Tag Archive for: home health care in Orem UT

Heart shaped dish with vegetables isolated on wooden background

Think You Know the Best Foods for Heart Health? These Facts May Surprise You!

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Heart shaped dish with vegetables isolated on wooden background

Some recommendations for the best foods for heart health have changed.

Our aging care professionals understand that it’s not always easy to know which are the best foods for heart health when recommendations appear to constantly be changing. We had been told that saturated fats from options including butter, red meat and fried foods were detrimental and could influence a person’s possibilities of developing heart complications, but later studies indicated there isn’t enough proof that those who gave up these foods improved their heart health – and so, we went back to our previous ways due to the go-ahead to select butter over margarine.

However, as revealed in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, analysts clarify that the lack of evidence in limiting fatty foods is likely related to equally poor dietary choices selected instead of those fats – including refined carbs. In the study, it was shared that those who replaced fatty foods in their diet with healthier choices, including olive oil (a polyunsaturated fat) and whole grains, did lower their heart disease risk up to 25%.

According to Adela Hruby, one of many scientists in this study, “We know that people don’t just drop 10% of their calories…and not replace them with other things. What they’re adding in to replace what they’re not eating is really important.”

The research, led by Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was incredibly in-depth, monitoring the results of just under 130,000 participants of both genders over 30 years. Keeping track of dietary choices and any heart-related conditions, it was determined that both men and women who ate carbohydrates in place of fatty foods were attaining an almost equal risk of cardiovascular disease – a statistic missed in older studies that had determined there was no advantage to reducing the level of saturated fat in a meal plan.

So what might be the takeaway from this research? Better heart health may be gained by not just decreasing the total amount of saturated fat in a meal plan, but also by choosing healthier items instead of foods with lots of sugar or processed flour-based foods.

Harmony Home Health & Hospice, the leaders in home health care in Orem, UT and nearby areas, is here to help older individuals decrease their risk for heart attacks and disease through a wide range of in-home health care services, according to each person’s specific needs.

Contact us at 1-877-I-NEED-CARE (1-877-463-3322) to learn more about how our home health care services can help the seniors you love enjoy the highest quality of life where it’s most comfortable: at home.

lonely senior woman during holidays

Depression in Seniors During the Holidays – And How You Can Help

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lonely senior woman during holidays

Depression in seniors is common during the holiday season.

In spite of its reputation for being a season of joy, for quite a few older adults, the holidays are a period of deep despair. Longing for holidays past, sadness over the loss of close friends and family, and aging-related changes to health can intensify throughout the holiday season, and it’s imperative to take steps to help older loved ones avoid the downward slope into depression in seniors.

Begin by asking yourself these three questions if an older adult you love is feeling sad this holiday season.

  • Might it be normal nostalgia? Wistful feelings of nostalgia, thinking of pre-pandemic holiday celebrations and get-togethers, are normal for all of us. See if the older adult’s sadness is lifted immediately following a trip down memory lane, or if it lingers regardless of the topic of conversation.
  • Is health impacted? If your senior family member is struggling to sustain a healthy diet, has difficulty staying or falling asleep each night, is losing weight, and/or feeling fatigued, these could all be indications of depression.
  • Is the senior disengaged? Look for a disinterest in previously-enjoyed hobbies, decreased motivation, difficulty with focus and concentration, and/or the inability to sit still without fidgeting, as these can also be typical in depression.

Lara Honos-Webb, clinical psychologist and author of “Listening to Depression: How Understanding Your Pain Can Heal Your Life,” compares the difference between depression and sadness to colors. “A person is blue if they have deep, colorful emotions in response to loss in life. Depression is more like the color black – there [are] no subtle colors to the emotion but stark pain.”

It is crucial to seek medical assistance if depression is suspected – or even if you’re not sure – as effective treatment is readily available and essential, and treatment and early detection are key. And there are particular steps family members can take to support a senior loved one with depression:

  • Make a list of the older adult’s hobbies and interests, and set a schedule to engage in several of them together.
  • Encourage your loved one to work out together with you, including getting outside for walks to appreciate nature.
  • Turn on some of the senior’s favorite music, or if the senior plays an instrument, request that she/he play some songs for you.
  • Continue being positive yourself, providing affirmations to remind your senior loved one of the countless small but wonderful aspects each new day brings.
  • Above all, just be there, regardless of the older adult’s mood. Oftentimes, just sitting quietly together can make an enormous amount of difference in how someone feels.

Contact Harmony Home Health & Hospice, the experts in home health care in Orem, UT and surrounding areas, for additional resources and tips to help improve health and wellbeing for senior loved ones, and for the specialized home health care that makes every single day the best it can be.