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If We are Lucky, We Grow Old – Tips to Doing it Well

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It is important to remember aging gracefully isn’t about trying to look like a 20-something. It’s about living your best life and having the physical and mental health to enjoy it. Luckily, experts offer a few commonsense tips for helping us live healthier, more productive lives than our grandparents or even our parents did. Also, it is worth noting that mortality rates have increased from the average age of 47 for men and 48 for women in 1900 to older adults now reaching into their eighties, nineties and upward. Therefore, if we are going to live that much longer, we might as well do it as healthily as possible. Linda Fried, dean of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and director of the Robert Butler Columbia Aging Center, says, “The idea that living longer necessarily means enduring significant declines in health has changed in the last two decades.” She adds, “It’s possible to increase your health span as long as your life span. Some decline in health and functi...
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The Benefits of Personalized Senior Living Care

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Great care shouldn’t be seen as “one-size-fits-all.” Every senior is different and may require a different level of care compared to their friends or neighbors. At MorningStar at Jordan Creek, their caregivers believe personalized care plans create the most unique senior living Des Moines has seen . Personalized care plans are specialized to a senior’s physical, emotional, and social needs. Developed with family, care providers, medical professionals, and the care team at MorningStar, seniors receive structured assisted living support through a personalized care plan . Specialized Senior Support One of the best benefits of personalized assisted living care plans is that they help seniors to receive care tailored specifically to their individual wants, goals, and needs. Personalized care plans are designed to meet each senior where they are at in their life. Specialized support makes seniors feel seen and understood, which greatly impacts their mental health and overall happiness, espec...
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The Benefits Superfoods Provide

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The National Council on Aging explains superfoods are not a distinct food category but are minimally processed foods that are nutrient dense. They typically contain healthy fats and are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other compounds known to promote good health and prevent illness and disease. The NCOA says many are plant-based but some fish and dairy products are also superfoods. Experts say while superfoods are a great addition to seniors’ diet, there is not a single one that provides everything we need so it is important to eat a variety of nutritious foods every day. One outstanding superfood is dark leafy greens like spinach and kale, which are generally inexpensive and easy to find at most grocery stores. Leafy greens are rich in carotenoids and vitamins A, C and K, and may help protect the eyes against oxidative damage as well protect the heart, moderate blood pressure levels and help prevent osteoporosis. As vitamin K can interact with some common blood-thinning ...
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Modern Assisted Living Safety Features

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MorningStar offers services and senior amenities that focus on important aspects of senior wellness and safety for the best senior living experience. Foundations like physical health, mental stimulation, and a safe community are all held to high importance within our assisted living facilities. Community safety in senior living can be one of the most important things to consider when picking a facility for your parents or loved one. Explore the safety features and protocols that MorningStar practices in their senior living homes below. Fall Safety Unintentional falls are one of the most common causes of injuries for seniors. Some falls can be so bad that many seniors can find themselves in the hospital for serious hip or head injuries. As a senior living community, MorningStar pays special attention to fall concerns and works hard to reduce potential fall risks by keeping hallways clean, lit, and our community staffed 24/7. On top of ensuring the community is clutter-free and creating...
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Benefits of Weight Training for Seniors

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For many older adults, physical limitations are a fact of life. Studies show such challenges can lead to a loss of mobility, a higher risk for falls, chronic illnesses and a need for help with the ADLs (activities of daily living). Experts say working on keeping body strength up during our younger years is helpful because as early as age 35, we begin to slowly lose muscle mass. At age 65 for females and 70 for males, the loss speeds up. The good news is regular strength training can substantially slow down our declining strength and muscle mass loss. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) says strength training exercises are important for active older adults. It improves strength and mobility as well as reduces falls, helps maintain bone density and increases a person’s healthy years of life and independence. Strength training is also known as resistance training and differs from aerobic exercises such as running, cycling, or walking. Resistance training includes weightlifting with mach...
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Digestive Health: The Roles of Probiotics and Prebiotics

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The last several years have brought probiotics and prebiotics into the spotlight. However, it can be confusing as to what the difference is between the two and the role they play in our bodies. Experts say both are important to our health; probiotics are beneficial bacteria, while prebiotics are food for these bacteria. In other words, “Probiotics are live bacteria found in certain foods or supplements and can provide numerous health benefits. Prebiotics are substances from types of carbs (mostly fiber) that humans can’t digest. The beneficial bacteria in your gut eat this fiber.” The Harvard Medical School explains that our large intestine has 100 trillion good bacteria essential to our health called microbiome. These good microbes help maintain healthy bowel function. Each person has their own unique microbiome from birth and we add to the good microbes by the food we consume. However, a diet high in sugar and fat can negatively affect gut health by encouraging the growth of bad bact...
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Physical Therapy Helps Regain Physical Function and Movement

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Physical therapy is used to help people regain physical function and movement from conditions that affect muscles, ligaments, tendons, or bones. Your healthcare provider may refer you to a Physical Therapist (PT) when pain medications are no longer working and you still feel pain; or if you have had surgery and need help with healing. A PT creates a personalized treatment plan for a patient that is designed to reduce pain as well as manage an injury, surgery or chronic illness. The plan utilizes exercises and manual therapy that speeds up healing and recovery which allows the patient to regain function and an improved quality of life. Like visiting any doctor, it is helpful for you as the patient to think about how your condition affects your daily life and what you hope to get out of your physical therapy sessions before your first appointment. Experts say being prepared not only helps you get more benefit from therapy but can assist your therapist in establishing a treatment plan bas...
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