Aging parents (5)
- Senior health: How to detect and prevent malnutrition
- Aging parents: 5 warning signs of health problems
- Aging parents: 10 things to know for an emergency
- see all in Aging parents
Alzheimer's caregiver (20)
- Alzheimer's: Helping children understand the disease
- Alzheimer's caregiving: Organizations offer help
- Alzheimer's: When to stop driving
- see all in Alzheimer's caregiver
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
continued:
Alzheimer's: Making mealtimes easier
Try colorful plates and large-handled utensils
Your loved one might eat more when his or her food is served on a brightly colored plate. Try bright red or bright blue, rather than pastels. The visual contrast may make it easier for your loved one to distinguish between the plate and the food.
To keep plates from slipping, use place mats that have traction on both sides — or make your own from a roll of the rubbery mesh typically used to line shelves. Sometimes bowls are easier to use than are plates. Likewise, spoons may be easier to handle than forks. The larger the spoon's handle, the better. Try bendable straws or lidded cups for liquids.
Offer foods one at a time
If your loved one is overwhelmed by an entire plateful of food, place just one type of food at a time on the plate. You could also offer several small meals throughout the day, rather than three larger ones. Cut food into bite-sized portions. Finger foods are even easier — but avoid nuts, popcorn and raw carrots, which can be hard to chew and swallow.
Sneak in extra nutrition
If you're having a hard time getting your loved one to eat enough, you might take advantage of the fact that many people who have Alzheimer's disease are most alert and hungry in the morning. You could serve a filling breakfast, or several light breakfasts in a row. You might also offer high-calorie snacks — such as protein milkshakes. Consult the doctor if your loved one loses weight suddenly.
Ensuring good nutrition in Alzheimer's can be a challenge, but it's worthwhile. Good nutrition can help your loved one better cope — both physically and emotionally — with this difficult disease.
Previous page(2 of 2)
- Fact sheet: Eating. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/Resources/FactSheets/FSEating.pdf. Accessed June 19, 2009.
- Mann NM, et al. Anatomy and etiology of taste and smell disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 19, 2009.
- Stages of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_stages.pdf. Accessed June 19, 2009.
- Dunne TE, et al. Visual contrast enhances food and liquid intake in advanced Alzheimer's disease. Clinical Nutrition. 2004;23:533.
- Smith KL, et al. Weight loss and nutritional considerations in Alzheimer disease. 2008;27:381.
- Shatenstein B, et al. Dietary intervention in older adults with early-stage Alzheimer dementia: Early lessons learned. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. 2008;12:461.
