Home care assistance is a great option if your senior loved one has diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is unfortunately common and diagnosed in adulthood. It’s when the body does not produce enough insulin or cannot respond to the insulin the body produces. The difference between type 1 and 2 diabetes is that type 1 means the pancreas makes no insulin at all, and you’re usually born with it.
When a diabetes diagnosis is Type 2, the pancreas makes less insulin than it used to or becomes resistant to insulin developed later in life. This is why seniors need to focus on minimizing the risk of type 2 diabetes. How can you help your seniors do that? Here are a few other tips.
Focus on Weight
Believe it or not, weight can greatly impact type 2 diabetes. This may seem like a simple thing to focus on, but it can be difficult for a senior. They may have eating habits that are hard to break, or they may not know what to eat or don’t like cooking anymore. Home care assistance can help a senior pick nutritious meals; they can even help cook to control a senior’s weight.
Home care assistance may even help a senior stick to a workout routine that allows them to get moving and manage their weight. Focusing on being a healthy weight, eating right, and moving daily can help reduce the risk of type two diabetes.
Focus on Eating Plants
Eating fruits and vegetables or a plant-based diet is a good choice for seniors focusing on reducing the risk of type two diabetes. Plant-based meals help reduce inflammation, manage weight, reduce cravings, and are filled with vitamins and minerals. In addition, fruits and vegetables can digest more slowly, which means a senior stays full for longer and keeps blood sugar levels level all day.
Don’t Diet
When seniors want to focus on weight and food, they may think they need to turn to a fad diet, but this is not the best way to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes. Most fad diets are not sustainable, and after a while of eating this way, it can be worse for a senior’s body or make them crave junk food.
Fad diets require drastic changes to a senior’s regular diet, and that can be too difficult to stick with. It can be so strict that they don’t eat well-rounded food, which can impact type two diabetes. If your senior needs help with dieting advice, they need to speak to a doctor they trust or a nutritionist who has worked with seniors.
Talk to a Doctor and Hire Home Care Assistance
If you are worried about your senior having diabetes, it’s important for them to talk to a doctor. Home care assistance can help a senior get to the doctors, and they can even be in the appointment to take notes for a senior.
In addition, regular blood draws and checkups are crucial to learning how to prevent diabetes or to see if they have developed diabetes over the years. This can happen in a person’s elderly years, and it can be managed with the proper amount of knowledge and work.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Home Care Assistance in Madison, WI please contact the caring staff at Agape Senior Services Madison today. (608) 841-1004