Realizing that your elderly parent is suffering from inadequate nutrition can be intimidating for you as a family caregiver. You know how important it is for them to eat a healthy, balanced diet and give their body what it needs to thrive, but if they are dealing with loss of appetite, they might be struggling with malnutrition and even suffering from health problems as a result. Taking meaningful steps to address the cause of their loss of appetite can help them to eat more and improve their well-being.
Use these tips to encourage a senior with loss of appetite to get the nutrition that they need:
• Identify the cause. Loss of appetite is not just a part of aging. There is a cause behind your parent’s reduced appetite, which means that identifying it can help you to take the proper steps to resolve it. There are many potential causes of loss of appetite, including Alzheimer’s disease, certain medications and treatments, depression, anxiety, loneliness, dental problems, swallowing problems, and more.
• Prepare foods for them. Not being able to prepare meals and snacks independently is one of the most common causes of malnutrition among elderly adults. If your senior suffers from difficulties with mobility, transportation, cognitive function, or other causes of them not being able to prepare their own meals, stocking their refrigerator for them can be extremely beneficial.
• Make eating a social occasion. Loneliness is another common cause for elderly adults not eating what they should to stay healthy. A senior who lives alone and does not have anyone to eat with might not have the compulsion to prepare a full meal or to eat healthy foods. Instead, they are likely to rely on convenience foods and delivery meals. Ease this by making eating a social occasion as frequently as you can. Go to their home with your family to eat meals or invite them to your home to eat with you.
• Focus on eating. Make eating the only focus of meals. Turn off the television and all mobile devices, sit at the table, and engage in conversation while eating. Model eating healthy options and proper servings to help your parent make good choices.
If your caregiver efforts have become too much for you to feel that you can handle them successfully, you are dealing with extensive stress, or you simply feel that your aging parent would benefit from more diversification in the care that they receive, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting homecare for them. A homecare provider can be with your parent on a schedule that works for their needs as well as your care efforts.
This enables the homecare provider to give your loved one a highly personalized set of services designed to ensure that they receive the care, assistance, support, and encouragement necessary to keep them as safe, healthy, comfortable, happy, and independent as possible throughout their later years.
When it comes to helping your parent get the nutrition that they need, this homecare provider can give your parent safe and reliable transportation to the grocery store to help them stock their kitchen, find recipes and foods that fit with their personal tastes as well as their health needs, and get into the kitchen with them to help them prepare meals and snacks that are right for them.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2563720/
If you or an aging loved one are considering Homecare Services in Cambridge MA, or anywhere in Eastern Massachusetts, please call the caring staff at CARE Resolutions – (508) 906-5572.
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