Cultivating Health
The State Street Good Earth Garden in Pine Bluff is raising the bar on health by providing education on healthy eating and nutritious food.
Malnutrition affects approximately 16% of seniors in Arkansas, and as Baby Boomers continue to age, the problem is only expected to worsen, according to Arkansas Area Agencies on Aging.
Nutritional deficiencies can be tied to a number of causes, and for seniors, the list is long and varied.
“The common thing I see is loss of appetite, and that’s related to a lot of issues,” says Madison Allred, an outpatient registered dietician at St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro. “Seniors have higher rates of depression, chronic medical issues, thyroid problems, dysphagia – that’s difficulty swallowing or chewing.
“You also see a failing sense of taste and smell; their tastebuds change, and often that comes with a decreased desire for particular foods, especially meat.”
Financial concerns can also arise.
”A lot of times, they’re on a fixed income and they’re concerned about spending money,” Allred says, “so they buy foods that are less nutritious.”
According to the Alliance for Aging Research, a nonprofit that promotes healthy aging, seniors spend more than $51 billion on health care related to malnutrition each year.
‘Tea and Toast Syndrome’
Elderly individuals often revert to simple diets, particularly when they have lower incomes, live alone, have low appetites or begin struggling to cook. The tendency is common enough to have a name: Tea and Toast Syndrome – after the simple foods seniors may begin to rely on.
Poor eating habits can have an outsized health impact. The distaste for meat and protein sources that many seniors develop can have a damaging effect, particularly muscle and fat wasting, Allred says.
Fat wasting is the first effect of eating too little, as the body breaks down its own tissues in order to continue functioning. Muscle, skin, hair and nails will follow, becoming brittle and thin.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, malnutrition will then start to affect the immune system, making undernourished seniors more prone to disease and infection. The heart may also slow down, leading to low blood pressure, weakness and apathy about life.
“When you’re older, it can lead to weakness, decreased mobility, certain vitamin deficiencies,” Allred says. “The main ones we see are calcium, vitamin D, B12 and magnesium.”
Nourishing the Golden Years
Health care providers and community organizers across the state are working to find solutions to senior malnutrition. Allred is part of a team of nutrition counselors at St. Bernards, and other hospital systems throughout Arkansas also support nutrition services.
For Audrey Long, healthy eating became a way of life when she lived in the Southwest and tried a variety of natural foods that, at the time, weren’t easy to find in Arkansas. Now, as executive director of Pine Bluff’s GRACE Gardening program, she’s sharing her food knowledge. (GRACE stands for Gardening Reaching our Adults, Children and Elders.)
“We want to be on the cutting edge of exposing folks to a variety of foods,” Long says. “We grow greens – various collard greens, turnip, mustard – and okra, kale – Russian kale, Lacinato kale,” Long says. “In the summer, we do tomatoes and cucumbers … malabar spinach, sweet potatoes, onions, herbs, peppers.”
The food grown is available to seniors who volunteer at the community garden. Similar programs also provide nutritious food and volunteer opportunities for seniors, like the Dunbar Garden in Little Rock and the Baring Cross and Dark Hollow gardens in North Little Rock.
“We’re making an impact, I think, talking about nutrition and having nutritious food available, but also, socially, because we’re creating an environment where health is the core emphasis,” Long says about the State Street Good Earth Garden, where GRACE Gardening is based. “It’s a principled thing about being deliberate and making health not so much a thing that you have to have a lot of money to have.”
St. Bernards’ Allred says buying fresh food is frequently off the table for seniors, since they typically live in small households that would struggle to finish such food before it goes bad.
“It can be hard to buy those fresh foods that are more nutritious,” Allred says. “Instead, they can meal plan and meal prep and use their freezer to store the meals.”
Those who no longer like meat can use protein supplement drinks, like Ensure or Boost. Allred says one should always check with their doctor before starting a new routine.
“Unless you’re deficient or your doctor recommends it, supplements can provide too much of certain vitamins,” she says.
Allred says seniors’ best bet to maintain a healthy diet is to talk to their doctor if they notice any changes in their appetite or unintentional weight loss. Dieticians and nutritionists can provide helpful meal ideas that fit individual patients’ budgets, taste preferences and dietary needs.
“A lot of seniors don’t know how to change their eating habits. Many have multiple medical issues – they may have high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes, so they’d need to watch out for carbs because of the diabetes and salt for high blood pressure. So now they’re having to follow different diets, all in one day, and that can be really challenging,” Allred says.
Seniors who do live with chronic illnesses, especially Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, are likely to be able to have nutritional counseling covered by Medicare, Allred says.
Long notes that GRACE Gardening partners with local food pantries to ensure everything grown is put to good use, and she encourages other leaders to consider establishing public community gardens in their own cities.
“We’re trying to raise the bar on health,” Long says.
Resources
Food banks across Arkansas offer resources for those who are unable to meet all of their nutritional needs. Learn about resources available in your region.
Northwest Arkansas
Northwest Arkansas Food Bank
Serving Benton, Carroll, Madison & Washington counties
1604 Honeysuckle St., Lowell
479-872-8774 | nwafoodbank.org
North Central Arkansas
Food Bank of North Central Arkansas
Serving Baxter, Boone, Fulton, Izard, Marion, Newton, Searcy, Sharp & Stone counties
1042 Highland Circle, Mountain Home
870-499-7565 | foodbanknca.org
Northeast Arkansas
Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas
Serving Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Independence, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, St. Francis & Woodruff counties
3414 One Place, Jonesboro
870-932-3663 | foodbankofnea.org
West Central Arkansas
River Valley Regional Food Bank
Serving Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Polk, Scott, Sebastian & Yell counties
1617 S. Zero St., Fort Smith
479-785-0582 | rvrfoodbank.org
Central and East Arkansas
Arkansas Foodbank
Serving Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Jefferson, Lee, Lincoln, Lonoke, Monroe, Montgomery, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Van Buren & White counties
4301 W. 65th St., Little Rock
501-565-8121 | arkansasfoodbank.org
Southwest Arkansas
Harvest Regional Food Bank
Serving Columbia, Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Nevada, Miller, Pike & Sevier counties
3120 E. 19th St., Texarkana
870-774-1398 | harvestregionalfoodbank.org
