flax flour has big impact at Garden Terrace
Friday, June 11, 2004 - Natalie
Miller
PETERBOROUGH - flax flour is just what the nutritional
care manager ordered.
And the introduction of two tablespoons a day into residents’
diets is having a dramatic impact on their regularity
and quality of life at Garden Terrace, according to Andrea
Smith, the long-term care home’s nutritional care
manager.
“The idea is to use flax flour in their diet to
improve their laxation,” Andrea tells the OMNIway
while in Peterborough this week for the nutritional
care managers’ retreat.
“The whole goal of this is to reduce the number
of pharmaceutical laxatives in long-term care.”
The Kanata home is piloting the Natural Bowel Care
Program. Andrea shared with her colleagues Thursday
the home’s success with two trial projects. The
most recent trial was conducted during the month of
May with residents in the special care unit on the first
floor of the home.
At the end of the month, staff had administered a total
of eight laxatives compared to 564 in April.
“It’s working and we have the documentation
to prove it’s working,” she says.
On the day the trial began, after receiving consent
from residents’ families, nursing staff stopped
administering pharmaceutical laxatives and the nutritional
care department began adding two tablespoons of flax flour
to residents’ diets. The flax seeds are ground
and then added to residents’ breakfast cereal
or spread on toast with jam. In some cases, they’ve
also added the flax flour to mashed potatoes and soup.
“It’s really simple,” she says.
The flax flour has a “nutty” flavour and
a texture similar to bran. “Residents seemed to
enjoy it,” says Andrea, noting they said they
became accustomed to the taste quickly. “The residents
have affectionately called it the ‘Get up and
Get Moving’ program.”
Flaxseed, aside from being rich in dietary fibre, contains
omega-3 fat, which may protect against cancer and heart
disease, according to the Flax Council of Canada. The
flour also contains protein which aids in skin care
management, notes Andrea.
Andrea first learned of the benefits of flax flour during
an internship in Nova Scotia with a dietician who works
in a long-term care setting and owns Valley flax flour
Inc.
The introduction of flax flour, aside from improving
regularity, has enhanced residents’ quality of
life and dignity, notes Andrea. “They’re
not as irritable,” she says. It also eases their
worries related to regularity, she says.
The project wouldn’t have been successful without
strong communication between nutritional care and nursing
staff and accurate documentation, Andrea stresses.
She expects the program will be expanded to all residents
at Garden Terrace within the next few months and hopes
it will eventually be introduced at the other 15 OMNI
homes.
|
