“Nutrition Matters” News

There is a slow but steady rise in Australia with 1 in 10 Australians choosing to follow a vegetarian diet1. This is likely to follow-on within our aged care community. A typical vegetarian diet consists of plant-based foods and excludes the consumption of animal products such as meat, poultry and seafood. A vegan diet also excludes eggs and dairy. It is important to respect an individual’s religious, cultural, personal, health-related, environmental or ethical reasons to abstain from eating specific animal products. Read more »

Dementia Awareness Month is held from 1 September to 30 September nationwide. The theme for the month is You are not alone.
The aim of Dementia Awareness Month is to encourage Australians to become dementia-aware, have a better understanding of what it is like for a person to live with dementia, and ultimately be encouraged to create communities where people with dementia are supported to live a high quality of life with meaning, purpose and value. Read more »

Whether we mean it or not, when we see an overweight person walking by, we automatically start making judgements on this person’s lifestyle, perhaps that they are ‘lazy’ or ‘lack self-control’. Do we think the same of residents in aged care facilities who are overweight? How does this impact on our care and health outcomes of these residents?
It’s no secret that rates of overweight and obesity are continuing to rise in Australia. Many individuals are likely to be overweight or obese as they approach older age, Read more »

The annual Leading Nutrition Professional Development Day was held in June 2017. As always, it was a great opportunity for all the national team to get together and keep up to date on a range of aged care nutrition topics.
All Leading Nutrition dietitians are Accredited Practicing Dietitians (APDs). They are committed to undertake ongoing training and continuing professional development programs to ensure that they remain an expert and credible source of nutrition information. When you work with an APD you can be confident that your nutrition advice and service are coming from a qualified nutrition professional. Read more »

For many residents the food provided by an aged care home is their only source of food and drink. This means nutritional status is entirely determined by whether the aged care home is providing sufficient quantities of suitable, appealing, texture appropriate food within their menu.

When assessing a menu there are numerous criteria and factors we look at, in general we provide recommendations with the aims of curating a great aged care menu. The below are the main things we look at. Read more »