NutriCare Food Service Program

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Most people understand that as we age, the way we experience our world through our senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell changes as those senses deteriorate over time. As our visual acuity diminishes, we wear corrective lenses; with hearing loss, hearing aids are prescribed. However, the least accepted and least understood deprivations are those of taste and smell, the two senses which primarily control the body's ability to experience food. Losses and distortions in these chemosensory mechanisms contribute to a significant degree to anorexia in the elderly. Simply put, as our ability to experience food decreases, so also does the body become less efficient at breaking food down into nourishment. This is especially true for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

This means that in order to maintain the health of our residents and their physical ability to ward off sickness and disease, a unique food product must be specifically designed for our population. An acceptable guideline according to the Guide to Nutrition and Diet Modification of the University of Florida for the elderly population with Alzheimer's disease should consist of 55-60 percent carbohydrates, 12-15 percent protein, and 25-30 percent fat. Potomac Homes has developed its NutriCare program based upon the latest in dementia research to offer our residents home cooked meals, rather than prepared in a cafeteria, with menu choices that are designed by a registered dietician to be familiar to them yet offer the optimum diet for our residents suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Allowances have to be made for diseased states, pharmacology, dentition, increased activity, emotional factors, past eating habits, and decreases in taste and smell, so that NutriCare creates specific a menu plan, which addresses the nutritional needs of this unique population. Now that's food for thought!

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