Change of sense of taste in early Alzheimer’s. Any advice?

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Change of sense of taste in early Alzheimer’s. Any advice?

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My husband is still in the early stage of Alzheimer’s but there are many more changes like losing things more frequently. He loves ice cream but finds cereal and main meal dinners with meat/fish and vegetables “too sweet”. These are meals he has eaten previously and loved. I need to know what to cook since he has lost weight. Is this a common thing? Thank you.

Alzheimer's & Dementia Diet & Nutrition Family Caregiver

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It's very common for elders with any of the dementias to have their tastes change entirely. Foods they once loved they may no longer enjoy, and foods they once disliked they may find themselves craving. My mother was never a dessert lover but once her dementia got moderate, sweets was all she wanted. She used to love Italian food, but then lost her taste for it almost entirely. Their perceptions change.........your DH is perceiving meat/fish & veggies as tasting 'sweet', but it's his perception of that taste that's changed, due to the progression of the disease.

It's trial & error to figure out what he likes to eat now. Most people do best with small meals that are eaten more frequently rather than 3 larger meals a day. Try giving him 6 small meals with finger foods and easy-to-eat items added in. Try a smoothie or cut up fruit, cheese & crackers, yoghurt, etc. Textures matter too; he may not like the texture of soft/smooth things like yoghurt and mashed potatoes, and prefer crackers b/c they're crunchy and hard. That's the trial & error piece of the puzzle. And, those tastes are likely to change with time, too, so that makes it even harder to stick to a 'menu'.

Here is a link to the Alzheimer's site discussing food and eating, with lots of good tips on the subject:

https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/daily-care/food-eating

I think once you figure out what he DOES like to eat, and are able to get more food into him, DH should stop losing weight. If not, consult with his doctor for more advice on the matter.

Best of luck with a tough situation.

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To add to what's already been posted: yes... food preferences and nutrition is a moving target.

My 100-yr old Aunt with advanced dementia now mostly only eats Campbell's Chicken and Rice soup -- but we enhance it by cooking an egg in it, and adding other steamed vegetables, like carrots and peas. Also we'll add brown rice (and cooked to softness due to her lacking in teeth). Many times she'll eat this twice a day and say "yum!" every time like it's the first time she's ever eaten it.

We had trouble getting her to drink enough (constipation is a problem) so the soup helps in this department. For many years she'd only drink a little Cran-Mango juice but recently started to reject it so I tried Vitamin Water (Mango flavored) and she loves it -- for now. We also buy Kozy Shack Tapioca Pudding and she'll eat a few bites of that after dinner.

Keep "easy" but nutritious things on hand: yogurt, peanut butter, bananas, grapes, breads like zucchini or pumpkin or banana, eggs, Steamers veggies (add butter if it helps him to eat it), cheeses, etc. "Nutritious" will be a relative thing, so try not to stress over it and just expect it to be an ongoing guessing game. I wish you all the best!

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Baby food meat can be used get more protein into the diet. Add it to soups, gravy, casseroles, etc.

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Anything is possible when someone's brain is broken, so it should come as no surprise that his food preferences have changed. I believe it's way more common than you hear about.
I know when my husband was in his final 2 years of his life(and had vascular dementia)he became enamored with eating fish. Any kind of fish. And he wanted it often. The funny thing about that was he never ate fish before that; in fact he disliked fish with a passion. I found it so odd and funny truth be told, as the man who at one time would order the only chicken dish at Red Lobster, was now wanting to eat fish all the time.
So hopefully you will be able to figure out what he now likes sooner than later and just keep giving him that. And in the meantime perhaps he will at least drink an Ensure or 2/day so that he will get some much needed calories and nutrition.
Hang in there. You're doing a great job!

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For the OP: There's also a Very High Calorie Boost drink that has 530 calories in an 8 oz carton.

BOOST VHC nutritional drinks are the highest calorie BOOST® drink with 530 nutrient-rich calories per 8 fl oz serving. This nutrient-packed drink combines high calories with 22 g high-quality protein to help gain or maintain weight, plus 26 vitamins and minerals.

You can get them on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=very+high+calorie+boost+chocolate+530&crid=3208IIMV4LWXQ&sprefix=very+high+calorie+boost%2Caps%2C122&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_4_23

If the doctor prescribes it & you get it at the hospital pharmacy, it tends to be very inexpensive like $22 a case (was what I found).

You can also make DH a smoothie or a shake & add the protein powder into it, if he's agreeable & likes shakes.

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Yes, it’s common, and it can keep changing. He may find Boost or Ensure too sweet. Don’t knock yourself out preparing complicated things when it’s possible he won’t like the taste. Try keeping it simple, like bread and butter. And good luck as you navigate this new path.

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He may be saying "too sweet" but that may not be the right words for what he is experiencing. Try different foods and textures of foods to find out what he will like. As mentioned in other responses, Ensure is often used as a meal replacement. Flavored yogurts, smoothies, protein drinks, pudding might be another way to supplement his diet. Also try scrambled eggs. Look out for whether he has difficulty swallowing, changes in table manners and eating. When my mother's dementia advanced, she forgot her table manners, and later she had to switch to soft foods, because she was "pocketing" her food (stuffing it in her cheeks rather than chewing and swallowing). Her facility then prepared foods with a consistency like mush (or like baby food). When she declined further, she had to be fed. Other people in her facility had difficulty swallowing and had to be given thickened liquids.

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I agree with Sample, that one doesn't need to have dementia for one's taste of food changes, it is part of aging and other situations. This can also happen if one has a bad cold, or a side effect of having covid. Even meds can change one's taste.

Both my partner and I are in our mid-70's and food items we liked 5-10 years ago we just don't care for anymore. This summer we both had bad colds, and the cough medicine caused many things to taste strange.

Brushing one's teeth or using a mouth wash an hour or so before eating can make food taste weird.

Just food for thought.

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If he is a veteran, you can ask to meet with a nutritionist at a VA hospital and if recommended they will provide the Ensure products for you along with other items you may need. You only have to have a checkup once a year with their primary care physician and can still use all your current private providers.

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My mother did not have Alzheimer’s but she lost her taste a few years before she died. Because of no taste she did not eat very well even though she was in a place where she was well cared for. I do not think lack of taste is just Alzheimer’s related but can happen to people as they age. I’m only 63 and my tastes have changed significantly

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Just a quick answer here because of lack of time to read other responses. A zinc deficiency can cause a lack or change in the sense of taste. This happened to my picky eater husband. I told him to start taking zinc, he did, and it resolved. I'm not saying for sure it will work for you, but it can't hurt to try.

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Seems the areas of his brain are interpreting different tastes as "sweet." Please get him evaluated by a neurologist to see if there is treatments to reverse this problem or enhance his sense of taste.

Change of sense of taste in early Alzheimer’s. Any advice?

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