Battle to Eat Enough
One thing I have noticed, is that Mom’s eating habits have changed a great deal over time. Especially when she’s not feeling well, like now. And it becomes a battle really, to get her to eat enough, drink enough, in order to just sustain herself.
Now most suggest adding supplements, like as if she needs to take more pills. In some cases, not much of a choice, but there are other ways. For example, having fruit. The less she sees in her plate, the more likely she is to eat it all, but then comes the other headache. Chewing.
Older people have limited use of their hands, their teeth may not be in the best shape, so chewing is a hard task. Cutting up large pieces of food is painful, so it gets left behind.
The balancing comes, in making the pieces just small enough to chew easily, and yet isn’t so small, that it seems like the plate is overflowing with goodies. Using a larger than average plate, can also help, in giving a perception of less food. ( That’s a trick I have to try, if possible. )
I notice that by not slicing her toast, using smaller bread slices, she eats what she used. I cut the strawberries into just manageable sizes, not fours or sixes, but halves, which seems to work. I want her eating the toast too, because of the jam on it, and the bread is filled with fruit as well. I love it, because it also has some holes in it, which I fill with jam, which adds to her sugar/starches.
Who knew, that at 54 years of age, I’d be using trickery to get her to eat more. I always thought my food was tasty enough, but at her age, she just doesn’t want to make a production. Then too, she is watching her weight, and I gotta say, this is one tough balancing act.
Calcium & Vitamin D3
Naturally, one needs to look at natural means, to try and aid the medicines, or conditions. Least if you truly want to be proactive in fighting diseases & such. So the official website, for osteoporosis, has a chart on the daily Calcium requirements. For someone my age, & for Mom, it is 1500mg.
Like an idiot, I went out and bought some Jamieson Vitamins. Calcium plus Vitamin D3. I figured, well, it would be cheaper than two types, and be less intrusive too. I even asked the pharmacist about them, and he said they were fine.
WELL, Not Quite True.
Seems that when it comes to Calcium, there are a couple of kinds. Elemental and some other type, and while Elemental is considered the best, there is a small warning. DON’T TAKE MORE THAN 500mg AT ONE TIME.
Now the reason given is that the body can only absorb that amount, at one time. The pills I bought give 635mg per pill, of Calcium. UH, HUH?
Kind of makes me wonder about both the Pharmacist, and the Drug Company. While the Pharmacist should know about these things, he can’t know it all. So him I’ll excuse, but the maker of the pills? I DON’T THINK SO.
Why give me more of something in a pill, that my body won’t absorb? Makes no sense, other than one of two reasons. Number one, it is to simply make me think I am getting more bang for my buck, so I’ll buy their product.
The Other reason, is that there really isn’t 635mg there, and is simply a bloated number.
Surely a company who is making these supplements, would know that you can only handle so much. Yet here they are, telling me that a larger dose is okay, and what is worse, suggest I take two of the pills each day. Kind of like the Shampoo Industry, that says wash, rinse, repeat. You don’t really need to wash it a second time, but it does help you use more, so you’ll need to buy more, sooner.
I really don’t mind them making money off this stuff. What infuriates me, is that they are pushing stuff that they shouldn’t. Excesses are not good, over the long term, and besides, if the body won’t absorb it, what good is it? It isn’t just about economics, cost, but about being responsible. Surely they should not be exceeding the maximum amount, and why isn’t the Government regulatory agencies making sure they aren’t over dosing people?
Most of these supplements, are important health aids. Yet it seems, there simply isn’t enough government oversight. Self Regulation is NOT a good policy, in my opinion. I don’t want to overdose Mom, and yet, if I didn’t research things a little, that is exactly what I’d be doing.
