Newswise — As if holiday menus weren't difficult enough to plan, the special diet of your elderly loved ones can make meal preparations even more challenging " especially when your family's favorite foods might now compromise their health.
"It's important to know what your older family members are not supposed to eat so that you can plan menu-alternatives that will satisfy and prevent them from feeling deprived at holiday get-togethers," says Netty Levine, MS,RD,CDE, a registered dietitian at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Our elderly family members may be dealing with conditions ranging from lactose intolerance to heart disease " and we need to offer them plenty of choices so they don't feel compelled to eat something that can be hazardous for their health."
The following are tips that will help you know what foods you can prepare, depending on your elderly loved one's health condition:
1. Heart Disease: If one of your elderly relatives has a heart disease such as congestive heart failure, a condition where the heart can't pump enough blood to reach other organs, make dishes that are low in salt or sodium. Appetizers that include fresh vegetables with a yogurt-based dip, seasoned with dill, basil, or other pre-mixed low sodium seasonings and no salt, gives your older relatives something to munch on prior to the meal. Side-dishes such as soups prepared with fresh herbs and plenty of vegetables, please the palate and fill the stomach. As alternatives to ham, consider preparing your own turkey, chicken, fish, or lean roast beef seasoned with low sodium herbs and seasonings. If cholesterol is the issue, avoid offering cream soups, cream sauces, and fried foods. Lean meats are great for this group of guests.
2. Dentures: When an elderly person has difficulty chewing because she or he wears dentures, consider the texture of the foods you are serving. When serving appetizers, avoid nuts and consider serving olives, vegetable pates, melt-in-your mouth crackers and a healthy dip. Side dishes should include soup. For dessert you may want to consider applesauce, baked apples, puddings, and poached pears as softer alternatives.
3. Diabetes: When diabetes needs to be considered, cut out sugar from some of your family's traditional favorites. For drinks, make sure to serve water, sparkling water and diet drinks as an alternative to alcohol, sodas and even fruit juices, which can contain more calories than a soda. For dessert consider baked APPLES or poached pears made with cinnamon sticks or vanilla bean, or an apple cobbler topped with oatmeal and cinnamon instead of a two-crust apple pie. Sugar-free gelatin dessert with fruit is another alternative.
4. Lactose Intolerance: If your elder battles lactose intolerance, offer sorbet or a frozen soy dessert as an alternative to ice cream or frozen yogurt.
5. Overweight or obese: When you've got elderly loved ones who are significantly overweight, they may also have diabetes, heart disease or high blood-pressure. "In addition to low calorie alternatives, you need to offer foods that are lower in salt and sodium and have less sugar in them," says Levine. Everybody loves appetizers, so try using pita wedges or low fat crackers and cheeses. If serving a dip, have salsa around as a low calorie alternative. Sometimes having cocktail slices of bread, smaller cookies, cups of soup, instead of bowls, will naturally help control portion sizes. As for veggies, make baked yams and potatoes available instead of mashed or fried potatoes that have added fat.
6. Medications: Often, medications and alcohol do not mix! So, be aware of the medications that your elderly guests might be taking and, if you can, check the warnings on their medication bottles.
7. Restricted mobility: When you're ready to serve the meal, it's also important to seat your older relatives who need assistance between others who can help them with their food. If your meal is a buffet, it can be difficult for them to navigate the table, or to walk and balance a plate. Pair your elderly guests with others who can help.
One of only four hospitals in California whose nurses have been honored with the prestigious Magnet designation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of the largest non-profit academic medical centers in the Western United States. For 17 consecutive years, it has been named Los Angeles' most preferred hospital for all health needs in an independent survey of area residents. Cedars-Sinai is internationally renowned for its diagnostic and treatment capabilities and its broad spectrum of programs and services, as well as breakthroughs in biomedical research and superlative medical education. It ranks among the top 10 non-university hospitals in the nation for its research activities and was recently fully accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP). Additional information is available at www.csmc.edu.
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