Supporting someone with dementia during mealtimes can require a gentle and patient approach, particularly if changes in behaviour affect their eating and drinking. Encouragement to taste the first mouthful can help to stimulate their appetite. Simple verbal prompts, such as complimenting the taste of the food, may also encourage them to continue eating.
If the individual responds better to a cup than a spoon, beginning with a few sips of a drink can be beneficial before proceeding to spoon-fed meals. It’s also helpful to allow them to feed themselves, despite the potential mess, as it promotes independence. Exploring a variety of tastes and textures can be useful, particularly as those with dementia often develop a preference for sweeter flavours. Enhancing meals with sugar, syrup, or ketchup could therefore encourage eating.
As dementia progresses, a person may begin to mistake inedible objects for food, potentially leading to harm. It’s vital to be vigilant, keeping household items like tissues, buttons, and cleaning products out of reach. Making sure food is available and easily accessible throughout the day can help deter them from consuming non-food items.
Adapting to changes in food preferences means being creative with meal preparation. Sweetening dishes with natural sugars such as honey or fruit can add the desired sweetness. Incorporating sweet elements into savoury dishes, whether it’s through pastries, fruit-based sauces, or sweet and sour elements, can make meals more appealing. Strong tasting sauces should be introduced in small quantities to gauge the individual’s likes and dislikes, while herbs and spices can also offer new flavour profiles.
If the person tends to overfill their mouth, reducing the size of cutlery can help manage bite sizes, as can encouraging smaller mouthfuls and a slower pace of eating. Reminders to chew and swallow may be required, sometimes accompanied by a gentle hand on the arm to reassure them. Providing a soft, moist diet and serving smaller portions at a time are additional ways to help manage this issue, as it can be distressing to see someone with dementia risk choking on their food.
