There are three things that many doctors urge adults to cut back. They are salt, saturated fat, and sugar. Diets that are high in salt and sugar can lead to health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease.

Reading labels on the foods you purchase for your parents is a good start. Some of these items, however, aren’t always listed by a name you’d recognize. Sometimes, the name that appears on the label is a little trickier and may be overlooked. Learn to look for these items by their lesser-known names.

Salt/Sodium

Labels don’t always use salt or some form of sodium on the label. You’ll likely catch it when it’s listed under names like:

• • Disodium guanylate
  • Disodium inosinate
  • MSG (monosodium glutamate)
  • Trisodium phosphate

You should also watch for the following sneakier names on food labels.

• • Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  • Fleur de sel
  • Himalayan pink

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are often associated with red meats, but they’re in a lot more than that. They’re in dairy products like butter and full-fat cheeses, yogurts, and milk. Watch for these names when you’re looking over food labels.

• • Coconut cream
  • Coconut milk
  • Coconut oil
  • Drippings
  • Ghee
  • Lard
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Shortening
  • Suet
  • Tallow

You should also look at the values and see if there is saturated fat listed on the label. If there is saturated fat in a food, you’re going to see percentages on the label.

Sugar

Sugar is okay in moderation, but people ingest far more than is advised. The daily limits should be 9 teaspoons for men and 6 for women. According to experts, the average amount consumed in the U.S. each day is a whopping 17 teaspoons.

Be careful finding hidden sugar in the foods you purchase for your parents. These are the names that all mean sugar.

• • Agave nectar
  • Corn syrup
  • Demerara
  • Dextrose
  • Fructose
  • Glucose
  • Golden syrup
  • Honey
  • Lactose
  • Malt
  • Maltose
  • Maple syrup
  • Sucrose

As your parents get older, they may be less interested in cooking their meals. It can be a chronic health condition like arthritis that makes cooking painful. They may have a harder time cooking meals for just one or two people after decades of cooking for an entire family. Sometimes, it’s simply a lack of time during a busy day. Fast food and takeout become easier.

Instead of relying on ready-to-eat meals, arrange elder care services for your parents. They could keep up their favorite activities while a caregiver prepares their meals and snacks. Choose the days and hours they could use help with meals and call an elder care agency to get started.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Orinda, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care.
Call today: (415) 795-2203

Sources:

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/how-much-sugar-is-too-much 

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Evan Loevner

CEO at Aviva In-Home Care

As a former hospital administrator, I launched Aviva with the goal of having a more focused, direct impact on the delivery of care than I could ever accomplish within a hospital setting. For me, the joy of running an organization like Aviva In-Home Care is having the ability to positively improve the lives of individuals needing customized care. As a passionate Bay Area resident, I know that many local seniors can benefit from new approaches to in-home care, that will bring them more connection to the community, and provide families with a greater sense of comfort that their loved one is indeed matched with an ideal caregiver.

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