Healthy Desserts for Older Adults

Nourishing Our Bodies as We Age

As we grow, our bodies demand different types of nutrients, forcing us to change our diet over time. Throughout our lives, we increase or decrease our intake of certain foods; even if they are our favorites, they may not be the best option for a healthy diet.

Remember that a healthy diet doesn’t mean depriving ourselves of sweets or flour; it’s simply moderating our consumption of these foods so we can eat mostly foods that nourish us and provide the vitamins we need to stay healthy. Keeping our bodies healthy helps us, as time goes by, delay the deterioration of our health that will eventually come with old age.

Our diet should be regulated not only by our tastes but also by our body’s needs, illnesses, conditions, and predispositions. We must seek a balance between the delicious foods we enjoy and the healthy foods our bodies need, especially as we age.

Understanding the Aging Process

As we age, our physical health becomes more fragile, and we must begin to take better care of ourselves, both physically and mentally. We must understand that we don’t have the same strength, that we can forget things more quickly, even our palate begins to change, and things we used to love may suddenly seem too salty, too sweet, or too spicy.

We must also understand that as we become older adults, people will begin to care for us more, expect us not to make any big effort, and accompany us if we want to go for a walk. And that’s okay. We must nourish our bodies and minds to accept that we are now older adults.

The Role of Good Nutrition

Therefore, for our seniors to live a long, active, healthy, and quality life, it’s best to have good nutrition. We can consult a nutritionist specializing in older adults who can give us advice and suggestions on the best diet for our beloved family member. Nutritionists are experts in all the physical, metabolic, and hormonal changes that older adults may experience over time.

A balanced diet is what will help them live a healthy life, avoid losing muscle mass, and maintain proper nutrition.

Changes in the Body Over Time

As time goes by and our bodies change, many factors change, and by following a good diet, we can slow down this process or at least replenish it.

For example, a decrease in metabolism, as the body begins to need less energy, causing us to consume fewer calories than we were used to. And because our bodies move less and are less agile, we can also experience a loss of muscle mass. We may suddenly notice that the older our grandparents get, the thinner they look, due to the lack of the rhythm they used to have before.

Also, a topic we’ve previously touched on is that the older we get, the more we lose our appetite and thirst. Suddenly, our grandparents may forget they haven’t eaten or drunk water because they don’t feel like it, but even if they don’t feel it, their bodies still need to ingest it.

Add to this the fact that our palates can change, and they may no longer like the things they liked before. And if we add to that dental or swallowing problems, it can be a little more difficult for them to find a meal that’s filling enough for them. Our older adults begin to experience changes in their teeth and in the way they swallow food. We may suddenly see them eating softer solid foods, or perhaps more soups or purees. This is because their teeth are no longer as strong as they were years ago.

The Importance of a Geriatric Nutritionist

A nutritionist is the right person to guide us in a healthy diet for our family member, one full of protein, calcium, vitamins, fiber, iron, and water to keep them healthy and hydrated.

Yes, Desserts Can Be Healthy Too

And now that we’ve talked about how nutritious their meals should be, let’s also talk about desserts. Eating nutritiously doesn’t mean eating bland food or forgetting about our delicious pastries. We just need to keep in mind that they should be suitable for our bodies.

Let’s look for desserts that don’t have refined sugar or as little flour as possible. We can make everything from gelatins, which are not only delicious but also good for their hair and skin, to even a cake we can make ourselves.

For example, we can make a delicious oatmeal banana bread, using only banana, oatmeal, maple syrup, eggs, and a little bit of baking powder. This bread is perfect for our seniors and delicious, plus it’s soft and easy to digest.

Or if they like coffee, we can make them some coffee cookies, using only peanut butter, a little brown sugar, egg, dark chocolate, milk, vanilla, baking powder, ground coffee, and a little almond flour, which is much better for our grandparents than regular flour.

With oatmeal, we can make thousands of desserts that replace regular flour. We can even make breakfast pancakes with just flour, banana, and a little cinnamon. We can even add vanilla just for a different flavor. Plus, it’s now easier to find variations of regular flour, such as walnut flour, almond flour, and oat flour. Even with a little cream cheese and corn, we can create a delicious cornbread that both kids and adults can enjoy.

A delicious rice pudding, a delicious flan; we can even make donuts or churros with yogurt and a little nut flour, creating the perfect texture for air frying. Remember that whenever we get creative, we should consider asking a nutritionist if the desserts we’re preparing for our seniors are suitable or if we should change an ingredient and replace it with a similar one; the ingredients also depend greatly on the illnesses our seniors may have.

In Conclusion

So don’t be afraid to consult a nutritionist specializing in geriatrics, because being older shouldn’t prevent us from enjoying a delicious dessert.