Celebrating Nutrition…All Month!

The MVES Nutrition department finished a fun-filled, month-long celebration of nutrition at the end of March. The past month marked the American Dietetic Association's 30th year of recognizing March as the national nutrition month and MVES honored the occasion with special events.

Working with the theme of "Healthy Eating, Healthy You," the entire staff of the Nutrition department strove to bring healthy food to the attention of clients, caregivers, and colleagues. As part of the month's activities, our registered dietitian visited each meal site in the MVES service area to present healthy eating tips (see below) to diners—which included a demonstration on how to prepare healthy snacks. The healthy tips were also distributed to each home delivered meals client.

But, MVES wasn't all work and no play during nutrition month. St. Patrick's Day was celebrated by serving traditional corned beef and cabbage to all clients. The staff at MVES also was treated to four nutrition quizzes, a Nutrition open house, and a soup contest.

"Nutrition month is a great time for us to encourage people to eat well," said Brid Scharrenweber, operations manager for the MVES Nutrition department. "It's also an opportunity to spread fun with some tasty food."

Look below for tips on healthy eating!

 

Healthy Eating For a Healthy Body

In general, what special nutritional requirements do you have as a senior citizen?

• Decreased calorie needs—your body requires fewer calories because you may not be as active as you once were.

• Increased need for nutrient-dense foods—since you may be eating less than you used to, you need to be sure that the foods you eat are packed with vitamins and minerals (for example whole grains, fruits, and vegetables).

• Increased need for fiber—fiber can reduce your risk of colon cancer, regulate your bowels, and help decrease your cholesterol level. Include in your daily diet whole grains/cereals, fruits, etc.

• Increased need for Calcium, Vitamin D and B12—for calcium, consume 3-4 servings per day of low-fat dairy products. Your body can make Vitamin D with the help of sunlight while Vitamin B12 can be found in fortified cereals. Also, a multivitamin can provide Vitamin D and B12.

• Adequate hydration—Regardless of thirst, you need 6-8 cups of fluid per day.