Nutrition

My food is very bland and I don’t seem to be able to taste things. What can I do?

Some people will experience taste changes and this may be related to treatment or your condition. Discuss this with your Doctor or Nurse as they may be able to assist you or refer you to a dietician for more advice.

Here are some suggestions to increase the flavour to your food:

• Try to choose foods that you like
• Keep a note of your favourites
• Use herbs, seasonings and spices
• Marinate meat and cook in sauces/wine as this will increase the flavour
• Rather than serving cold food, serve at room temperature
• Use of pickles and chutneys may improve flavours

My wife often feels sick and finds it difficult to eat the meals I prepare for her. What can I can do?

There are many different reasons why your wife may feel sick – or ‘nauseous’. It is important that you let her doctor or nurse know about this problem so that they can advise you and possibly prescribe some anti-sickness medication.

Here are some suggestions to help you:

• Try to avoid giving her fatty, greasy or fried food
• Frequent, small meals may be more appealing
• You may want to try offering small meals of cool foods such as dry biscuits, toast, lean and white meat, yogurt and puddings
• Avoid cooking foods with strong smells or spices.
• If the smell of food whilst you are cooking makes her feel sick, try to ensure good ventilation in the kitchen
• Well presented food can be more appetising and using smaller plates to present small portions may help
• Try to make sure your wife is in a comfortable position when eating and avoid physical activity after eating
• Be open and flexible with meal times and don’t worry if she wants ice cream for breakfast
• Dry biscuits such as ginger nuts may be useful for her to snack on
• You may find it helps to give her sodas that have gone flat – lemonade, cola, ginger ale or ginger beer (ginger can be very good at setting the stomach but may be too spicy for some)

My husband does not want to eat. The nurse has told me not to worry but I do. He usually loves his food and I don’t understand why he is not hungry.

This sounds as if your husband’s loss of appetite may be due to his illness and understandably this is a worry for you.

While good nutrition is important to aid recovery when someone is ill and expected to recover, if a person is very ill they may not feel like eating.

If someone is nearing the end of life, their appetite will decrease – this is a natural part of what they are experiencing.

Here are some suggestions to help you:

• Try to avoid pushing your husband to eat as this won’t change the course of his illness and may increase levels of anxiety for you both

• Let him eat what and when he wants to
• Try to think of mealtimes as a social event and an opportunity to spend time together - by trying to enjoy and share mealtimes this may help to relax you both and may increase his appetite
• Try not to focus on what he does or does not eat - loss of appetite is often more of a worry to the carer than the patient themselves
• Do keep your District Nurse or doctor up to date about his loss of appetite when they visit