Happy Spring Everyone: Stay on Top of your Health!

Each March, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) focuses attention on returning to the basics of healthy eating. This year's National Nutrition Month theme encourages everyone including seniors to include a colorful variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy on their plates everyday. While this may sound easy, for many seniors taking the time to prepare fresh healthy foods instead of popping something in the microwave, often just for themselves, is not always part of the menu. Getting back to the basics and adding color back on the plate is a good start.

"By adding colorful food options into every meal you are not only injecting good nutrition into diets but you are making the meals overall more pleasing to the eye and palate. Our main goal is to serve low fat and low sodium entrees that are delicious. This is achieved with healthy amounts of fruits and vegetables. In addition we try and service items that don't contain MSG, and have reduced amounts of saturated fats, sodium, sugar and caffeine," said Jenny Wallis, marketing director for Villa Bonita.

To help seniors eat healthy and "colorful" this March, Villa Bonita offers these quick, easy tips and facts.

• Take a tip from Japanese food culture and try to include five colors on your plate. Fruits and veggies rich in color correspond to rich nutrients (think: blackberries, melons, yams, spinach, tomato, zucchini).
• Start your day with a strawberry, banana, yogurt smoothie, or by adding dried cranberries, walnuts, apples, raisins and cinnamon to oatmeal.
• Create an array of color in salads by adding carrots, orange sections, tomatoes, beets and purple cabbage.
• Add vegetables to casseroles, stews and soups.
• Think fruit for dessert, sliced nicely and accompanied with cheese.
• Bake with raisin, date or prune puree to reduce fat and increase fiber.
• Add lettuce, onions, peppers and/or tomatoes to sandwiches.
• Add vegetables to pasta and pizza
• Pack fresh or dried fruits and nuts for quick snacks.

Just how much "color" does a senior need each day?

• Fruit - Focus on whole fruits rather than juices for more fiber and vitamins and aim for around one to two servings each day.
• Veggies -Choose anti-oxidant rich dark leafy greens, like broccoli, spinach, as well as oranges and yellows, such as carrots, squash, and yams.

¥ Calcium - Aging bone health depends on adequate calcium intake to prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures. Seniors need 1,200 mg of calcium a day through servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese. Non-dairy sources include tofu, broccoli, almonds, and kale.


If you have questions about senior care or helping an elderly loved one, contact Jennifer Wallis, Community Marketing Director at Villa Bonita Senior Living at (619)739-4400 or by e-mail at villabonitamkg2@islllc.com. Villa Bonita Senior Living is an Assisted Living Community licensed by the California Department of Social Services, located at 3434 Bonita Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910. You can also visit Villa Bonita online at www.villabonitaseniorliving.com.

Caring Stars 2014 Award

Congratulations to Villa Bonita!


"Based on praise received from families, senior residents, and eldercare experts"

Happy Valentine's Day from our Residents!

Villa Bonita Listed in America's Best Assisted Living Communities This Year!

To see the list of all communities who made it on the list this year, click the link below:

Best Senior Living: Caring Stars 2014

Why Does Memory Care Often Offer Shared Rooms?

Dear Jenny,
   My mom needs to live in a community for memory care, but they all seem to offer shared apartments. I can't imagine mom living in a semi-private setting with a roommate at her age. Why is this so common? Is it just because it's less expensive?

   Most assisted living communities providing memory care services offer both private and semi-private accommodations. This is common, not for the reason of cost as you may suspect, but because roommate pairing can be a very positive aspect of socialization for individuals with dementia. It is very easy to project our own desires and comfort levels when trying to select a senior care community for a loved one, especially for dementia needs, because often those individuals are not able to contribute to making the decision.

   It's important to recognize that a person's attitudes, behaviors, and even preferences change as a result of dementia. Consequently, they may be far more receptive to a roommate now than they may have been in their younger adult years. As much as it may seem unlikely that someone would "want" a roommate at an older age, more frequently than not, persons suffering from dementia tend to show much stronger socialization signs when they have shared living space.

   Appropriate roommate pairing provides a multitude of psycho-social benefits, ranging from coping with change and life's challenges to a greater sense of community. This also helps mitigate a potential sense of isolation and provides a familiar and consistent face during what could otherwise be a somewhat lonely and sometimes frightening experience initially because of so many changes.
   The benefits of someone with dementia having a roommate have been well documented. Studies published in The Brown University Gero-Psych Report and the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias both outline an extensive array of social benefits of someone with dementia living in a shared apartment. The studies identified fewer instances of depression and a significant difference in health, spirit and energy of those living in a semi-private setting with a roommate.
   
   And lastly, of course there is the added benefit of the cost savings. Providing quality care in a nice setting for people with dementia is an expensive undertaking. Not everyone has the financial resources to meet the strain dementia care places on the family budget. Semi-private apartments do offer some degree of cost savings, but that's simply a bonus to all the real underlying advantages of appropriate roommate pairing.


If you have questions about senior care or helping an elderly loved one, contact Jennifer Wallis, Community Marketing Director at Villa Bonita Senior Living at (619)739-4400 or by e-mail at villabonitamkg2@islllc.com. Villa Bonita Senior Living is an Assisted Living Community licensed by the California Department of Social Services, located at 3434 Bonita Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910. You can also visit Villa Bonita online at www.villabonitaseniorliving.com.

Why You Should Join the Exclusive Gold Key Club!

Villa Bonita Birthdays!

Happy birthday to our resident, Cora, whose birthday was last Wednesday, January 29th.

And a happy birthday to our resident, Barbara, whose birthday is today, February 3rd!