Dining, Sociability and Independence

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Dining,
Sociability and Independence
Aches, pain and reduced mobility are indeed a
part of growing old. Failing eyesight and
reduced mental reasoning may also present
themselves in later years. Once into retirement,
physical duties and responsibilities begin to
slow down and life can become more
sedentary. Whilst rushing off to work becomes a
thing of the past and rising early becomes a
pleasure rather than a chore, the task of
nutrition remains equally important to a
comfortable and healthy life.
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• It is said that you are what you eat sticking
  to sensible and
• healthy eating will help you maintain your
  weight, body condition and general health.
• Good nutrition is important to physical health
  and mental balance.
• The days of cooking and feeding a family may be
  behind you. Caring for yourself and maybe a
  partner is just as important in senior years as
  it was before.
• What Does Healthy Eating Mean?
• In order to eat healthily, there are some
  important facts to adhere to-
• dont eat too much
• do not overdose on salt
• eat all categories of food carbohydrates,
  protein, fats, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables
  and grain, as all contribute to your health but
  understand where each fall as regards to the
  amount needed to maintain good health
• know that sugar is present in many of todays
  prepared foods e.g. baked beans, tomato sauce,
  cereals and bread and that sugar contributes
  significantly to weight gain
• be aware of your fat intake and keep it low e.g.
  avoid fatty meat and too much fried food

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• avoid, or cut back, on fast foods e.g. fish and
  chips, pizzas,
• takeaways and foods with high sugar content.
• Bad eating habits lead to obesity, heart disease,
  high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes and many
  other illnesses, all of which can reduce quality
  of life and day-to-day functioning.
• Good eating habits can keep discomfort and ill
  health at bay.
• The Dining Experience
• - Dining Alone
• Dining alone can cause the individual to skip the
  importance of healthy eating, with the idea of
  why bother cooking for one. This can lead to
  relying on fast foods, or simply picking at
  whats available in the fridge and cupboards.
• Whilst age may bring infirmity in different
  forms, eating unhealthy foods can bring on many
  serious illnesses and affect strength and mood.
  Feeling alone and down may lead to lack of
  exercise and unwanted weight gain.

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- Shared Dining Dining can be a social activity
and much more fun that eating alone.

• Shared dining has so many benefits, including-
• cooking becomes a pleasure, as well as an
  interest
• being in the company of others creates social
  interaction, which can lift mood and lead to
  planning ahead
• when cooking for two, food can work out cheaper
• preparing food can be a shared activity and a
  form of exercise.
• Preparing Food and Task Limitations
• For the young or non-disabled person, preparing
  food is straightforward. Opening tins and jars,
  carrying pans of boiling water from oven to the
  worktop and reaching up or bending down for
  items needed (e.g. tins, sauces, pans, plates and
  bowls) can be performed with comparative ease.
• For an elderly or disabled person, preparing food
  may raise questions and / or limitations. Such
  conditions which may need to be addressed may
  include-

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• weakened grip and reduced strength arthritis is
  a common condition which can lessen our ability
  with certain tasks. Lifting items such as pans
  full of water and cups of hot tea can become
  risky, the first for the danger of scalding or
  slipping on a wet floor and the second for
  burning oneself. Opening tins becomes a
  challenge.
• Adapted aids include two-handled pans and cups,
  specially-designed tin openers and bottle and jar
  openers for those with weakened grip and reduced
  strength.
• shaking hands and diminished dexterity - tremors
  caused by stress and anxiety and also by
  Parkinsons disease are conditions which may
  cause hands to shake. This will make tasks a
  little more difficult but will also affect
  confidence and self-esteem.
• Weighted items can help reduce shaking and
  two-handled items can promote a stronger grip.
• unsteady balance and walking difficulties
  arthritis and general ageing may mean that
  support (e.g. a walking stick or walking frame)
  may be needed to stand upright and to move over
  short distances. A small kitchen may make
  manoeuvres difficult.

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• Making your kitchen ergonomically friendly
  will reduce the
• need to move from one place to another. For
  example, keep the worktops next to your oven and
  hob free from clutter, so that lifting food from
  the oven and moving pans from the hob can reach
  a worktop with minimal time and fuss.
• reduced vision different eye conditions change
  vision in different ways e.g. tunnel vision,
  blurred vision and discomfort with bright light.
  Old age also causes a need for spectacles, as
  short and long distance ability change focus.
  Reading recipes and following menu instructions
  wont be as straightforward as before the eye
  condition developed.
• A magnifying glass may help with reading menus
  and food instructions. Having a spotlight
  directed towards a particular area (e.g. to the
  control buttons on the oven, microwave and hob)
  will make working in that area much more
  comfortable and safe.
• reduced mental ability - dementia and Alzheimers
  disease, lack of confidence and loss of
  short-term memory, may lead to being unable to
  remember the sequence of tasks to prepare food.
  All could lead to failure of the task in hand
  but could also cause danger (e.g. working with
  hot water and hot oil, as well as a hot oven and
  hob).

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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com Come to terms
with what you can still do for yourself and
dont be afraid to ask for help in tasks which
are no longer straightforward to you. Taking on
the supportive role in the kitchen may prove to
be more within the individuals abilities than
taking on the main responsibility of cook. The
Tasks of Eating and Drinking Seniors may find
motor movements for eating and drinking to be
somewhat impaired, due to the ageing process e.g.
weakened grip, shaking hands and diminished
dexterity. Visual changes may make eating
and drinking feel like a
challenge e.g. blurred vision (cataract issues) an
d failing
eyesight (macular degeneration and glaucoma). In
order to find solutions to make the dining
experience still bring pleasure, the distinct
needs of the individual should be sought. For
example, how does the persons new way of life
affect how they manage the dining experience?
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- Weakened Grip Weakened grip, maybe through arthr
itis, will make holding cutlery and cups less
safe than in earlier times.
Identifying fatter handles on cutlery, as well as
Velcro straps which fasten to the hand and also
pocket the cutlery item, can make cutlery more
secure for the eating process. - Shaking Hands
and Diminished Dexterity Shaking hands and
diminished dexterity may benefit from
two-handled cups, to give more confidence in
lifting drinks. Using cutlery with weighted
handles can help reduce the intensity of
tremors. Weighted holders, which can be used for
cutlery as well as toothbrushes and other items
with handles, can also be purchased. Eating with
a spoon may not be the individuals ideal but
will save spilling food before eating. Adapted
plates and bowls heighten the experience of
dining independently. A scooper plate is simply
a plate with a lip on it, designed to prevent
food from finding its way over the edge of the
plate.
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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com Individual
bumpers and guards can also be bought
separately, to attach to average shaped plates
and bowls. Plates and bowls sometimes fidget on
the table. They can be secured by a anti slip
mat, gripper feet, or suction bases. For the
individual with shaky movement, suction-based
plates and bowls will prove the better
experience. - Reduced Vision For the individual
with changing vision, knowing where food is on a
plate can severely impede the dining experience.
Where does one scoop with a fork, or cut with a
knife, will be a question which will come to
mind. Explaining where food is on the plate (e.g.
mashed potato at four oclock (the position of
that food on the plate), meat at twelve and
carrots at nine) is a life saver for those who
wish to be independent. Partitioned
plates-cum-bowls can keep food items separate and
help the person with the visual impairment to
access the food item by pushing towards the
partition wall.
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• Reduced Mental Ability
• Dementia and Alzheimers disease can be so
  difficult on the individual and their partner or
  carer-
• eating habits change food preferences may change
  and regular favourite food might be rejected
• the function of eating may become slow and
  erratic
• a reduced desire to eat may become a worry.
• When supporting a person with eating, the
  encouragement and support given will be so
  individually tailored, as each individual with
  reduced mental ability will present themselves
  differently

Do whats best and what works for the person you
are supporting and encourage as much
independence as possible, via special eating
aids (e.g. cutlery, cups, plates and bowls)
available. Summary Being social is for most
people a human need and instinct. Age and illness
can alter a persons ability to perform what were
once easy and straightforward daily
tasks. Nutrition is a key player in maintaining
fitness and health. Understand what you are
eating and where it falls as regards to the
amount needed to maintain good health.
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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com Dining can be
a social activity and much more fun that
eating alone. With conditions which come with age
(e.g. weakened frame, shakiness and reduced
vision), all of which can affect the dining
experience, seek suitable special aids to allow
the person to maintain as much independence as
possible. Blog an Originally Posted Here
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