteriorates. Therapies and drugs are two more things that influence taste. Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases have been demonstrated to impair the senses of taste and smell.
One thing you can help them focus on as they age is eating a well-rounded diet. Healthy foods can taste good, but you have to experiment with recipes and spices. Senior home care can help meal prep throughout the week, so your elderly loved one can eat throughout the week. Senior home care may ask them for their favorite meals in advance to create a home care plan that will help them age in place.
It can be incredibly hard to quit sugar if a senior has been consuming it every single day. It can be even harder if they are not eating fresh foods and rely on a lot of packaged foods. Here are a few tips that may help your senior quit sugar.
Don’t Try To Go Cold Turkey
If you or an older loved one consumes sweets on a daily basis, your body is already used to the sugar. As a result, if you abruptly quit consuming sugar, you will most certainly suffer withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, mood fluctuations, and so on. Instead, slow down on the sugar and slowly cut back. This will help ease the symptoms of withdrawal and make it easier to live without.
Don’t Try Replacement Sugars
Your senior mom or dad may try to quit sugar by consuming alternative sugars. Artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin or aspartame, may not be the solution to sugar withdrawal. It’s unclear why artificial sweeteners make people hungry, although it might be due to their sweetness. They are often sweeter than natural sugar, and consuming too much of it might blunt your taste receptors to less sweet foods such as fruits. This causes an excessive desire for very sweet, high-calorie meals.
Try Going Raw and Natural
Sometimes the need for something sweet is just too strong. Instead of going for something pre-packaged and filled with sugar, try encouraging your loved one to eat berries or something natural. Make a fruit smoothie or flavored water with strawberries and lemon. This may satisfy their sweet tooth without consuming a ton of sugar.
Stay Away From Sugary Drinks
Tons of drinks have sugar in them and can be really addicting to consume. These drinks add in tons of sugar without actually satisfying your hunger. If a senior is craving something bubbly give them a flavored seltzer. If they want something sweet to drink try a fresh smoothie with fruits and vegetables.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring In-Home care in Sacramento, CA, talk to the caring staff at Partners in Care today. Serving El Dorado, Nevada, Yuba, Sutter, Sacramento, Placer, Butte, Glenn, Yolo, & Colusa Counties!
Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! (530) 268-7423
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