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The Importance of Quality Senior Living Dining Options

Posted on Jan 30, 2023

Ongoing failure to eat properly leads to health issues that have the potential to affect brain function, as well as the function of other body systems. This also poses a risk of malnutrition, which can lead to extreme weight loss. Subsequently, one’s sense of balance and stability may be affected, thereby leading to falls.

To limit risk and illness, high-quality dining options for seniors are necessary for maintaining excellent overall health and well-being.

Eating Together is Just Better

Many seniors have spent their entire lives eating with family or a group of friends, sharing stories from the day, and talking about upcoming events. As social connections ebb and solo meals become more frequent, individuals may begin to feel lonely, which can cause symptoms of depression or decreased appetite.

Quality independent senior living communities often offer an array of dining options, including dining services, restaurants, private dining rooms and unique eateries, in order to provide residents with plenty of healthy and tasty food choices. The dining experience itself should also be considered to accommodate various mindsets and motivations. Upbeat eateries featuring music are great for boosting mood, while low-key dining venues can help seniors prepare for meditation or wind down for the day.

Senior living catered dining is another great option for special events like birthdays, anniversaries, or milestones. Having dinner catered allows for menus featuring specific choices to meet everyone’s dietary needs. 

Tastes and Food Preferences Change

There are many reasons why food preferences change, causing something that used to be a tried-and-true favorite to become suddenly and completely unappealing. In addition to external factors, simply getting older can cause perception in taste to change as well as diminish. Like other body systems, taste buds become less active and their performance wanes as we age.

Medication can also affect the way foods taste and may therefore lead to decreased appetite. Take note of these types of changes and check with your doctor to see if one or more prescriptions may be the root cause.

Offering Excellent Culinary Options

Regardless of the reason for a change in preferences for certain foods, having a chef on staff to create delicious, healthy meals, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, is a must. Providing nutritious options to older adults is paramount, but nutrition means nothing when the food is not eaten. At The Virginian, we know it is vitally important to offer residents a wide variety of culinary delights from around the world to keep their taste buds happy and to help keep them physically fit and healthy.

If you would like to learn more about our independent living community and all the amenities we have to offer, including some of the best dining options available, we invite you to reach out to our friendly staff for more information.