Table of contents:
- Tips so that the elderly want to eat well
- 1. Create a pleasant dining atmosphere
- 2. Pay attention to the eating habits of your loved one
- 3. Help the elderly to eat
- 4. Fulfill their nutritional needs
- 5. Maintain healthy teeth and mouth
- 6. Pay attention to the medicines that are consumed by the elderly
- 7. Encourage the elderly to eat patiently
There are various reasons why the elderly (elderly) have difficulty eating. It could be because you have a certain disease, are undergoing treatment, or because the body's natural process of aging. Whatever the reason, the elderly still have to eat and meet their daily nutritional needs. Then how do you get around the elderly so that they want to eat more? Take it easy, you can try the various methods below.
Tips so that the elderly want to eat well
1. Create a pleasant dining atmosphere
Eating alone can make the elderly lazy to eat or delay eating because they want to wait for other family members to eat too. Therefore, as much as possible accompany your parents or grandparents while they eat.
While eating, invite the elderly to talk about the things they like. Don't eat while talking about things that are negative or too serious. This can lead the elderly to think that mealtime is an unpleasant time and should be avoided.
If you have something important to talk about, wait for your loved one to finish eating and leave the dining room.
2. Pay attention to the eating habits of your loved one
You must memorize the eating habits of the elderly. For example, the elderly get bored quickly with the same menu. Try to present a varied and varied food menu every day. You can even try to design a monthly meal plan with your loved ones. That way, he can feel more involved and have control over his diet.
Meanwhile, if the elderly are the type of person who is picky about food, serve food that he really likes and already knows the taste of. Don't overuse new foods that he's never tried. At present, their nutritional needs are more important than the risk of the elderly not wanting to eat for fear of trying new menus.
3. Help the elderly to eat
Maybe your loved one is actually hungry and wants to eat, but is having a hard time doing it. Therefore, accompany the elderly every meal and pay attention to what their needs are.
You must be sensitive to his own needs yourself, lest the elderly have to repeatedly tell you what he needs. This is because over time he will be afraid to trouble you or feel that you really don't want to help him.
For example, the elderly find it difficult to cut food such as meat. We recommend that you help cut the food smaller. If your elderly have trouble lifting their drinking glass, provide a straw and help your loved one to drink.
4. Fulfill their nutritional needs
Elderly do not have to eat a lot at once. You can eat a little, but the key is to make sure the food is nutrient dense. At every meal, the elderly should get carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber and fat.
You can consult with doctors and nutritionists to determine what types of food can and should not be consumed by the elderly and ask for guidance to meet the nutritional needs of the elderly.
5. Maintain healthy teeth and mouth
Oral and dental health is one thing that needs attention. Difficulty chewing and refusing to eat can be due to discomfort in the mouth, dry mouth, mouth sores, loose teeth, and poor hygiene (including poor denture care) which can affect the comfort of eating.
In addition, tooth loss in the elderly also affects food choices. Therefore, you should accompany the elderly to check with the dentist if there are certain complaints and for routine control.
6. Pay attention to the medicines that are consumed by the elderly
The use of drugs for certain conditions can cause a decrease in the body's ability to absorb certain nutrients, indigestion, and decreased appetite.
Therefore, record all types of medication used by your loved one and notify the doctor if there are dietary changes in the elderly. For example, if the elderly do not want to eat.
Before taking a new type of drug, you should also ask your doctor and pharmacist if it will cause side effects, namely loss of appetite.
7. Encourage the elderly to eat patiently
Try to remember when you were a child. The more forced and scolded to eat, the less appetite you will eat, right? Likewise with the elderly.
Therefore, when persuading your elderly to want to eat, you need to be patient a lot and always use a positive, light, and cheerful tone of voice. Don't even be threatened like, "If you don't eat right now, then I won't prepare any food for you."
x
