Having elderly family members is a blessing. What easier way is there for interesting family stories, life advice, important cultural practices, and even companionship? Unfortunately, aging is not kind so extra care is needed when it comes to accommodating elderly family members. In particular, they have diet restrictions so that whether you’re putting together a food basket for a visit to an assisted living facility or planning a large family cookout, you want to have age-appropriate options for them. Take drinks for example, the consequences of drinking the wrong thing for seniors include dehydration, worsening underlying medical conditions, and adverse medication interactions.
So here are some drink options that are appropriate for elderly family members.
Iced Herbal Tea
For a refreshing drink, especially on hot days, iced herbal tea is one of the best options, combining tastiness with variety and numerous health benefits.
Plus, it’s one of the easiest drink options; requiring you to simply steep a tea packet in boiling water, sweeten it, then chill!
Since there’s such variety, you want to think about your preferred tea option, as different kinds are better served at different functions. For example, chamomile tea may be better suited for evening functions because of its calming properties that may induce sleep.
Milk
Unfortunately, seniors have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and experiencing other bone diseases. Thankfully there are ways of mitigating such health risks, including drinking milk for seniors who aren’t lactose intolerant.
Plus, milk is great for a lot of family occasions. Imagine serving it at brunch or with dessert.
When buying milk for the elderly, you want to think about fat content and taste preferences.
Smoothies
The great thing about smoothies is that you can combine all kinds of fruits and vegetables for a drink of your choice. While some combine sweet fruits for overly sugary drinks, you can combine the right ingredients for numerous delicious but healthy options for your seniors at breakfast, brunch, BBQs, etc.
What fruits and vegetables make for nutritious smoothie drinks? Try:
- Avocado, banana, and almond milk
- Carrot, oranges, and ginger
- Kale, pineapple, and coconut water
- Blueberries, raspberries, and Greek yogurt
- Spinach, banana, and oat milk
Fruit Juice
Not all fruit juice is unhealthy. On the contrary, 100% fruit juice which isn’t just sugar-sweetened fruit beverages contains as many vitamins and nutrients – iron, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins – as regular fruit. Of course, like regular fruit, too much fruit juice means excess calorie intake, so you want to serve this drink option in moderation.
When buying fruit juice for the elderly, look for not just 100% fruit juice but also low-sugar options. You should also consider packaging options that are easier for them to handle, such as easy open cartons over glass bottles.
Senior family members enrich our lives in many ways so finding ways to accommodate them is a great idea. Try out these drink options!
