Hi there and welcome to our career training series. I’m Ruby and I’m one of the recruiters here at myCNAjobs. Today’s training session is to help provide some key tips on how to cook for seniors, making it easier for you and your patient or loved one to keep a healthy balanced diet. You don’t have to be a master chef to help a senior have a fully belly enriched with nutrition. Cooking is a labor of love and with these tips you will be able to have a better understanding of what to do to help your patient enjoy their meals, all while helping them stay healthy. Eating healthy is very important, especially when it comes to seniors. Did you know it can be detrimental a seniors health if they are not served with the proper nutrition? This is a key part of any caregiver or CNA job.
So, let’s dive in. Today we’re going to talk about
#1 - Why Seniors Have different Nutritional Needs
As humans we go through many physical and physiological changes as we grow older, these changes can vary from dental, gastrointestinal, and even our taste palate. That is why it is important to adjust accordingly to your patient and their needs.
Over the years our taste buds decrease, and the way we taste food differs. The taste in food is completely different than what we were used to in the past, often taking more bitter or sour.
Loss of smell can also play a role to being less satisfied with a meal - what used to be an amazing aroma attached with every meal, has changed to a less appealing smell. This is why portion size and food presentation is especially important for seniors with strict diet requirements.
Not to mention other aging-related changes such as dentition and gastrointestinal changes. The loss of teeth or use of dentures requires specific foods to help the patient be able to chew, and enjoy without discomfort. Gastrointestinal changes such as constipation, chronic gastritis, or delayed stomach emptying and gas are require special attention to meals to help avoid discomfort.
This is why it is important to pay attention and use your time to prepare what will help your patient living a more fulfilling diet.
Although you may be trying your hardest to instill a healthy balanced diet for your patient, you may run into some common problems, not to worry we are here to help.
First it’s important to understand that there can be many reasons for loss of appetitive such as depression and being on certain medications. So first, understand. Second, here’s how you can help
Well, that’s it folks. Best of luck caring for your patient and loved one and I hope you learned something today. If you like what you saw here today, there are more caregiver training videos and free resources available at myCNAjobs.com or call us to talk to a recruiter directly at 312-275-3959.