If your elderly family member is not eating as much or as well as she should be, the biggest concern is malnutrition. Helping her to avoid that problem means trying a mix of some of these ideas.
Make Sure She’s Got Plenty of Choices
Choice may not keep your senior eating as much as you might want, but they certainly don’t hurt. You never know what might sound good to her at any given time, so having a variety of foods available that she’s enjoyed in the past might spark her appetite. It’s also really important to make those different choices easy for your senior to access whenever she might be hungry.
Smaller, More Frequent Servings Make a Difference
In addition to lots of different choices, it helps to ensure that those choices are available in small servings that your senior can access often throughout the day. It might be pretty rare these days for your elderly family member to eat an entire serving of anything, much less a full meal. Sitting down to a full serving or a full meal can be a lot more intimidating than your senior is willing to face.
Find Ways to Add Flavor
Something else to consider is that your senior’s sense of taste may be changing. That means that foods which were always appealing to her no longer might be. Adding lots of sugar or salt to try to bump up the flavor profile might be something she enjoys, but that can interfere with health considerations. It’s much better to try a few other types of herbs and spices to see what sparks interest for your elderly family member.
Use the Power of Social Eating
When your senior is distracted, like when she’s eating with friends or family members, she is more likely to eat a little bit more. Harnessing the power of social eating can be a powerful way to encourage your senior to eat just a little bit more than she might be used to eating. It might be difficult for you to be there with her for every meal, though, which can be frustrating for you. Elderly care providers might be the right option because they can offer companionship and ensure she’s got a home-cooked meal as well.
Even if you can only encourage your senior to eat a little bit more, that’s a victory. Be sure to talk to her doctor about what else you can do so that you can ensure your elderly family member is getting the nutrients that she needs.
If you or an aging loved one is considering elderly care in Franktown, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today at 303-953-9924.
