Changes with food behaviours

Maryjane01

Hello community, I wanted to see if anyone had observed a similar situation: since a couple of months, my dad (FTD-Parkinson, not Alzheimer, advanced stage) is spitting most food we propose to him that are salty, including those that he used to love. We thought it might be for his teeth (as he has some issues) but if we give him anything sweet he eats it as usual and with pleasure. The doctor thinks this might be either a behavioral thing or something due to loss of taste due to Parkinson. We can't just feed him sweet things, so we are looking for solutions and to see if anyone had lived something similar with their loved ones. Thank you in advance for any tip!

Shenmama99

My mom will eat anything sweet. She has VD/alzheimer’s. She is 94. Advanced stage. At this point I let her eat what she wants. Hospice nurse said not to worry about it. You can try supplementing his nutrition with Ensure plus drinks. He might think it’s a milk shake or something sweet. Sorry you are going through this. It’s a cruddy thing to have to deal with.

harshedbuzz

@Maryjane01

The preference for sweet foods is nearly universal across all forms of dementia.

You said:

We can't just feed him sweet things

Why not? In the advanced stages of this terminal disease, feeding becomes more about pleasure/QOL and getting calories in rather than maintaining a varied and healthy diet. You can boost the nutritional value of things like ice cream, smoothies or puddings by adding protein, fiber, etc.

HB