How Can You Help Your Parent Control Their Cholesterol?

By Jennifer Benjamin | September 2, 2016 | Comments Off on How Can You Help Your Parent Control Their Cholesterol?

Senior Care in Garden City NY

September is Cholesterol Education Month. This is the ideal opportunity for you to learn more about cholesterol and how you can adjust your care efforts to help your senior get their Senior-Care-in-Garden-City-NYcholesterol levels under control and keep them under control as they age in place.

Throughout the United States there are more than 73 million adults who have high LDL, or “bad”, cholesterol levels. This accounts for more than 30 percent of the total adult population. For those who have high total blood cholesterol levels, their risk of developing heart disease and suffering from health complications and consequences related to this disease doubles. These statistics might be staggering, but fortunately there are things that your parent and you can do to help them to get and keep their cholesterol under control so that they can live a healthier lifestyle throughout their later years.

 

Some lifestyle changes that can help your parent control their cholesterol include:

  • Choose heart-healthy foods. When choosing the foods that they are going to eat, encourage your parent select options that support their heart health. This includes healthier fats, foods with high omega-3 fatty acids, and those without trans fats. Keep in mind that even if a food’s packaging says that it is “trans fat free”, it might actually contain a small amount of this potentially dangerous compound. Eating these foods regularly can cause these small amounts to add up.
  • Boost physical activity. Exercising regularly can help to get cholesterol under control and then keep it at a healthier level for the long term. Encourage your aging parent to engage in moderate physical activity every day, or at least most days. If your parent is not currently physically active, encourage them to increase their activity by 10 minutes a day for several days and then increase again.
  • Stop smoking. There are no health benefits to smoking and the use of tobacco products can lead to a wide variety of very serious health consequences, including increased risk for high blood cholesterol and the development of heart disease. Within just one year of quitting your aging parent will have cut this risk in half.
  • Be compliant. If your aging parent has already received treatment recommendations from their doctor, compliance is essential. Offer reminders to them so that they remember when and how to take their medications or follow through with other treatments so that they can have the best chances of getting good results from these measures.

 

Starting senior care for your aging parent is one of the best decisions that you can make to help them live a healthier lifestyle, including getting and keeping their cholesterol under control. The personalized services of a senior home care services provider can help your parent make better choices and live a lifestyle that is tailored toward better overall health and wellbeing. This can include going grocery shopping with them to help them make better food choices, assisting in meal and snack preparation so that they use healthier cooking techniques, and encouraging them to be more active to keep their body healthier and stronger.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Garden City, NY, please contact the caring staff at Family First Home Companions. Serving all of Long Island. Call today: (631) 319-3961

 

Sources:

http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/facts.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/reduce-cholesterol/art-20045935

Jennifer Benjamin
Latest posts by Jennifer Benjamin (see all)
Posted in Senior Care in Garden City NY and tagged