Are their certain foods that Alzheimer's patients like to eat?

My mother in law lost most of her sense of taste & smell with her dementia - all food cooked & served was "tasteless" and she refused to eat until I realized that she always ate her dessert - from then on I sprinkled all her food with some sugar and she ate most of it. She also loved her bottled meal shakes because they were sweet. Try some sweetener on her food, it may work.

Ok, time for a stupid question. Does she remember to brush her teeth? I'm sorry to ask that, but it was one of the first 'hygienes' that DH stopped, and he has 2 partials that he just leaves in.

First - you must pick your battles and if she doesn't smell badly or look dirty, let it go. You can buy foaming bath cleanser that is no rinse - like they give in the hospitals. You can clean dentures/partials even if they don't want to brush. I have no idea how you brush someone else's teeth but it's coming.

Second, look at her tongue - is it white? Thrush Mouth is very common and the medicines don't get rid of the Candida Overgrowth. What you see in the mouth is the tip of the iceberg - it's also in the gut and ruins the appetite. A good Probiotic (must be refrigerated) and Now's Candida Support helped my DH to where his appetite came back. You can contact me by clicking on my name for particulars. But both of us are on them for about $30 month (that is $15 each)

Ok, now to the foods. Ask her what she wants. Ray ate nothing but Fish Sticks for months! And he wanted Hot Cocoa with Ice Cream in it! So that is what he got. I picked up Barleans Chocolate Silk Greens (nutrition) and I add a spoonful to every cup of cocoa - and I use Ensure as the base! It's all about getting the calories and nutrition into the person. Without nourishment, we all will perish. I bought Ghiardelli Premium Indulgence and Nestle's Rich Milk Chocolate and I mix them. Use whatever you can afford.

Here at AgingCare.com, I read that even a bowl of ice cream is better than nothing - if she'll eat it, give it to her. Ray went through an ice cream phase too - it's still food.

He'll be 96 next week so I do have some idea of what you're dealing with, even though we are all different.

Hang in there - we're here to help all we can.

Blend a half a banana and a touch of real greek yogurt in with the ensure, serve it in the ensure bottle.

Sit down in front of her eating her favorite foods. She may ask for some. Or, if you leave for a few minutes to answer the phone, she may take some from your plate.

Always sit at the table with her.

I have heard others say they put syrup on everything... My mom hasn't gone through this.

The past months all my Mom asks me for is the pureed chicken salad I make. I put a lot of dill (the type that comes in tubes) in it which gives it lots of flavor. Last night I made a shepard's pie using ground lamb (something my Mom used to love) but she hardly ate it. So I guess I will stock up on chicken breasts. My Mom also loves my whipped potatoes.


Mom also loves sweets so I stock up on pound cake and ice cream.

A lesson I have learned is to give my Mom a very small portion of whatever I make because larger portions overwhelm her.

As others wrote the more flavor the better. I guess people with dementia lose their sense of taste.

Although my Mom had quite a few episodes of forgetting how to eat, when she eventually went to 100% puréed it was just a matter of weeks. (I realize some thrive on puréed food for years.) I agree with Isabella that it may be the natural progression. I offered food gently (probably profusely) but tried not to cause my Mom guilt or anxiety as her intake declined to so very little. It was very helpful to me to frequently review the changes that occur at end of life. I clung to the things I read that said it was in no way hurting my Mom to eat and drink very little (whatever she wanted for comfort) as she transitioned. Prayers for you and your Mom. I hope you have lots more precious time together.

Some medications effect the way things taste, has she had any changes recently?

They do lose taste and smell. And like said, some meds effect taste. I have heard antibiotics leave people with funny tastes so food doesn't taste right either. I have found that dementia patients tend towards sweets.

My mother, who was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's, though I think Her dementia may have been caused by strokes, forgot how to eat. If your mother is not saying that she's hungry perhaps he is trying to let you know that it's time for her to go. Can she still swallow? Check with her doctor and see if she is beginning to shut down and turn away from food. That's the natural end of this kind of death.

Another factor might be a cardiac med. We learned from our neurologist that Amiodarone can affect smell and taste. It happened to my father, after he had ben taking the Amio prescribed by his cardiologist.