Dementia is one of the biggest fears that older adults face. It’s one of the most devastating illnesses of our time to impact seniors and their loved ones. The disease will take away the pasts and futures for older adults. But help and hope are available for them living with Alzheimer’s disease as well as their family caregivers.

Here’s some research-based do’s and don’ts from the Alzheimer’s Association that can help put your minds at ease:

Stay mentally healthy, since mentally stimulating activities strengthen brain cells and the connections between them, and may even create new nerve cells.

Stay physically active, as physical exercise is essential for maintaining good blood flow to the brain. It also can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes, and thereby help to protect against those risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Know that the seniors and older adults who lead sedentary lifestyles and consume a lot of sodium in their diet may be damaging their mental health. A study from Canada has found evidence that high-salt diets coupled with low physical activity can be detrimental to cognitive health in older adults. While low sodium intake is associated with reduced blood pressure and risk of heart disease, this is believed to be the first study to extend the benefits of a low sodium diet to brain health in healthy older adults.

Elsewhere, evidence from a recent study of seniors indicates that consuming fish oil supplements has a positive impact on brain health and aging. The study included 819 individuals, 117 of whom reported regular use of fish oil supplements before entry and during study follow-up. It’s important to stay active and eat healthy and nutrition foods. If you need help with caring for a loved one living with Alzheimer’s, Home Instead CAREGivers are here for you.

Source: Home Instead Senior Care.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Even with the best of intentions and planning, seniors who are without companionship and assistance at home may jeopardize their own good health or recovery from an illness or surgery.

Research by University of Maryland nutrition expert Dr. Nadine Sahyoun revealed that 80 percent of hospital-discharged older adults recruited for the study who qualified for home-delivered meals had food in their kitchens, but they were unable to shop or utilize that food for cooking.

Cooking is an art, it’s been said, and dining both at home and out makes all the effort worthwhile, not only for seniors but their loved ones as well.

Make eating a happy event, Dr. Sahyoun said. We focus too much on what people can’t eat and don’t give enough attention to what food represents to us. Food is at the core of our lives–it’s the smell, color, feel, texture and social context. All of this is what makes a meal enjoyable. We have to pay attention to those things, she added.

To keep their daily menus interesting, and healthy, seniors will want to mix up their food choices—particularly within each food group—every day.

We know that we really are what we eat, said Elisabetta Politi, dietician director at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center. But each senior’s diet plan is individual, she noted. If Dad has reached age 75 and has not developed heart disease or cancer, you need not recommend any different food intervention than what he is already doing. Dad has found a meal plan that works.

Perhaps a senior’s dietary plan leaves room for improvement. Research shows that change is best done gradually. Encourage seniors to look at how they’re doing and focus on one thing to change.

Watch Senior Nutrition and Mealtime Videos.

Try these tasty recipes when cooking for your senior loved one.

Check out these delectable and nutritious recipes from the Duke Diet and Fitness Center made with the 12 Staples that Seniors Shouldn’t Live Without.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Since you moved hundreds of miles from home for a great job, your sister has assumed the care of your parents. But you feel left out. Every time you ask, she says not to worry, she has it covered. How do you react? There are few things worse than feeling left out. First, identify what you really want from this situation. Would more contact with your parents help?  Have you made an effort to reach out to your parents first? If they are capable of speaking to you, consider making regular contact by telephone – once a week, for instance – to touch base about what is going on in your life and theirs. If dementia or hearing problems get in the way, why not consider mailing something every week. If your mother likes to read newspaper clippings or your dad collects stamps, send them items regularly to show them that you are thinking of them. This will help you feel more involved.

Caring for a parent is a different issue. If you are not home very often, the day-to-day life events are not a part of your relationship with your parents or your sister. It may not be fair to impose your preferences on the sister who is meeting your parents’ regular needs. Perhaps your feelings of frustration have more to do with childhood rivalries. But it’s important to be honest with your
sister.

Speak openly with your sister about your feelings and let her know you want to be more involved in your parents’ lives. “I just feel so out of touch here. Would it be O.K. if I called you after Mom and Dad’s doctor appointments to find out how they are? Or, if you wouldn’t mind, could I talk with the doctor myself?” Also find out what your sister might need. You may be surprised when she actually tells you she could use an extra hand. Things you could offer to help with from a distance include ordering items your parents might need online and having these things shipped to your parents’ house, setting up automatic bill paying for your mom and dad, and helping your sister keep track of their appointments.

Among a group of siblings in Canada, on average, the primary caregiver in Canada includes both brother and sister, age 50 for an 81-year-old father.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

The challenges of caregiving are many and can include; working with relatives, easily managing your aging parent’s lives and health, coordinating schedules, making sure aging relatives are eating healthy meals, the upkeep of their home and yard, and putting measures in place to keep them safe.

But we know that the world is not always so tidy and supportive. Probably no family works smoothly all the time, and many families are troubled by strife of various kinds.

Antagonisms Can Get Worse

If anything, old antagonisms are likely to get worse in the urgency, and sometimes emergency, of caregiving.

How do you prepare yourself for battles that may come? We offer advice in this chapter from our book, Stages of Senior Care, about how to deal with some specific situations that arise frequently. Here are some examples of situations we explore:

- Advice on Some Common Parent-Child Conflicts
- Your Father Won’t Surrender the Car Keys
- Your Parents Refuse to Make a Will
- Your Mother Is Suspicious of Strangers–And Even Caregivers
- When Paranoia Points to Something More
- Your Mother Is Unmanageable at Home but Refuses to Go to a Nursing Home
- Coping in a Strained Relationship

Based on research, up-to-date information and the experience of 15 years in the senior care industry, the Hogans have provided a book that will take the trauma out of decision making, eliminate guilt, and build the confidence for those thrust into the position of making care decisions.

All of the authors’ profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

If you have a loved one living with Alzheimer’s disease, then you know how it affects every part of his or her life. It will, if not already, significantly impact your life too.

You’ve seen Alzheimer’s effects on other lives living with the illness and know that the disease respects no boundaries. From a former President to the average citizen in our hometown, Alzheimer’s can strike anyone, anywhere.

Today, half a million Canadians have Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Approximately 71,000 of them are under age 65. This means that 1 in 11 Canadians over the age of 65 currently has Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Statistic from Alzheimer.ca. Alzheimer’s disease primarily affects seniors. And, because our elderly population is exploding, the number of people with the disease is expected to grow at an alarming rate.

In twenty-five years, about 1.3 million Canadians will be living with Alzheimer’s. The quick rise of the disease is due to the baby boomer generation; one in three Canadians will be affected by Alzheimer’s.

I’m Greg Bechard with Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga, a company that provides CAREGivers who go into seniors’ homes to help them with their non-medical tasks such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, errands – or just providing companionship.

Even more important are the supervision and security that CAREGivers can offer to those with Alzheimer’s and other dementia’s. The mission of our local office is to help seniors remain safely and comfortably in their homes. And, thanks to a special partnership Home Instead Senior Care has with a renowned Alzheimer’s organization, the company is also helping those with the disease stay home longer than ever before.

My company, Home Instead Senior Care has teamed up with The George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers in San Diego, CA. The late Dr. Glenner was a world-famous pathologist, research physician and professor at the University of San Diego School of Medicine. In 1984, he isolated and first identified the beta amyloid protein now considered the primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease to develop the first training program of its kind for non-medical caregivers. The training covers these topics:

• The pathology and symptoms of the disease;

• Understanding other diseases similar to Alzheimer’s;

• Building a relationship with a client who has Alzheimer’s;

• Working within the person’s physical surroundings;

• Managing his or her difficult behaviors; and,

• Helping the client remain independent for as long as possible.

The best part of the Home Instead Senior Care Alzheimer’s CAREGiver training program is that we learn how to build solid relationships with our clients – relationships that allow them to adapt their care to meet individual client needs.

And, by helping those who are dealing with this disease, Home Instead Senior Care Mississauga serves as a resource and respite provider for family members and friends. So, along with helping Alzheimer’s clients live fuller lives, Home Instead Senior Care is also helping these family members enjoy their loved ones more fully.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Older adults are particularly vulnerable to food poisoning because many of them have weakened immune systems – are particularly vulnerable. Assisting seniors at home is a good way to ensure an older adult is eating safely.

Dr. James L. Smith, a microbiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wanted to find out if and why seniors are more at risk for food-borne illness. Dr. Smith reviewed food-borne outbreaks at nursing homes, and compared the immune and digestive systems of seniors and younger individuals. Here is what he found:

Dr. Smith found that as we age, inflammation of the lining of the stomach increases and a decrease in stomach acid occurs. Because the stomach plays an important role in limiting the number of bacteria that enter the small intestine, a decrease or loss of stomach acidity increases the likelihood of infection if a pathogen is ingested with food or water.

Older adult’s lifestyles and diets make them more vulnerable. Malnutrition, for instance, leads to increased incidence of infections, including those that result from food-borne bacteria.

There are many reasons why malnutrition occurs in seniors including a decrease in the pleasure of eating. Medication, digestive disorders, chronic illnesses, physical disabilities or depression may result in a loss of appetite. Good nutrition is an important factor in maintaining a healthy immune system.

Helping seniors buy nutritious food, maintain it properly and cook it safely also are valuable lifestyle factors. Perhaps your elderly loved one needs assistance. If so, consider discussing with your aging loved one the option of hiring in-home companionship.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Sharing isn’t always easy for brothers and sisters who grew up under the same roof. Divvying up the wealth of toys, bedrooms or vehicles may have been a challenge at your house, and sharing the daily household chores could have led to family conflict as well.

A research study conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care, sharing the care of elderly parents can be as much of an obstacle for adult siblings. In 43% of U.S. families and 41% of Canadian families, one sibling has the responsibility for providing most or all of the care for Mom or Dad, according to a survey of family caregivers. In only 2% of families in the U.S. and 3% in Canada did the siblings split the caregiving responsibility equally.

“Senior caregiving can either bring families together or cause brother and sister conflict,” says sibling relationships expert Ingrid Connidis, Ph.D., from the University of Western Ontario. “In some cases it can do both. These issues can be very emotional.” Connidis has partnered with Home Instead Senior Care to develop the 50-50 RuleSM public education program to help siblings deal with the many issues of caring for a parent. Following are tips on how siblings can better share the care.

1. Talk and listen. Parents care a lot about maintaining independence, often to the point that they also forfeit getting more support. That’s why it’s important to communicate, preferably before your family is in the throes of caregiving.

2. Research options. When you and your siblings have identified the types of services, interventions or care options that your aging parent needs, look for organizations and resources that can help. Discuss with your siblings who in the family will handle this job.

3. Plan ahead. If your mother wants to stay at home and “age in place” consider whether someone in the family will be supplementing that care or if you will divide those duties among siblings.

4. Be flexible. Rather than insisting that all of the caregiving tasks be divided equally, consider a division of labor that takes into account each family member’s interests and skills, as well as their availability.

5. Be honest. If you have become the primary caregiver and it’s getting to be too much, make sure your siblings know that you need help. Discuss specific tasks that your brother or sister can help you with such as grocery shopping or placing online orders. If you are a long-distance sibling, check in often with the primary caregiver to see how it’s going.

Get the complete Guide – Sharing the Care.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Dawn van Engelen, RD has been a registered dietitian for the past 17 years. The last 16 of those years, Dawn has devoted her time to helping the many patients at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Ontario. While her opportunities to share her knowledge with athletic departments, church groups, day cares, and school children keep her busy, the long term care facility at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital has provided Dawn with immense experience in the nutritional challenges of the aging.

HISC: What is your background and why did you decide to get into this field?
DvE: I decided to get into the field of dietetics due to a keen interest in healthy eating and disease management with diet.

HISC: Who is your typical client/patient?
DvE: My typical patient is an 80 year old male with a number of co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. They want to know what to eat and not eat and are usually looking for a meal plan to be developed for a typical day with meal timing and portion sizes.

HISC: What are some of the most common nutritional deficiencies among seniors and are these different from the rest of the population?
DvE: Seniors are at risk for a number of deficiencies but most importantly calcium, vitamin D, and iron. This may not be any different than the rest of the population but the side effects of these deficiencies are more pronounced in seniors. Fluid intake is also low in the senior population.

HISC: What do you see as the biggest challenge for seniors when it comes to nutrition?
DvE: Meal preparation of 3 meals a day, meal preparation for one, and preparing balanced meals.

HISC: Between 37 and 40% of seniors over age 75 live alone. What effect does isolation have on nutrition?
DvE: Seniors do not feel like eating when they are alone. Eating is a social activity and if you don’t have anyone to share a meal with it becomes too much of a task. A daily task that many seniors may chose not to do.

HISC: What tips can you give to families and caregivers to help increase their senior’s nutrition?
DvE: Bring them food that they love. Invite them out often for a meal. Set up or get seniors involved in a dining club.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Medication warning labels don’t always tell the full story. In fact, your mom or dad could encounter all sorts of medication-related problems aside from those listed on the bottle; problems that can kill. The potential risks may involve anything from overdosing to not taking enough medication. Conditions such as eye sight and hearing issues may worsen these problems.

This issue recently hit home for Rob Albers, a pharmacist of 35 years. When his father, John, mistook a blood thinner for a blood pressure pill, John overdosed for three weeks on the wrong medication. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down and resulted in a move to a care facility.

The senior Albers also suffers from macular degeneration, a common senior condition that can damage eyesight. This condition makes organizing pills and reading prescription labels even more challenging.

In addition to taking too much or too little of the right medications, seniors like your parents can encounter other medication-related problems such as untreated or unrecognized conditions, improper drug use, drug reactions or drug interactions.

That’s where a new resource can help. The Home Instead Senior Care^® network worked with Humana Points of Caregiving^® to develop an information management tool that includes a place for information about your parents’ medications. The tool also features the pharmacist, one of the first lines of defense for family caregivers when it comes to questions about medications.

This toolkit is just one of several resources in the Answering the Call^SM program, designed to help you be better prepared for that emergency call that your loved one needs assistance. To learn more about the Caring for Your Parents: Senior Emergency Kit^SM, visit www.SeniorEmergencyKit.com or call your local Home Instead Senior Care office to request a copy.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.