Seniors Face Tough Choices
Diana Gregory
1 out of 7 seniors go to bed hungry because they have to make a choice between medication and food, and they choose medication. If they ate more fruits and vegetables, they would take less medication.
Proper Nutrition and Regular Exercise
photo by Alex Garcia.
The joy and benefits of living a well-rounded healthy life for many senior citizens is a goal that can be achieved through having a healthy and balance diet that includes a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and regular exercise. Both exercise and proper nutrition contributes positively to both our physical and mental well-being. Foods that are overladen with sugar, fats or that are highly processed have the ability to slow us down regardless of our age. As we get older it becomes more difficult for our bodies to recover from food that may not be healthy for us. Eating better and exercising at any age can improve our weight, mobility, energy and our mental well-being.
Related articles
- Healthy Living: The Most Essential Thing In One’s Life (bethincoach.wordpress.com)
Eat Well and Experience a Good Life
As we age, our ability to stay healthy is influenced by our daily diet. Some studies have shown that there is a correlation between poor eating habits and the high cost of health care for people over the age of 60. So, it makes sense for us at GFMP to find solutions to ensure that our seniors have choices, receive nutrition education and have accessibility to fresh produce at affordable prices.
A balanced diet full of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat and oily fish is likely to reduce our seniors exposure to some debilitating illnesses, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Seniors who do not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables may eventually suffer from malnutrition, when forced to consume a steady diet of heavily processed foods that have been stripped of much needed nutrients. Besides, eating healthy increases mental acuteness and improves our outlook on life.
Diana Gregory is Doing Fitness Training With the Seniors
FITNESS TRAINING WITH THE SENIORS AT THE SALVATION ARMY LAURA DANIELI SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER
Zumba Class
As we age, regular exercise is more important than ever to your body and mind. Among the many benefits of exercise for seniors include improved immune function, better heart and health, blood pressure, better bone density, and better digestive functioning. Seniors who exercise also have a lowered risk of several chronic conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, and colon cancer.
Exercise improves your strength, flexibility and posture, which in turn will help with balance, coordination, and reducing the risk of falls. Strength training also helps alleviate the symptoms of chronic conditions such as arthritis. It is a myth, that if you’re disabled, you can’t exercise sitting down. Chair-bound seniors face special challenges but can lift light weights, stretch, and do chair aerobics to increase range of motion, improve muscle tone, and promote cardiovascular health.
I enjoyed fitness training with the seniors at The Salvation Army Laura Danieli Senior Activity Center. It takes good nutrition and exercise to stay healthy.
The mission of Gregory’s Fresh Market Place is to enrich lives to achieve healthy eating. We do this through providing access to fresh produce through our farmers markets, nutrition education classes, and exercise and fitness training.
Your donations contribute towards making these services available for seniors. GFMP appreciates your support.
Related articles
- Senior Health and Wellness Series: Walgreens and GFMP (dianagregory.com)
Walgreens Donates Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Phoenix AZ
WALGREENS DONATES HUNDREDS OF FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES TO SENIORS IN PHOENIX FOOD DESERT COMMUNITIES
Seniors at Henson Village received blood pressure screening and prescription consultations from Walgreens store manager and pharmacist, during Gregory’s Fresh Market Place senior outreach series, in partnership with Walgreens.
Nearly 150 seniors have received bags filled with fresh fruits and vegetables donated by Walgreens through Gregory’s Fresh Market Place (GFMP), as an avenue to promote living well and eating well, at Henson Village’s Senior Living apartments and The Salvation Army Laura Danieli Senior Activity Center.
In addition to receiving the fresh produce, seniors enjoyed demonstrations presented by nutritionists on how to whip-up delicious smoothies, juices and make healthy food using the fresh fruits and vegetables. Walgreens pharmacists were also on hand to provide complimentary blood pressure screenings, answer questions relating to prescriptions, and share tips on how to live well.
Diana Gregory, President and CEO of GFMP commented, “Thanks to Walgreens, many seniors that don’t have transportation to travel for fresh fruits and vegetables had the fresh produce delivered where they live and received valuable information on nutrition and prescription medication. Fresh produce is extremely beneficial to help manage common health challenges such as hypertension, diabetes, heart conditions, high cholesterol, digestive issues, obesity and many more. The lives of many seniors were impacted by Walgreens sponsoring this program.”
These programs are two of the five senior outreach initiatives GFMP has partnered with Walgreens on to provide fresh produce to seniors from April to June.
Related articles
- Senior Health and Wellness Series: Walgreens and GFMP (dianagregory.com)
- Health and Wellness series First Stop Henson Village Phoenix (dianagregory.com)
Warm Welcome from Apache ASL Trails Appartment
ASL Appartments
Many thanks to the people from Apache ASL Trails apartments for visiting Gregory’s Fresh Market Place this past Tuesday (May 15th). ASL Trails is a seniors deaf community in Tempe, AZ , a joint development with the Arizona Deaf Senior Citizens Coalition.
Apache ASL Trails is an active, state-of-the-art independent living community for seniors 55 years of age