Eating healthy is essential for everyone. It is one of the most important lifestyle choices that someone can make. However, many things can cause someone not to eat well. Dementia is one of the diseases that may cause a person to not eat healthily. There are numerous reasons for this including appetite changes, difficulties swallowing, and much more. If you are taking care of someone who has dementia, it is important for you and their Alzheimer’s home care providers to learn more about how you can help them to stay healthy.
Eating with Them
One of the best things you can do if your elderly loved one has dementia and won’t eat well on their own is to eat with them. Sometimes people who have dementia are lonely. They might not want to eat by themselves. In other cases, people with dementia don’t know how to cook anymore or they may not be able to feed themselves. If either of these is the case for your elderly loved one, be sure that you or an Alzheimer’s home care provider eats with them.
Limiting Distractions
You should also start limiting distractions for your elderly loved one if they aren’t eating well. When someone has dementia, they can become very easily distracted. They might get distracted if the lighting isn’t to their liking. They may also get distracted by noises, clutter, and other things, as well. If you can find out what things distract your elderly loved one the most, you can limit those distractions while they are eating.
Simple Table Settings
If your elderly loved one has dementia, they may also not be eating well because things feel too complicated or confusing. It is important to understand that people who have dementia can’t process things as well as they used to. For instance, if there are multiple things on the table such as spoons, knives, and forks, your elderly loved one may not be able to focus. They may even get overwhelmed. It would be helpful to provide only one utensil at a time. This way, your elderly loved one can focus on eating and not everything that is in front of them.
Getting Help from Alzheimer’s Home Care Providers
Does your elderly loved one have dementia? If so, are they having a difficult time eating? There are many reasons why people with dementia don’t eat well. It could be due to distractions, overwhelming table settings, feeling lonely, or something else. Figuring out why your elderly loved one isn’t eating very well will allow you to fix the problem. If your elderly loved one needs someone to eat with them or help with their meals, you or an Alzheimer’s home care provider can do that for them.
Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534398/
If you or an aging loved one are considering Alzheimer’s Home Care Services in Huntington Beach CA, please contact the caring staff at Canaan Home Care today! 1-844-CANAAN-1 (1-844-226-2261)
Canaan Home Care – A Premier Provider of Senior Home Care in the La Jolla, Del Mar, San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Tustin, and Manhattan Beach areas.
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