Foods that are high in vitamins, minerals, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates, while being relatively low in calories, are known as “nutrient-rich” foods. Most of these foods don’t need an aggressive marketing campaign, catchy name, or even much packaging. Despite that, however, it’s easier than you think it might be to find them and add them into your diet.

One of the most commonly cited issues for older adults is loneliness. Children grow up and move out of the home or to different cities, their friends and other loved ones either move or pass away, and it becomes more difficult to leave the house and participate in activities. For these reasons, pet ownership is a source of comfort and companionship that benefits seniors in countless ways.

Our sense of taste helps us savor and truly enjoy the food we’re eating. Many seniors suffer from a reduced appetite in their later years, and one of the causes of this is reduced sense of taste. While it may seem like a minor problem, the lack of desire to eat that comes with a diminished sense of taste can lead to dangerous weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, frailty, poor quality of life, and a needlessly reduced life span.

One of the biggest dangers to seniors living on their own is the risk of injury from falling down. Falls are the single largest preventable cause of hospitalizations in seniors, and the lingering effects of the damage caused by a fall can curtail a senior’s quality of life, or even their longevity. There are many things older adults can do to prevent falls, and one is making sure to exercise regularly. Exercise has many protective effects against falls, such as strengthening the bones, the muscles supporting them, and improving reaction time. Below are several exercises which, when done regularly, can help improve the sense of balance, which will help to sense and avoid imminent falls.

In many families, when older adults need extra care to get through their days, adult children or grandchildren will step in to help. And while at first, this can be a workable arrangement, the task list can soon swell. Soon, helping out here and there becomes managing your loved one’s healthcare appointments, taking care of the house and domestic tasks, and sometimes performing hands-on health care tasks that may seem more appropriate for a trained medical professional to manage.

With nine out of ten adults over the age of 65 taking some form of daily medication, and more than half taking four or more, seniors have plenty of opportunity to get to know their local pharmacist. With their knowledge of prescription and over the counter drugs, as well as how they can affect and interact with one another, there are several ways pharmacists can play a role in a senior’s health care plan.

With winter upon us, and perhaps another variant of the Coronavirus causing going out in the world unnecessarily to be a risk, we must look to the four walls around us to work as our gymnasium.

As we begin to enter the third year of the Coronavirus being an all-encompassing fact of life, it is important to remember the various lengths and measures needed to stay safe. While getting the vaccine, and taking the booster shots if able are of course a wonderful idea, that’s still unfortunately not the end-all be-all of protection from Covid-19.

Decreasing an aging loved one’s risk of contracting a deadly disease like Covid-19, influenza, or pneumonia can be as simple as getting a quick shot.

A heart attack is a significant event in the life of someone who suffers one, and it will irreversibly alter the trajectory of their life and the lives of their friends, family, and caretakers around them. If you or a loved one has recently suffered a heart attack, it’s important to understand all the medications and lifestyle changes it will take to remain healthy and have a successful recovery.

While staying healthy is the goal of all people, especially older adults, those suffering from diabetes need to be aware of possible changes to health. Diabetes is unfortunately the seventh leading cause of death, and can lead to permanent disabilities.

The kitchen is commonly regarded as the heart of the home. But unfortunately, it can also be a dangerous place. According to FEMA, people over the age of 65 have a chance of dying in a kitchen fire that is 2.5 times greater than that of the general population. Cooking accidents are one of the leading causes of fires in the home, accounting for thousands of preventable injuries and deaths each year. But just because your senior loved one has lost some mobility or mental capacity doesn’t mean they have to give up their love of cooking. The key is to provide a safe kitchen for them to use.

An ischemic stroke is an urgent health condition that occurs when an artery supplying the brain with oxygenated blood becomes blocked, which suddenly stops or sharply decreases blood flow, which ultimately causes a brain infarction, or in layman’s terms, tissue death. Ischemic strokes account for 80% of all strokes.

Many people worry about losing mental faculties as they get older, and perhaps think there’s nothing they can do to prevent the inevitable development of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. It’s no wonder, our minds are, quite literally, who we are, and the idea of either forgetting huge parts of our lives, or becoming unable to form new memories are frightening prospects. But many of the preconceptions people have about older brains aren’t necessarily true, and there’s a whole litany of myths out there that can cause undue stress and mental anguish to people as they age. Read on to hear some of these common beliefs, and the reality that refutes them.

When your job or time revolves around caring for another, one of the things that’s easy to let fall by the wayside is your own personal well-being. Exercise is incredibly important for not only physical health, but mental as well. Follow these tips for how to better find time for yourself to keep yourself active, and healthy.

Changes in the appearance, growth, and strength of a person’s fingernails can sometimes tell us a great deal about their overall health. If you spot a change or markedly different appearance in the nails of your elderly loved one, it could clue you in on a serious medical condition. Read on to find out what health conditions different nail appearances could point to.

Bathroom safety is one of the most important things for an elderly person living in their home, as the multiple slippery surfaces and stepping required makes for a potentially dangerous situation. Falls are one of the biggest dangers to older adults, with many hospitalizations and deaths sadly caused by them every year. And for many seniors, injuries from a nasty fall can be the beginning of a physical decline that leads to a reduced quality of life and lifespan.

Many seniors have difficulty eating enough, due to changing senses of taste and smell as they age, side effects of medications reducing hunger, difficulty chewing or swallowing, or any other number of reasons. One thing caregivers can do to combat malnutrition and make sure your loved one is eating enough is to keep plenty of small, nutritious, ready to eat snacks on hand.

When your sleep is poor, not only does the daytime tiredness affect your ability to do activities throughout the day safely and enjoyably, but poor sleep has been linked with a lower quality of life, and risk of chronic disease. For people with bad sleep habits, conditions like diabetes and obesity are more common. Surprisingly, sleep regulates the hormones that tell your body when you’re hungry and signals the feeling of fullness that makes you stop eating. For those suffering from bad sleep, they may be prompted to eat more, and also reach for unhealthy food choices throughout the day.

While much attention was paid to the shots from the COVID-19 vaccine this year, and necessarily so, it is critical that we do not forget about the equally important, especially for older adults, seasonal vaccine against influenza, or the “flu”.

Seniors are unfortunately one of the most vulnerable segments of our population, frequently the victims of crimes, scams, or abuse. As a large portion of seniors suffer from either physical ailments or cognitive decline, their lack of ability to defend or advocate for themselves makes them an easy and tempting target to the unscrupulous.

As we age, it’s important to know about all the changes we can make to preserve our health and longevity. After all, your body isn’t necessarily capable of all the same things it was when you were younger, so it doesn’t exactly make sense to keep living your life the same way you did at that time. By keeping preventable health problems in mind, knowing what you can do for early detection and treatment, men can preserve their health long into their advanced years.

As vaccination rates increase and COVID-19 infections decrease, we are perhaps well on our way to seeing an end of the pandemic that disrupted so much of our daily lives, routines, and activities we enjoyed. While getting infected with the disease had worse health results for seniors, the impact of spending eighteen sedentary months inside socially isolating and physically distancing has the possibility of nearly as bad health incomes.

While many people look forward to Autumn for the many wonderful changes the season brings, there is one yearly visitor that there is no cause to be happy about. I’m talking about the return of the influenza virus for flu season. For younger adults and children, the flu is usually just a few days of unpleasantness, but for many seniors and older adults, it can be more serious. With complications such as pneumonia more likely, seniors account for as many as 85 percent of the deaths from influenza.

With many seniors suffering from malnourishment, whether due to cognitive decline, physical impairment, chronic illnesses, or a whole host of other issues, coming up with strategies to combat undernutrition in older adults, to ensure proper intake of calories, vitamins, and minerals is important. And like with anything else, keeping the strategies simple and easy to follow will give you the greatest chance of success.