Advertisement Food doesn’t taste as good, and people can lose their sense of taste and smell.
When the elderly lose interest in food, the result can be poor nutrition and health problems, said Janet Roth, a Gundersen Lutheran registered dietitian who specializes in geriatrics and works in nursing homes.
“Our nutritional needs and appetites change as we age,” Roth said. “These changes in taste and smell can have a big impact on our health.”
Roth suggests using pickles, vinegar and lemon juice to spice up foods and marinate foods in fruit juices, wine and sweet and sour sauce.
“Think strong flavors such as garlic and onion,” Roth said. “It takes 21/2 times the seasoning for food to taste the flavor as you get older.
“We don’t pay enough attention to sense of taste unless it happens to occur to us,” she said. “Sometimes taste changes because of medications.”
Roth said diminished sense of smell affects sense of taste.
“You have to garnish things to look appetizing,” she said. “You eat with your eyes.”
Dry mouth can be common in older people due to medication side effects, Roth said. So, try to add gravies and sauces to food, she said.
“Try some comfort foods like ice cream,” Roth said. “A lot of older people like ice cream.”
The next Gundersen Lutheran “Getting Older, Living Better” program, “Healthy Aging and Eating,” will discuss how and why nutritional needs change, explore community resources to assist with healthy eating and dish out fun recipe ideas.
The program will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the Southside Neighborhood Center, 1300 S. Sixth St., at the corner of Sixth and Hood streets.
Roth will present information on changing nutritional needs. Noreen Kuroski, director of the La Crosse County Aging Unit, will discuss how to integrate fresh fruits and vegetables into a diet and provide information on the home-delivered meal program and senior dining room programs.
The cost of the program is $5 and advance registration is due by Monday. For more information, call Gundersen Lutheran Community & Preventive Care Services at (608) 775-4717 or 1-800-362-9567, ext. 54717.
Roth said medications, depression and loss of cognitive abilities can lead to a poor diet.
She said older people also need to emphasize drinking enough water and physical activity in their daily regimen. “Maybe some people should write down when and what they eat and drink to remind themselves,” she said.
Children should eat and shop with their aging parents to see how and what they eat, she said. The visual signs of poor nutrition are weight loss, pale skin and a loss of desire to eat, Roth added.
“It could be medication, depression or something else,” Roth said. “But poor nutrition needs to be checked out.”
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at (608) 791-8227.
