Tips for Diabetes Management During the Holidays

Tips for Diabetes | Seniors who have diabetes don’t have to give up all the holiday foods they love during the holidays; however, they do need to take some extra steps to try and make sure that their blood sugar is stable and that they are taking care of themselves during this time. Because it’s Diabetes Awareness Month, Comfort Keepers of Calgary, AB has compiled a helpful list of home care tips for diabetes management during the holidays:

Search for Home Care & Diabetes Friendly Alternatives

It’s only natural that seniors with diabetes still want to eat all the foods they love during the holidays. After all most of those foods are only available once a year. The key for seniors with diabetes who want to enjoy all those classic holiday dishes is to find ways to make healthy substitutions in their usual recipes. Baking cookies and sweets with an artificial sweetener instead of sugar is one way to make holiday treats healthier for those with diabetes. Another is to substitute things like applesauce for butter in cookies and cakes.

Seniors who like to cook holiday dishes and sweets can get help figuring out healthy substitutions from a home care provider who can offer advice, help them cook and help them clean up after the holiday treats are made.

Tips for Diabetes

Exercise Regularly

Often times, diabetic seniors forget to exercise during the holiday season. This is unfortunate because working out on a regular basis during the holidays can help stabilize blood sugar and even offset the effects of a large meal. Some of the best exercises for older adults with diabetes include brisk walking outside or on a treadmill, water aerobics or swimming, bicycling, tai-chi, yoga, and stationary bicycling.

Get Enough Sleep

Due to the fact that the holiday season is filled with social gatherings, many seniors stay out later and don’t get enough sleep as a result. Since sleep loss can make it more difficult for them to control their blood sugar, and sleep deprivation almost always leads to overindulging in foods that are high in fat and sugar, it’s imperative that older adults get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every evening.

Refrain From Skipping Meals

Contrary to popular belief, it is not a good idea for older adults to skip meals in order to save up for a big holiday feast. By doing so, seniors will find it more challenging to control their blood sugar. They will likely be starving and more likely to overeat if they skip meals than they would if they eat a nutritious meal a few hours beforehand.

Limit Alcohol

Holiday gatherings almost always involve some type of alcohol. While it’s okay for seniors to have a drink or two, they should be careful not to overdrink as alcohol can reduce blood sugar levels and interact with diabetes medications. In the event that they do decide to drink, diabetic older adults should pair their alcohol with food. A home care giver can assist seniors who want to indulge in a little holiday drinking make sure that they get safely safe from holiday parties and events.

Sticking to a diabetes meal plan and healthy lifestyle choices can be tough when there are temptations and holiday gatherings that make it easy for seniors to splurge. The good news is it can be done when older adults make it a priority to look for diabetes friendly alternatives to traditional holiday dishes, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, avoid skipping meals, and limit their alcohol intake.

Comfort Keepers^® Calgary Can Help with Tips for Diabetes

If you are concerned about the safety of your aging loved ones, especially in regard to fire, we can help. While it’s important to rely on the expertise of licensed professionals for certain precautions, we can provide home safety assessments and ensure your loved ones’ environment is safe.

Contact the Comfort Keepers Calgary office to learn more about how we can help maintain safety, comfort, and happiness in the home.

What is Atrial Fibrillation for Seniors?

Atrial Fibrillation in Seniors | In atrial fibrillation, the heart starts to beat extremely rapidly – from 300 to 600 beats a minute. To put this in perspective, a normal resting heart rate is only 60 to 70 beats a minute. This type of irregular heartbeat is most common in seniors with the risks of developing AF doubling every ten years after the age of 50.

While AF is not dire in and of itself, it greatly increases the risk of medical conditions which are very serious such as thromboembolisms, dementia, and depression. If not caught in time, thromboembolisms can lead to a stroke and or death.

Atrial fibrillation is often a symptom of an underlying problem or condition such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and congestive heart failure. It can also stem from dehydration, an electrolyte imbalance, alcoholism, and even stress.

Home Care Calgary

The primary way to treat hypertension is through medication therapy and non-medical lifestyle changes such as exercise and diet modification.

Home care can be an essential element in helping a senior lose weight and eat a healthy diet. Many seniors who are obese, suffer from hypertension, or have AF, also struggle with at least one daily living task. In addition to the risks associated with AF, these seniors also risk losing their independence and quality of life. Home care can provide supports that range from light housekeeping and laundry to shopping, cooking, and personal care.

Seniors who require medications to deal with their AF may find that their medication management program is getting overwhelming, as most seniors over 65 already take at least 5 to 10 different medications. If your senior loved one requires support with their medication management, home care from Comfort Keepers will keep them on-track.

In short, atrial fibrillation is common among seniors, but it is also a condition that should not be taken lightly. Many risk factors, such as obesity and hypertension, can be limited through exercise and a proper diet. Other times, medication may be necessary. Whatever their unique situation, a home caregiver can provide the supports your loved one needs in their fight against AF.

Home Care and Managing Gallstones | The gallbladder is an organ in the upper right area of the abdomen. Its job is to help the body regulate, use, and expel the fat and cholesterol that are ingested through food or drink. When we ingest fats and cholesterol, the gallbladder produces a chemical called bile to help the body digest it. Sometimes, when there is too much cholesterol, the body forms it into small undigested balls. These are commonly known as gallstones. These “stones” can be as small as a grain of sand or grow as large as a golfball. Most people have gallstones that cause no pain or issues. Sometimes, however, the stone or stones will block a bile duct or move in such a way as to cause immense pain. Nearly 20 million Americans face gallstone issues each year, but only a million or so end up in the hospital for treatment.

Home Care: Managing and Relieving Gallstones

The main risk factors for gallstones are being overweight, eating many high-fat and greasy meals, being a middle aged woman, or being elderly. Nearly a quarter of seniors will have gallstone issues by age 70. While losing weight is helpful in reducing the risk of gallstones, losing weight too quickly or doing so by missing meals actually increases the risk.

One of the signs and symptoms of gallstones includes a sudden and severe pain in the upper right abdomen. The pain may spread to the right should and back and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fever, and jaundice. Home care providers who notice these symptoms may think your senior loved one is having a heart attack because of the sudden pain in the upper abdomen that spreads to the back and shoulders. While the pain typically goes to the right instead of the left (as a heart attack would), it is always better to be safe since heart attack symptoms are not always standard.

Once the doctor determines that your loved one has gallstones, there are a couple ways of managing them. Many seniors choose to wait and see if the problem will resolve itself. Often the wait and see approach works and the pain will not reappear for months or even years. If pain does persist, the most common cure is laparoscopic surgery. The surgery is common and performed nearly a million times each year in the United States.

If your loved one chooses to wait on surgery, a few home care solutions might help relieve symptoms. These include avoiding greasy meals or even spending a short time on a clear liquid diet. By cutting out the fat and cholesterol, the gallbladder can rest. Even if your loved one is on a diet, meals should not be skipped.
Since obesity is a factor in gallstones, a slow, steady reduction in weight through a proper diet and exercise is a great way to manage and relieve gallstone risks and symptoms. If your senior loved one needs support in this process, at home care providers are there to help.