High blood pressure in seniors is a dangerous condition. While it doesn’t usually cause any physical symptoms, blood pressure that is continually elevated can cause health issues such as stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, and eyesight problems. With 24-hour home care services, a senior’s dietary habits can be improved according to the recommendations here.
High Blood Pressure Causes
As your loved one got older, his vascular network has had some changes. The vascular network is the body’s network of blood vessels in charge of pumping blood throughout the body. With age, arteries often get stiffer, making it more difficult for the blood to get where it needs to go and thus raising the levels of blood pressure in the body.
While age alone increases the risk of high blood pressure, there are specific lifestyle choices that individuals make that either increase their risk for high blood pressure or make it more difficult to get their blood pressure levels back down to normal. These variables include smoking, drinking alcohol, extreme stress, and a poor diet. If your loved one has any of these variables, his doctor will recommend he make some lifestyle changes in addition to prescribing any medications and monitoring his blood pressure.
The DASH Diet
Many doctors recommend those with high blood pressure to follow the DASH diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (another name for high blood pressure). It can also help a person live a healthier life by ensuring he receives the nutrients he needs from his food and doesn’t consume too much of the food ingredients that he doesn’t need. For those with high blood pressure, a big part of the DASH diet is learning how to lower salt intake.
24-Hour Home Care Can Help Implement a DASH Diet
For your loved one, completely overhauling how he shops, prepares his food, and eats may seem too overwhelming, especially if he has physical or cognitive disorders that can compound his inability to follow through on a new diet regimen. In that case, having a 24-hour home care team who can help him prepare his meals throughout the day can be a definite lifesaver. Once your 24-hour home care team knows what dietary restrictions to follow for your loved one, they will make sure the DASH diet is considered for each meal.
General DASH Diet Guidelines
- Salt Intake. The standard for sodium intake on the DASH Diet is 2300 milligrams a day, about the same amount as a person would find in a teaspoon of table salt. For some, the doctor may restrict sodium intake even more, by limiting it to 1,500 milligrams a day.
- Eat foods that are rich in protein, fiber, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
- Reduce or eliminate saturated fat.
- Drink only in moderation. The DASH Diet recommends a maximum of two drinks per day for men and one for women.
- Watch calorie intake so overeating isn’t occurring.
All of these combined seem like a lot of changes and may cause your loved one to throw his hands in the air and walk away from it all. But a 24-hour home care team can help him learn some new shopping habits, discover new and healthy ways to prepare meals when he’s home, and even find distractions to help him stay away from bad habits such as overeating, smoking, or consuming too much alcohol.
If you or an aging loved one are considering 24-Hour Home Care Services in Mercer County PA, please contact the caring staff at Extended Family Care Pittsburgh today. Call 412-241-7292
Extended Family Care Pittsburgh is a Trusted Home Care Agency in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania including Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Mercer County, Washington County, North Hills, South Hills, Fox Chapel, Monroeville, Murrysville, Oakland, Plum Boro, and Squirrel Hill.
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