March 17, 2021
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March is National Nutrition Month and at GenCare senior care homes we will be celebrating all month long by “Eating the Rainbow”! Nutrition has always been a big focus of our Whole Life LivingTM program and we will take this month’s initiative to encourage and educate residents on how they can find healthy choices for meals and snacks. Our dining rooms have also officially reopened, so what better time than now to celebrate our extraordinary culinary teams!
This month, Corporate Culinary Director, Trisha Kostis writes about the new changes made to food labels and how those new changes relate to our menus and the Whole Food Culinary Program at GenCare.
Source: American College of Sport Medicine https://www.acsm.org/blog-detail/acsm-certified-blog/2021/01/20/new-food-nutrition-label
It has been almost 20 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the Food Label. With updated scientific information, new nutrition research, and input from the public the FDA has made design and content changes to the food nutrition labels seen on packaged foods and drinks.
NUTRITION FOOD LABEL: SERVING SIZE
Serving sizes have been updated to better reflect the amount people typically eat or drink today.
The GenCare Corporate Chef, in collaboration with the dietician, creates the appropriate servings sizes for our communities based on the recommendation from USDA guidelines for seniors. Older adults need more liquids, less sugar and salt, and higher levels of calcium and Vitamin D.
NUTRITION FOOD LABEL: CALORIES
This change to the food label should make the information easier to find and use. GenCare does include calorie counts on all their menus.
NUTRITION FOOD LABEL: CALORIES FAT
Research shows the type of fat consumed is more important than the amount.
At GenCare, we use whole, healthy fats exclusively. Olive oil, coconut oil and butter are the main fats we use in all our kitchens.
NUTRITION FOOD LABEL: PERCENT DV
The %DV is how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a total daily diet. This explanation also has been updated to better explain the %DV at the bottom of the new food label in a footnote.
This information is vital for GenCare Chefs and dieticians when creating menus and recipes. Salt, sugar and additives are the primary indicators of whether we will serve any product in our whole foods program. Every label is scrutinized to meet our standards.
NUTRITION FOOD LABEL: SUGARS
Sugars can make it difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits. Added sugars include sugars that are added during the processing of foods (such as sucrose or dextrose), foods packaged as sweeteners (such as table sugar), sugars from syrups and honey and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices.
Resident health concerns are top priority for GenCare Chefs and diabetes is one of the challenges many face. Close examination of sugar content in all the products we use is critical. We are able to make suggestions on our menus for diabetic friendly portions and items because of our dedication to whole life living principles.
NUTRITION FOOD LABEL: VITAMIN D K
Vitamin D and Potassium are now required on the new food label. This is because Americans often fall short of the recommended amounts. Diets higher in vitamin D and potassium can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and high blood pressure, respectively.
This is a new and very welcome addition to the food labelling system. It will be an additional consideration we may factor into our decisions about the best products to serve.
Food choices are directly linked to higher risks for developing certain health conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, various cancers, osteoporosis and anemia. Making informed nutrition choices promotes a healthier lifestyle, longevity and lowers disease risk.
More to see at GenCare this March!
Take a look at what our communities are eating this month! In addition, residents will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of Vitality nutrition activities such as fruit and vegetable food tracking challenges, vegetable recipe contests, weekly nutrition trivia, along with some fun fitness challenges like Pedaling Across Ireland. The Gluten-free Intolerance Group will also be hosting a special webinar for residents that will provide educational information on Immune Boosting Snacks. Be sure to follow us on our community social media pages to catch up on the fun all month long!
