Food and Drink at Dementie: Tips to Improve Nutrition
People suffering from dementia often face challenges in terms of food and drink. In this article we share valuable nutritional tips for nurture, nurses and nutrition assistants to help deal with these challenges.
How do you present a Meal?
Research has shown that colour contrast can have a significant impact on the eating and drinking habits of people with dementia.
For example, clients appear to drink more from a red glass than from an ordinary glass. Using red and blue plates can also stimulate appetite.
However, be careful that the color and decoration are not too overwhelming because this can cause unnecessary distraction.
Some clients may try to pick up flowers from a decorated tablecloth and therefore forget to eat.
Other Tips to Stimulate Food and Drinking
- Get a variety of menus, but avoid alcohol.
- Keep the table and surroundings quiet (avoid disturbing objects on the table).
- Experiment with stronger flavors.
- Set a fixed seat at the table to promote routine.
- Stimulate food and drink through activities.
Activities to Stimulate Food and Drinking
In daily activities there can be various opportunities to stimulate conversation about nutrition.
For example, discuss the menu and encourage clients to retrieve memories of food from past. Cooking together with clients can also help in retrieving positive memories.
Other Ways to Activate Clients
- Cooking with clients can help to retriev memories of the past.
- Stimulate the senses by stimulating tastes, smells and images. Old advertisements from products from a person's youth can stimulate conversations and stories for example.
What else can you do?
- Involve family members in the nutrition process, because they often know best what a client likes to eat and which nutrition brings back memories.
- Consult specialists such as speech-pedists, dietists and ergotherapists to address specific eating and drinking problems and improve overall health.
Reduced Appetite
People with dementia often experience reduced appetite, sometimes due to fatigue or side effects of medication. Understanding these challenges and providing appropriate support is of great importance.
and then Add to Home Screen.
