4 Big Ways that Eating More Slowly Can Help Your Elderly Loved One

Posted: 1/8/2016 8:32 AM by Interim HealthCare
If your elderly loved one finishes a meal within a few minutes after sitting down to eat, it's possible that she's eating much too quickly. Some of the signs that this is the case can also include indigestion and a difficulty maintaining her weight. If you can help her to slow down a little bit while she eats, she will reap quite a few benefits.

Helps with Weight Control and Overeating

When your loved one is eating more slowly, they can be more conscious of how their body is responding to the food. It's easy for your loved one to eat too much when she's eating quickly. Often it takes a few minutes for your loved one's body to catch up with the cues that it receives. By eating more slowly, your loved one may find that she actually loses a bit of weight without much more effort than that.

Making Better Food Choices

As your loved one slows down a bit at mealtime, she'll start to taste her food more. It may be easier to convince her to try foods that are healthier for her, too, such as fruits and vegetables. When she's not filled up on unhealthy foods, there is room for better food choices. As she gets more healthy meals, her body will start to crave those types of foods.

Makes Room for Companionship

If your loved one is getting used to eating meals around other people, such as a home care provider who offers companionship, eating more slowly makes room for that social engagement. Social engagement is really important for your loved one's mental health, and having that time to mentally and emotionally breathe can help your loved one to feel less stress.

Improves Digestion

When your loved one eats a meal, her body responds physically to the food entering her mouth and then heading to her stomach. By eating slowly, she gives her body time to send and to respond to those cues. One of the biggest results is that her body is able to keep up with digestion, which can solve problems such as heartburn and other issues.
It can take some time to help your loved one learn to enjoy eating more slowly, but the benefits are definitely worth the effort.

If you have an aging loved one in need of home care contact Interim HealthCare today.