Can Dietary Counseling Help Keep Seniors with COPD Healthier?

Can Dietary Counseling Help Keep Seniors with COPD Healthier?

Seniors with COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, face a lot of different challenges related to this progressive illness. This makes managing COPD complicated, especially in terms of concerns like getting the right nutritional balance. Finding the right answers is crucial for families, especially when they’re stretched thin by other obligations. One solution that an adult day center can offer is dietary counseling that meets the nutritional needs of someone with COPD. Here’s what families need to know.

Nutrition and COPD Patients

People with COPD have a tough time getting the nutrients they need. Eating a balanced diet is critical because COPD affects the entire respiratory system, making breathing more difficult and causing the body to burn far more energy than it did in the past. It becomes difficult for seniors with COPD to do things around the house, like cooking healthy meals. But it also becomes more difficult for seniors to eat enough to support their caloric needs and to get the right mix of nutrients.

Adult Day Centers and Seniors

Adult day centers play a fundamental role in keeping seniors healthy and protecting overall well-being. Seniors can be part of a community, which is crucial for mental health. Staff at the center are trained to monitor health and can even help seniors to stay on top of monitoring specific vital signs regularly. They can also help ensure that seniors can have a healthy diet planned out that meets their needs. This helps seniors and their families to have an easy way to access meal planning assistance.

Dietary Counseling Benefits

Seniors with chronic health conditions like COPD often face a variety of different challenges related to food, eating, and nutrition. COPD greatly hinders activity, even for seniors who used to be physically active on a regular basis. That can mean that they suddenly aren’t as hungry as they used to be and because they’re less active, they may not realize that their health demands them to keep eating well. Some of the medications that people with COPD take may also have side effects that impact their daily lives. Dietary counseling helps seniors to focus on ways they can get the nutrition they need while also enjoying the foods they’re eating.

Health Benefits of Adult Day Centers

Over time, seniors who receive dietary counseling from an adult day center may need additional help with their dietary and health needs. Nurses and other trained staff at the adult day center can provide that help while seniors also spend time with other people, getting the physical and mental stimulation they need to have a happy and healthy life. Family members can rest easy knowing their aging adults are in good hands during the day.

Dietary counseling significantly contributes to the well-being of seniors who have COPD. Keeping nutritional needs met helps to ensure that seniors are managing symptoms and preventing complications like exacerbations as well as they possibly can. Adult day centers offer a way for seniors with COPD to remain as independent and healthy as they can, even with the challenges they face due to their health conditions.

Oxnard Family Circle: Safe, Reliable, Social and Fun!

If you need respite and/or help with caring for your loved one in any corner of Ventura County, CA (Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ventura, Camarillo, etc.), talk to the caring staff at Oxnard Family Circle, Inc. today. 1-805-385-4180