Helping Your Loved One Who Has Alzheimer's Eat Well

Many seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease do not eat well. Not eating enough or not eating a diet that has plenty of good nutrients and minerals for the body can lead to malnutrition. Malnutrition can have many negative side effects on the body, including a loss of strength, mobility, the ability to fight off illnesses, and even cognitive health. If you’re caring for someone in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, making sure they eat well will help them to slow down or delay the progression of the disease. Having a professional Alzheimer’s care provider as a member of your loved one’s healthcare team can be a big asset in this area.

But helping your loved one to eat well can be difficult. It’s not only providing the right foods, but it’s also getting your loved one to eat them. A trained Alzheimer’s care provider can provide you with tricks and tips to help you be able to work on these ways to prevent malnutrition in your older loved one with Alzheimer’s.

Provide smart food choices with the guidance of Alzheimer’s care aides.

If your loved one doesn’t always want to eat or doesn’t eat much at each meal, providing foods that deliver a high nutrient content is important. Don’t let your loved one get filled up on white bread rolls and then not be able to eat the nutrient-rich vegetable soup that comes next in the meal. Take sugary sodas out of his diet, as well as most sweets. If your loved one has a sweet tooth, aim for sweets that also provide healthy nutrients like strawberry shortcake that’s mostly strawberries with just a small amount of cake and whipped topping. He’ll still get the taste he loves but without all of the empty calories.

Try an oral supplement.

There are some good-tasting oral supplement drinks that your loved one may enjoy drinking if he is struggling to chew and eat his food. Having him drink a couple of these a day can make sure he’s getting the important nutrients he needs each day.

Cut up his food well.

Your loved one might be getting to a point where chewing is difficult and/or swallowing is hard. Providing food that is easily chewed and swallowed might give him the ability to eat more and want to eat more. Prepare his plate completely before you set it in front of him so he’s able to enjoy his meal without you leaning in to cut up items. Those disruptions can cause your loved one to get frustrated and refuse to eat any more at that meal.

Alzheimer’s Care Pulaski TN – Helping Your Loved One Who Has Alzheimer’s Eat Well

Serve meals at the same time each day and arrange to eat together.

Consistency is the key for many Alzheimer’s patients. Serving meals at the same time each day will help him enjoy them and eat more at the meal.

Your loved one may not want to sit at a table and eat alone. Having his Alzheimer’s care provider sit with him can provide company and conversation can help him stay at the table longer to finish his meal.

It can be a challenge to make sure your loved one eats well so being flexible and calm may be your best tips.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Alzheimer’s Care Services in Pulaski TN, please contact the caring staff at Touching Hearts at Home. Serving Middle Tennessee (Nashville, Brentwood, Belle Meade, Franklin, Spring Hill, Columbia, Pulaski, and more!) Call today: 629-203-7925.