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We went shopping the other day and my Mom bought 2 cakes an apple pie and 2 packages of oreos.. She's 91 and I say let her eat what she wants. But she does eat cereal for lunch and dinner every night.. If she changes it up and eats pie for lunch or cake for dinner I don't care. She isn't loosing weight and she would be fighting with me if I said no desserts..
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I don't think that is so much stubborn as his taste buds begin to fade and one of the last taste senses remaining is sweetness. So he is satisfying that one level of taste. My mother is the same way. She picks at her meal like a child, but eats every bite of her dessert. It seems that she gets enough nutrition because she's healthy enough for an 87 year old with ALZ.
You might try things like sweet potatoes or food items with sweet notes to catch his attention. Good luck my friend.
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My feeling is that their life has so little joy - why take away the one thing that gives them pleasure. The diabetes issue makes it difficult, but if there is no health problem with sugar, a reasonable amount of sweets should do no harm. Might give them something to brighten the day.
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My mother has to have her donut and coffee every morning. At first I tried to change it up with oatmeal or egg burritos but she doesn't want those anymore. I figure why fight it. If she wants donuts and coffee for breakfast, let her have them. She isn't losing weight. She eats really well. I give her a turkey sandwich for lunch eat day and she does like a piece of cake or pie afterword. I give her a well balanced dinner and then dessert. As long as she continues to eat I'm okay with whatever she wants to eat.
She does eat very slowly though. It can take a half hour to eat a sandwich. I'm thinking it is because she is always looking outside and gets distracted.
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BarbKirby, since your husband has dementia, I'm inclined to agree with your brother.
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These comments are interesting because my husband with dementia (entering the later stage) drinks a regular size cup of coffee with 5 or 6 sweetener packs and says it still is not sweet enough. In the evening he gorges on ice cream and brownies. He does eat actually overeats well balanced meals also. He is not gaining weight!
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Maybe try some mint in a few dishes as well since mint is rather strong.. How about just other spices in general? Was there things that he used to like but doesn't like anymore because he can't taste it? Put more seasoning in it and see how he feels about it.
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My husband got so he would not eat his oatmeal without a tablespoon full of blackstrap molasses. Sounds horrible but with sugar added, and sometimes it was 3-4 teaspoons, it tastes like shoe fly pie! Then he would eat a blueberry muffin. I tried to get as many calories into him at breakfast because he would not be able to eat later in the day. He had Parkinson's disease and swallowing became a serious issue toward the end so he was not able to eat even this. So we went to soft scrambled eggs, when he could tolerate it. I purchased readymade breakfast sausage flavored with maple syrup, had to run it through the food processor to grind it up, and then mixed it in with the scrambled eggs while they were cooking.. Ensure brand vitamin juice is pretty sweet. Pumpkin pie made without the crust, comes out like pumpkin custard. Sweet potatoes cooked in honey and ginger, same with carrots (though he did not care for them as much).
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When my Mom was first diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimer's I did a lot of reading and there was an article that addressed weight loss due to the brains inability to regulate it, the article also mentioned that the diseased brain craves and needs sugar.

I think that article must be true because I do not care what we eat, breakfast, lunch or dinner, Mom HAS to have something sweet right after it. As a snack it is a cappuccino sweet coffee drink and cookies and at nighttime snack of ice cream and cookies. At breakfast she wants sugar coated mini shredded wheats and then puts sugar on top of it, finished off with cookies or a muffin. You would think she would gain weight but she is a mighty 96 pounds!

I truly believe this may be part of the disease and functioning of the brain that makes them crave the sugar.
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My husband is also 84 and has diabetes2. Every time he goes out, he buys pies, cookies, crackers, cake, etc. Since he is very forgetful, I get rid of some the food or pretend I've eaten part of it. He keeps agreeing to watch his diet but never does. My older brother thinks I should just leave him alone and let him eat what he enjoys.
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