Why is it important to promote healthy ageing?

At Gabriel Court Care Home, our residents’ mental and physical wellbeing is at the forefront of our agenda. We believe it’s vital to ensure our residents remain active and eat healthy, nutritious food whilst in our care.

Keep reading to discover our 5 top tips for ageing well:

Healthy Ageing | Eat Well

Healthy ageing wouldn’t be possible without eating a balanced diet.

It’s important for elderly people to eat food that’s low in saturated fat, alongside lots of fruit and vegetables. As well as this, reputable sources recommend wholegrains, oily fish, and small amounts of low-fat dairy and lean meat.

Foods that contain folic acid are also an excellent way to maintain health as you age. Consider incorporating dark, green leafy vegetables, seafood, whole grains and brown rice into your diet.

At our Gabriel Court Care Home, we understand the importance of eating well. To promote healthy ageing, we offer an array of different meal options to suit our residents’ individual needs and preferences.

Healthy Ageing | Take Care of your Skin

As we get older, it’s vital we take good care of our skin. It is, after all, the largest organ in our body!

There are various different ways to help with the healthy ageing of our skin. One of the main ones is protecting it from the sun. Regardless of whether the sun is blazing outside, we’d recommend applying sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher on a daily basis.

Other top tips for promoting good skincare include using gentle products, limiting time spent in the sun and staying hydrated.

Healthy Ageing | Prioritise your Mental Health

Mental health often gets overlooked when discussing healthy ageing.

Leading a happy, fulfilling life with limited stress can work wonders for ageing gracefully. Although a certain amount of stress is unavoidable, keeping your mood elevated can help to improve your overall health.

At Gabriel Court, we believe mental health is crucial to our residents’ wellbeing. Depending on the individual, we boost mental health in various ways. For example, a resident who loves cooking may wish to assist with meal preparation, while a resident who loves quizzes will delight in one of our special trivia evenings!

Doing activities that make you happy and spending quality time with loved ones is an excellent way to prioritise your mental health — helping you to live and age well.

Living Well | Maintain Good Dental Hygiene

Looking after your teeth is a great way to facilitate healthy ageing.

Not only can good dental hygiene help to maintain your beautiful smile, it can also reduce your risk of developing gum disease. Gum disease can lead to all sorts of health-related issues, including heart disease, strokes, diabetes and arthritis.

To combat this, experts recommend brushing teeth twice a day, as well as flossing daily.

Living Well | Stay Physically Active

We’ve discussed the benefits of improving mental wellbeing — but staying physically active is equally as important.

The NHS recommends that older people should aim to be physically active every day. Doing so helps elderly individuals to stay strong and healthy, whilst boosting self-esteem. Even doing light exercises, such as stretches in a chair, can help to strengthen muscles.

At Gabriel Court, and across our ACI Care services, we’ve collaborated with various fitness providers. Following training, our team of talented activities coordinators can now conduct in-house sessions to support our residents’ physical wellbeing.

If you’re interested in finding out more about our care services, please contact a member of our team.

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