My husband is starting to ask for specific foods and have a craving for them.. Sometimes he will ask for days until I get it for him. This is very annoying since we are far from stores and he always ate what I gave him before. Now he only wants certain things at certain times.
It's quite common to get food cravings for elders with dementia and Alzheimer's, yes. Above is a link to an article on the subject.
I do my best to meet his cravings because it is one way I keep the home peaceful. Honestly, I no longer care whether he eats healthfully, I just care that he eats something. And since I am no longer fixing meals to please him, I finally get to make what I want to eat.
Get a whiteboard and he can write down the items he wants.
When you go shopping you can ask him what one or two items he would like.
When you get to the store he can try looking for the items.
My Husband would always pick up bananas and put them in the cart. Didn't matter if we had bananas at home so when he wasn't looking I would replace the yellow ones he put in the cart with the greenest ones I cold find.
Since you are far from stores just remind him that shopping is done on Wednesday. You can circle or highlight Wednesday on the calendar so it reminds him.
**If he is beyond writing items on a whiteboard or trying to locate an item in the store there are other ways that you can get him to "wait" for shopping day.
By the way if the food cravings are for odd foods or ones he did not like before you might want to mention it to his doctor SOME cravings are indicators of deficiencies in the diet and they may want to check levels for vitamins and minerals.
I sure do.
That doesn't mean when I have a taste for Trader Joe Old Fashioned Potato Chips that everyone runs out and gets them.
It was kind of comical as I remember many years earlier when we had gone to Red Lobster(as I have always loved seafood)my husband ordered the only chicken dish they had on the menu at that time.
And like your husband once he had something in his mind that is all he would talk about and drive me kind of crazy.
Humor him when you can and don't worry about when you can't. He'll be ok.
Tell him: - 'later' - after dinner ... or after you eat the bowl of fruit (or an orange cut up, etc. - Natural sugar may (help) curb his desire for sugar.
Some people need to cut out sugar from their diet completely. (It didn't work for me although when I did cut it out completely, the cravings/desire did go away.)
If he (remembers / with dementia) that he has a 'treat' coming, it may help him feel better, be more open to walking / exercising, etc. If he won't remember - then perhaps this won't help. If me, I would try to gradually cut down vs cutting out.
* If he's able to move, get him up walking or whatever he can do. Exercise is very important (I'll go do my PT exercises now ! )
Go to this link:
https://careandnursing-magazine.co.uk/coping-cravings-person-dementia/
Partially copied here:
How to control cravings and improve eating habits in a person with dementia:
• Don’t overstock the house with too many chocolates or biscuits – temptation will always be there. Try to encourage the person to eat lots of fruit snacks so that they can enjoy sweet foods that won’t lead to weight gain. Chop up fruit if need be to make it easy to eat.
• Make sure you have lots of healthy snacks to hand – eating smaller meals more often may be a good idea to avoid the person getting hungry and large meals may be off-putting in any case.
• Distract and deflect – if the person has had a lot of sugary foods and asks for more, offer them a cup of tea instead and they may well forget about the cravings.
• Encourage the person to stay hydrated – thirst can be mistaken for hunger and water regulates many body functions, so encourage the person to drink water at regular intervals.
• Avoid mealtime distractions – a noisy environment where there are lots of people bustling around can result in the person becoming easily distracted and not finishing their food. Try to seat the person in a quiet space during mealtimes.
• Eat meals together – encourage the person with dementia to eat with you so that you can monitor their eating habits and also provide some company. Eating proper meals regularly will be more likely to reduce cravings for sugary foods later on.
• Make eating easier – try a blue plate rather than a white plate, as food will stand out better on a blue plate. That way, the person will be more likely to identify and see what’s in front of them.
• Share puddings and sweet treats – if the person is in the mood for a sugary pudding or chocolate bar, share it between you, so that they don’t eat too much.
www.re-cognitionhealth.com
About Re:Cognition Health
Re:Cognition Health was established in 2011 to provide a specialist service in the neurological assessment and imaging of cognitive impairment, neurovascular diseases and traumatic brain injury, including the provision medico-legal expert opinion. The Re:Cognition Clinics in London, Essex, Surrey and Plymouth are also major centres for international trials of disease-modifying and new symptomatic drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions.
Gena / Touch Matters
At a certain stage in someone's life I feel like they should be able to eat whatever they enjoy eating, it's pretty much all they have left.
But please don't feel the need to up out ASAP and get it for him. Just jot it down and before your next shopping trip ask him if he still wants this or that. Then get it for him, because the craving may have passed