Our septuagenarian mother (diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year) is currently eating one gallon of ice cream every 2 to 3 days. How have other families helped restrict / limit intake to reduce her risk of obesity, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, dental caries, etc? It is her one joy in life so we also don't want to take that away from her.
To regulate it, I would buy the icecream in smaller containers, keep the stock in a small hidden freezer, and bring out a new one a while after she has finished the last. 'Sorry, we've run out - can you make this last tonight?'
Imagine what a nurse does in a hospital.. Or an kitchen assistant in an aged care home.
I think I would serve a second helping of icecream - if asked for it. But that's it. Just as I did for my kids & birthday cake.
Does the issue need to go deeper? I don't think so.
So many people with dementia/ Alzheimer’s or brain injures love love love icecream.
Factors can make people lose their own 'reasonable amount limit'.
Fauty short term memory is a big factor, unable to process appetite messages being sent to the brain, is another. Impulse control - another big factor.
I don't care about the arguement
of: someone is elderly let them eat whatever vs better nutrician argument.
Just go with common sense.
The office will handle it.
Id say actually my mom loves her ice cream and dairy, but in long term it caused me more work because her blood test kept coming back, high calcium, so then cut back more blood work.
So I'm sure cutting her back is a good idea. Sure let them eat what they enjoy to a point.
As for how honestly I have no answers, hopefully others have some good ideas later.
Again so sorry, don't leave us because of someone having a very bad night
I better not have either of my children tell me what I should or shouldn't be eating when I get older. Heck they better not try telling me now at my young age of 65.
One of the ladies in my caregiver support group whose mother lived to be 102, shares often how her mother who had Alzheimer's, lived on just ice-cream and cashews for the last 5 years of her life.
Now that is the kind of a diet that I want to be on the last 5 years of my life. I'm just saying.
Let her eat what she wants. Why prolong her life?
good luck!!
I think she should still have her ice cream but whoever is the on-hands person providing her care can perhaps switch to ice cream bars or sandwiches so that she has a finite amount she can eat at a time (and hide the rest from her). Also consider frozen yogurt or non-dairy ones (there are some tasty ones out there). Would she eat a sundae? Like adding a fresh banana and nuts to one bowl a day?
More info would be helpful.
Is she going out still and buying it for herself? Not much you can do except try to counsel her about it.
If someone is enabling her, stop it. There's a few good suggestions here about limiting her without taking it away. She SHOULD be able to enjoy it if she wants. I love ice cream. If I was dying and someone took it away I'd probably throw my diaper against the wall until I got it back.
If she's declining quickly and you believe she's going to pass away relatively soon I'd just let her have it. Hospice will enter the scene eventually and none of the other issues will matter anyway.
This yogurt tastes like cake frosting. So yummy!
You need to let it sit out about 15 minutes for the yogurt to soften before eating.
My husband is diabetic. He loves it.
My Mom had ice cream, Little Debbies, Hostess, a pie, chocolate chip muffins, anyway you get the picture. Yes, she had other food items on the list but it seemed she lived on sweets because she could still taste the sweetness. She lived to be 98. And, of course, my Dad was more than happy with the deserts :)
knowing what she wanted for later life might help you with this decision
can you switch it to lower fat, sugar free ice cream as a compro mise?
In any event, buy pint size tubs of ice cream once a week and call it a day. If she cries for more, either deal with it or buy more.
Fwiw, I used to pray daily for God to take my mother who suffered from dementia. I'd bring her bags of chocolate and cookies at her Memory Care ALF because she loved sweets and had spent her whole life dieting. She ordered ice cream 2x a day, for lunch and dinner dessert. In her old age, she gained about 50 lbs. at least. So I bought her pretty clothes in bigger sizes.
My mother and my father-in-law both preferred sweets as they got older. The big issue with my Mom was constipation and trying to get fiber and water down her. She forgot how little she drank.
Let her have the ice cream but maybe try making some shakes with milk or soy or nut or coconut milk added to the ice cream? Also, make some ice cream pops with some chopped frozen fruit added? Could be made with a lowfat yogurt as well. I fool myself with "banana nice cream" and "cherry nice cream"- puree chopped frozen fruit, and add avocados or nut butters for fat, some plain greek yogurt etc... Possibilities are endless, tasty and healthier. Best eaten right after made or frozen in smaller batches to set out and soften before eating. Make a batch and swap out between regular ice cream. Does she like sherbets, sorbets or gelato? Also often lower in calories. How about snow cones with flavored syrup?
They have just publicized that the artificial sweetener erythritol is causing blood clots so I personally would stay away from consumption of the sugar alcohols. Bless you both on this hard journey.
I am 82. If I want to eat an entire bag of Trader Joe's Original Potato Chips OR an ENTIRE box of ice cream sandwiches, that is up to ME.
PUH-LEEZE.
Am I not of an age? To decide WHAT I EAT and when? To decide how much?
Are you now the parent who will dole out the sweets?
Please kill me first.
I have to say, having thought long and hard on this one, having seem the "youngsters" now in their 60s trying to control our diets so we can live another 1/23 decade in misery? Why? What for?
l just ask you.
THINK ABOUT IT.
Please. I beg you. Please.
My LO shops, buys, serves own icecream in own home. So her biz too. At home.
However, when out at a regular function where moring tea was served to many, this became a situation that needed 'food policing'. My LO would sit next to the shared biscuit plate & keep eating with no impuse control. There was a young man with TBI that would do same. Staff would never be harsh but would manage this discretely by serving individual portions to these people, then moving the plate out of reach & view of them. Requests for more would need delay & distract tactics.
I'm assuming you have a good relationship with your Mom and want her to stay alive as long as possible. That's commendable, but focus on other things. Average age of death is 79 in the U.S. - if she's in her 70s now, whatever you do will not extend her lifespan much.
I believe that anyone has the right to eat whatever they want, and I think that a person with a life-limiting disease shouldn't be dissuaded from eating even the most unhealthiest of foods.
However, such a high quantity of calorie dense food will cause major problems for both the person with Alzheimer's and whoever is caring for them due to weight related mobility issues.
If possible, try and swap the real stuff for the low sugar, low fat versions of ice-cream. Don't worry about any long-term effects of additives; there really isn't any point at this stage. However, do check for potential short-term ill-effects such as diarrhoea, which was mentioned in another reply.
If your mother will not be satisfied with the fake ice-cream, then you will have to limit your mother's access to ice-cream. This can only be done if you have POA, or if you have control another way.
I wouldn't stop serving ice-cream, but only do so at certain times and be stricter with portion control.
If your mum likes bananas, cooked apples, or tinned pairs, or any other soft fruit, I would serve this with the ice-cream to make it a big treat, but healthier.
If you do not have control over your Mum's food choices, then you need to try and get this as soon as you can.
Wishing you all the best.
So will she become alcoholic or she dies because of it? Maybe, she is close to 90, but healthy otherwise may live another 10 years. Does it matter if alcohol is probably not good for her as she eats so little? Probably, but she enjoys it now!
Can you determine if she is craving sweet, craving the milkfat, or craving ice?
Perhaps there is something else which will satisfy this craving. If she is not eating well during the day, maybe she really is hungry and filling her body's need for calories, and this has become her go-to habit.
Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for substitutes. But you seem to be a smart person and probably have connections, for instance consult with a dietician for ideas. From your name, it looks like you're a doctor? or a nurse?
I think her long-term prognosis is an important factor here. If she has Alzheimer's and her health is declining, how important is it to control her diet and her weight, or is she already in danger of serious complications from this indulgence? You'll have to weigh the benefits and risks to find a reasonable solution for her needs, while letting her have "her one joy in life".
My dad w/PDD ate ALOT of ice cream over a period of 4 years after my mom died. He would go through 2 or 3 half gallons every week. Then he stopped…..I am not sure if it was due to the dementia progression, moving him from his home to ours, being fed more nutritious food consistently or he just lost the taste for it. It is hard to understand, but seems par for the course in this dementia journey!! Hope you find answers that help!! Have a blessed day!
If you are really concerned you could switch to a "lower fat, lower sugar" ice cream but I think the fake stuff is worse than the sugar and fats in the real stuff.
You could try freezing containers of yogurt. and give her containers of frozen yogurt.
There is also a product called "YoNannas" and you freeze bananas and put them through this thing and you get a "soft serve consistency" ice cream like product.
the Ninja Ice cream maker product allows you to make smaller portions of "ice cream" and you can make it how you want.
But all that said let her eat what she wants. I think at this point with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's the high LDL and other things you are worried about really are not going to shorten her life and by restricting you are are not going to extend her life.
If she does gain weight and it makes it more difficult for you to safely care for her there is equipment that can make it easier and safer for you and mom.
Start getting her the single-serving individual ice cream cups. They're small servings so if she had five or six a day it wouldn't equal anywhere near the amount she's eating now. Get lower sugar and low-fat varieties along with different kinds of ice cream. Try giving her a couple of Weight Watcher's brand chocolate fudge pops instead. They're low-cal and low sugar. They're also really good.
Don't take her ice cream away from her. Just add some moderation and common sense to the servings.