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Benefits of a Heart Healthy Diet for Seniors

healthy diet for seniors
There are new guidelines recommended for a heart-healthy senior diet.

Our senior care professionals in Austin understand that it’s tough to make the right dietary choices when guidelines appear to constantly change. We had been told that saturated fats from options like butter, red meat and fried food were harmful and could potentially impact a person’s odds of developing heart problems, but later research revealed there isn’t enough evidence that people who gave up these delicacies improved their heart health – and so, we went back to our old ways due to the go-ahead to opt for butter over margarine.

And yet, as revealed in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers clarify that the lack of noticeable results in reducing fatty foods is more likely connected to equally poor nutritional choices selected in place of those fats – like refined carbs. In the study, it was noted that those who exchanged fatty foods in their diet with more healthy options, such as olive oil (a polyunsaturated fat) and whole grains did lower their heart disease risk up to 25%.

As stated by Adela Hruby, one of many researchers in this study, “We know that people don’t just drop 10% of their calories…and not replace them with other things. What they’re adding in to replace what they’re not eating is really important.”

The study, led by Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was incredibly in-depth, following the results of almost 130,000 participants of both genders over thirty years. Keeping an eye on dietary choices and any heart-related conditions, it was concluded that both women and men who ate carbohydrates as opposed to fatty foods were attaining an almost equal risk of cardiovascular disease – a statistic missed in previous studies that had determined there clearly was no benefit to reducing the level of saturated fat in a dietary plan.

So what might be the takeaway from this report? Improved heart health may be attained by not merely lowering the total amount of saturated fat in a dietary plan, but also by choosing healthier items instead of foods with high levels of sugar or processed flour-based foods.

CareFor is readily available to plan and prepare a heart healthy diet for seniors that is nutritionally beneficial, delicious, and helps seniors reduce their risk for heart attacks and disease. We are able to also assist older adults with:

  • Making wise dietary choices, and shopping for groceries so that fresh, healthy foods are always available
  • Medication reminders
  • Carrying out physician-recommended activity programs
  • Safe transportation to medical appointments as well as other outings
  • And many others

Reach out to us at (512) 338-4533 to learn more about our expert in home elder care in Austin and the nearby areas.  

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