'Age in place' gracefully with help of fresh, local produce

By Dan Newman
Special to The Jewish State

With obesity becoming more of a contributing factor in deaths in our nation, we're always looking for ways to avoid the problem. Some seniors in our area were able to get some good advice on how to tackle this, along with learning how to eat better.

As part of the "Aging in Place Program," courtesy of the Jewish Family & Children's Service of Greater Mercer County, about 20 seniors came to the Twin Rivers Library in East Windsor on August 8 to hear Kimberly Altman, a registered dietitian from the Henry J. Austin Health Center in Trenton, speak about ways that seniors can make better choices when it comes to grocery shopping and eating in general.

Altman spent time talking about how fruits and vegetables are not always part of everybody's diet, but that they should be.

"I'm a big believer in supporting our local farmers, and [when] we were all younger we tended to eat lots of fried foods, but when you get to an advanced age, it's not really a smart move," Altman said. "Your body just doesn't function the same it way it used to. We need to focus on other foods that are better for us and which won't cause us health problems down the road. My goal today is to educate everyone in this room before their health problems either start or get any worse than they already may be."

Besides food intake, Altman also commented the Northeast part of the country has many more stressed out people than other regions, and that is also a contributing factor to people not eating well.

"The cost of living in New Jersey is certainly much higher than it is in the Midwest or the South, and so that also causes people to be stressed out... People may not have the time or even the resources to eat as well as they should," Altman said.

Pertaining to the notion that Altman wants people to support their local farmers, she said that everyone, regardless of age, should be having anywhere from five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

"Sometimes it may be tough to even think about having that much in a day, but let's say you have a big peach; you can count that as two servings. A big salad at lunch, that can be three servings. So really, it's not that hard to get the required five to nine servings if you think of it in terms how I have outlined it," Altman explained.

Altman commented that most people do not hydrate properly, no matter how hot or cold it may be.

"Obviously in the summer, we are all drinking plenty of fluids. But even when it's cold outside, people need to realize that they must keep fluids in their body no matter what," Altman said.

Linda Meyer, Coordinator of Aging in Place Programs, said she was glad to have Altman present to talk to the seniors.

"We do try and service seniors in general with our programs," Meyer said. "Ms. Altman was able to give the seniors very valuable information that they will hopefully utilize. She was able to educate them on the rights and wrongs of eating and that's exactly what we were looking for."