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Ageing and changes in eating habits
1. Attenuation of the ability to eat
As older people get older, their chewing ability decreases, and they have difficulty eating hard, hard-to-chew food. Decreased digestion and absorption keep the elderly away from greasy foods. Because of the loss of vision and smell, the elderly have a weakened response to food stimuli and are prone to loss of appetite.
2. Decline in the sense of taste
Due to the loss of taste, it is common for the elderly to add salt or soy sauce to everything they eat, which is caused by their sluggish sense of saltiness. Therefore, caregivers should be aware of the changes in the eating habits of the elderly.
3. Use food to stimulate brain and internal organ function
It is undoubtedly very important for the elderly to be able to eat independently to maintain their health. When eating, the aroma of the meal stimulates the sense of smell, the color of the meal stimulates the vision, and the activities of eating, chewing, swallowing and other activities can make the brain and internal organs function be benignly stimulated, and promote the physical and mental health of the elderly.
4. Dietary countermeasures for the application of changes in the body of the elderly
5. Dietary and nutritional management suitable for the elderly
Staple foods are the main source of energy and are also a source of protein. The main course is based on fish, meat and eggs, and the side dishes are supplemented with vitamins and minerals. It is important to eat three meals a day in the morning, lunch and evening, but when the elderly have a poor appetite, do not force it, you can eat some when you want to eat, eat less and eat more often to ensure nutrition.
The amount of meals should be small and the variety should be many. The elderly do not eat much, but there are more varieties to balance nutrition.
Staple foods: Rice, pasta, etc. are the main sources of energy. Rice is also an important source of protein, so it is recommended to have a meal of rice a day.
Main course: Choose protein-rich foods such as fish, meat, eggs, and soybeans. Fish and meat should not be wasted, which can enhance hematopoietic function and muscle strength. Eggs and soy products are available for breakfast, and fish or meat dishes are available for lunch and evening to increase energy.
Garnish: greens, mushrooms, taro potatoes, and seaweed as the main ingredients. Eat more foods rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, etc., so that various functions of the body can be kept normal.
Dairy products, fruits: Fruits are used as snacks to supplement vitamins and calcium.
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The elderly and malnutrition
Contrary to the frequent overnutrition of people today, the elderly tend to be malnourished. The reason for this is the decrease in food intake due to the decline in chewing and swallowing ability in the elderly, and the loss of appetite due to the decrease in physical activity. In addition, due to misunderstandings and concerns about some chronic diseases, they spontaneously reduce their nutrient intake. Malnutrition makes the elderly susceptible to disease due to decreased physical strength and immunity, which is also one of the causes of pressure sores, and can also lead to depression, leading to the deterioration of the original condition and increased mortality.
1. Symptoms of malnutrition
Pay attention to the following symptoms, it is highly suggestive of malnutrition in the elderly:
Increased wrinkles, dryness, punctate bleeding, pale complexion, etc.
The hair is dull and dry.
The conjunctiva of the eye is dry and white or light yellow spots are visible on the whites of the eyes.
The corners of the mouth are chapped.
The tongue is red and erosive.
2. Common eating and swallowing disorders in the elderly
Aging, cerebral infarction, dementia and other causes often cause inability to swallow food smoothly. For dysphagia, if not taken seriously, there are two major dangers.
Choking: Food blocks the throat, causing poor breathing or even blocking the airway.
Aspiration pneumonia: Food is ingested into the trachea, and the bacteria it carries can cause pneumonia.
3. Verification of eating and swallowing disorders
Eating is done by such a complex combination of movements. For some reason at any stage of the action
Uncoordinated can lead to swallowing disorders and the danger of food entering the trachea.
4. Prevent accidental swallowing
The food form can be designed according to the location and degree of swallowing decline.
Food form: For people who choke and are unable to swallow during eating, it is important to give them foods that are easy to chew and swallow and suitable for their ability to chew and swallow.
The amount per mouthful: It is important to control the amount of each bite to prevent the elderly from swallowing by mistake. Using even slightly larger spoons in excess of this amount may cause accidental swallowing. The amount of 3-8g per bite is appropriate. The shallow, near-flat spoon makes it easy to control smaller amounts of food per bite.
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Ways to help with eating
1. Pre-meal gymnastics
Misswallowing often occurs during the first bite of food. This is due to the fact that the elderly are not ready for eating, and the corresponding motor muscles have not yet begun to move. It is not uncommon for the elderly to spend a lot of time in bed, and it is not uncommon for them to be in a hazy state before meals. In addition, there are many elderly people with hemiplegia, mild impairment of consciousness, and difficulty eating. For these elderly people, it is recommended to do pre-meal gymnastics to awaken the muscles needed to eat and the willingness to eat.
Preprandial gymnastics begins with deep breathing, moving from the shoulders to the neck and then around the mouth, allowing the muscles involved in eating to slowly relax to facilitate eating. Vocal exercises are done because the position of the tongue during vocalization is similar to the position of the tongue when swallowing food. Finally, there are swallowing and coughing exercises. The whole gymnastics should be completed within 5 minutes.
2. Massage your mouth before meals
Gargling or cleaning the mouth before meals and moistening the mouth can reduce oral bacteria and alleviate pneumonia caused by accidental swallowing. In addition, massaging the mouth before meals can greatly help promote swallowing. Pre-meal massage consists of two parts: an external oral massage and an intraoral massage.
Intraoral massage: In the mouth, there are irritating areas in the throat that promote the swallowing response, which are distributed in the posterior wall of the throat, the palatal arch and the base of the tongue. Gently touching a cooled cotton swab to stimulate the inside of the mouth promotes a swallowing response. However, it should be noted that if the force is too large or too deep, it will cause the vagus nerve reflex, causing the pulse to disturb and the blood pressure to drop, so the movement must be gentle.
Extraoral massage: Massage around the mouth relaxes the muscles and allows swallowing to proceed smoothly.
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Feeding care
1. Prepare before meals
Defecate. It is excreted before meals, so that the continuous feeding can be completed smoothly.
Hand washing.
Adjust your eating posture.
Wear a leak-proof rice pocket.
2. Eat independently
Correct sitting posture: the food is clearly visible in front of you, the back is straight, the jaw is adducted, and the body is slightly leaned forward, which is convenient for eating and not easy to swallow by mistake.
Wrong sitting position: The posture of arching the back forward makes it easy for food to enter the trachea.
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Half-care and full-care care for the elderly who eat in bed
1. Feeding method
When you can't sit steadily, you have to eat in bed.
Hold your posture steady by lifting your knees and placing your feet on cushions or rolled up quilts.
Then lift the back of the bed by 30°-80° according to the condition of the elderly. Lift it about 80° so that its head is seated upright. The back is cushioned so that the jaw is adducted and the neck is relaxed to facilitate smooth swallowing.
Set up a bed table or side table and place it close to the elderly to facilitate their access to food.
Wear a leak-proof rice pocket.
Help the elderly set up their meals. Encourage them to eat independently as much as possible. Because only you can better control the amount and frequency of eating, and reduce the probability of accidental swallowing.
2. Precautions
Do not lie down immediately after eating, because the food eaten may regurgitate and be aspirated into the lungs, causing suffocation, and you should remain in a sitting position for at least 30 minutes after eating. If the upper body position is high, the elderly will be nervous, so you can lower the head position slightly, but not lower than 30 degrees.
The hemiplegic elderly can also take the lateral decubitus position with the healthy side downward, and the back is supported by cushions. Feeding is fed from the corner of the mouth on the unaffected side into the mouth.
When feeding, the main food, main dish, and side dishes are fed alternately.
For patients with dysphagia, caregivers should pay attention to the amount and frequency of feeding, and follow up after confirming that they have swallowed food. Feeding too quickly can easily lead to food accumulation in the mouth.
During eating, the caregiver explains the contents of the meal, so that the atmosphere is relaxed and can promote the appetite of the elderly.
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Food and cooking methods suitable for the elderly
When you are young, you can eat whatever you want, but in old age, "unpalatable" foods appear. For the elderly, due to the decline of chewing and swallowing function, foods that are difficult to chew, difficult to form food clumps after chewing, and difficult to swallow are collectively referred to as "unpalatable" foods. This type of food has the characteristics of being hard, loose, and easy to stick to the mouth. Foods on the other side can be called "easy-to-eat" foods.
1. "Easy-to-eat" food
Foods that are soft and tend to form clumps of food (food lumps) in the mouth.
Cool or warm foods that are different from body temperature. After ingestion, it is easy to identify and can elicit a swallowing reflex.
Foods that have a moderate viscosity and do not stick to the throat.
2. How to cook easy-to-eat food
For older people with weakened chewing ability, harder foods should be simmered for a longer period of time until soft and chewy before cutting
into small pieces. For vegetables and meats with coarse and hard fibers, the fibers should be cut off, finely chopped, and the fibers, tendons, thorns or bones should be removed.
3. Prevent food from being swallowed by mistake
To adjust the viscosity of food in liquid form, make it into a thin paste, paste, or jelly to prevent the liquid from easily running down and choking on the trachea.
To adjust the viscosity of the liquid, you can use starch and special thickener, and it is necessary to grasp the characteristics of various substances to make the thickening effect just right.
According to the different degrees of swallowing function of the elderly, prepare suitable recipes.
4. How to prepare food for family meals
As we mentioned earlier, we encouraged the elderly to eat at the same table and with the same recipes as their family members. Caregivers can divide the elderly's share of cooking and cook for more time to make it softer, or add adjusters and flavorings for the elderly, or put less salt and sugar.
This article does not cover recipes, but only talks about the principles of cooking foods suitable for the elderly, under which there can be many food items for the elderly to enjoy.
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Auxiliary cutlery selection
Eating with your own hands is a benign stimulus to the brain and hands. Even the elderly who have suffered a stroke or hemiplegia should be encouraged to eat with their unaffected hand, which is also an important subject of rehabilitation training. Tableware specially designed for the elderly who are hemiplegic or weak can help to eat smoothly. At first, due to frailty and limb dysfunction, eating is slow, but the elderly should also be encouraged, and must not be anxiously urged. After skillfully using tableware, it will increase the confidence and desire of the elderly to overcome the disease. The elderly with hemiplegia are often accompanied by dysphagia, which should be fully paid attention to and vigilant.
1. Spoons, forks, chopsticks
Choose a spoon according to the level of movement of your hand and the size of your mouth. Too big to use, and easy to choke. The grip strength of the hemiplegic elderly's hand is weakened, so the tableware with a thickened handle and can be bent into an angle is more convenient for the elderly to use.
2. Containers, trays, mats
(1) Containers
The bottom is at right angles to the edge: it is easy to scoop out the food, and the bottom of the container is pasted with a non-slip veneer, which is not easy to slide.
The edges are high, rounded, half-moon-shaped: easy to get close to the body. The shell-shaped container has a vertical edge on the broad side, and it is heavier on its own body, making it easy to scoop up food with one hand.
(2) Pallets
The edge is slightly higher, and the bottom is pasted with non-slip veneer, which is not easy to slide.
(3) Mats
After the anti-slip treatment, the container placed on it is not easy to slide, and the hemiplegic elderly can also scoop up food with one hand.
(4) Cup
Choose the cup according to the size of the elderly's mouth, the strength of swallowing, and the function of the hand, so as to reduce spilling and choking in use. For those with hemiplegia and weak hand strength, choose a cup with a light body and a large handle. The neck should not be tilted back when drinking water. For those with limited hand movements, choose a cup with an inclined inside or a notched cup mouth, so that drinking water can not be disturbed by the nose, and you can also use a cup or small pot with a straw to drink water.
Source: "The Complete Illustration of Elderly Care and Nursing"
Editor: Spring Tree Pension
The copyright belongs to the original author, if there is any infringement, please inform us
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