Nutrition Blogs
Brain Foods
Keeping our brains healthy is an important part of healthy ageing and longevity. Studies have shown that diversity and flexibility can help us to build new neural pathways which keep us in good cognitive health. Learning an instrument or a new language later in life...
Nutrition in a Nellsar Care Home – Fortification
In this week’s blog I would like to take you behind the scenes to look at how we support those in our care who might need help to gain or maintain weight. When a person is of a healthy weight they tend to better recover from illness or surgery and are slightly more...
Balancing Nutritional Needs as we Age
In my last blog I looked at lifestyle factors that can occur in later life which could impact on our nutritional needs as we age. This week I would like to take a deeper dive into key nutrients and vitamin and mineral deficiencies that are common in older people and...
Nutrition for Older People
As we age our nutritional needs can change and in times of compromised health, malnutrition, or a change in mobility, the foods we eat may need to be adjusted to suit our requirements. Factors such as a person losing a loved one and finding themselves living alone may...
Laughter is the best medicine
Given that it is April fool’s day tomorrow, I began to think about the impact of laughter on health. The staff in our Homes make it their mission to bring joy to our residents every day – do you laugh enough? When we laugh, we stimulate something known as the vagus...
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are essential for the human body. Found mostly in oily fish, olives, olive oil, seeds, nuts and avocado, these fatty acids can hold anti-inflammatory properties and support the health of the nervous system and cellular function. They are...
Ayurveda and travels to India
Around the World For the next few months, our Care Homes and residents are travelling ‘Around the World with Nellsar Cruises’. The virtual travel adventure will lift our spirits and immerse us into a menagerie of different countries, cultures and culinary delights. As...
Therapeutic Menu Planning
The planning process The menu planning process within Care is a complex task. The menu must meet the needs of each resident in term of preference of taste, texture, and quality. It must: Meet the needs of the various medical requirements of many residents Clearly...
Diabetes and Menu Planning in Care
In my last Blog, I explained how our Head of Catering Services, Adrian Silaghi and I are currently supporting our Homes in menu planning in preparation for the spring/summer menu. One of the factors our Catering Teams needs to consider when putting menus together is...
Menu Planning for a Care Home
We are almost at the end of winter and nearing spring. In our Homes that means a change of season and a change of menu. There are many factors to consider when meal planning for people in Care. Nellsar is quite unique in that we have specialists such as myself, and...
Sugar Awareness
We all need to be aware of the effects of sugar on our health. If you read my Blog on the 3rd November 2020 you will see a deeper dive into the negative effects of over consumption of sugar. Two teaspoon rule It is worth re-caping though that our body can only process...
Nellsar Nutrition and Catering Plans for 2021
As we welcome in 2021, Nellsar has so much to look forward to and I can see a very positive start to the year. Here are some of the things we already have in store for the new year in the area of Nutrition and Catering within our Homes; Trials Nourish by Jane Clarke...