Older adults might encounter chewing difficulty, indigestion, loss of taste or poor appetite with increasing age.

1. Chewing difficulties

Causes:

• Oral cavity, dental or jaw problems such as loosened teeth and ill-fitting dentures
• Decreased saliva secretion

Care:

• Seek medical advice on dental, oral cavity and jaw related problems as soon as possible
• Prepare soft or moist food, for example, soaking bread or crackers in soup, milk or soy milk, and adding gravies or soup to moisten the food
• Choose the food with suitable texture:

2. Indigestion

Causes:

• Gut and bowel diseases
• Side effects of medications
• Eating too much or too fast
• Consumption of spicy or greasy foods and foods prepared by high fat cooking methods such as deep-frying
• Smoking, excessive drinking, lack of physical activity, stress

Care:

• Eat small frequent meals and chew slowly
• Avoid intake of spicy and fatty foods
• Do regular physical activities, quit smoking and avoid alcohol
• Avoid lying down right after meals
• If you have bloating, avoid gassy foods such as onion, bell pepper, green peas, cabbage, broccoli, sweet potato, dried beans, milk and its products, and soft drinks

3. Loss of taste

Causes:

• Reduced sense of taste due to deterioration of taste buds with increasing age
• Nasal or sinus diseases
• Cold, influenza, head and facial trauma or other neurological disorders
• Side effects of medications
• Oral cavity, teeth or gum diseases
• Smoking and alcoholism

Care:

• Use natural seasonings more often, for example, ginger, spring onion, garlic, dried tangerine peel, coriander, pepper, etc.
• Use fruits or colourful vegetables such as tomato, bell peppers, carrot and pumpkin more often as side dishes to boost appetite
• Encourage chewing and ensure proper dental hygiene
• Quit smoking and avoid alcohol

4. Poor appetite

Causes:

• Changes in sense of taste and smell, resulting in reduced appetite
• Sick, low mood or side effects of medications
• Dental or oral cavity problems
• Gut or bowel discomfort

Care:

• Eat small frequent meals and supplement nutritious snacks between meals, for example, bread with peanut butter, oatmeal with low-fat milk, etc.
• Use natural seasonings such as ginger, spring onion, onion, cayenne, aniseed, lemon juice, etc.
• Use colourful vegetables such as tomato, carrot and corn to boost appetite
• Prepare foods by adding minced meat, fish, beancurd, egg, potato or dried beans into congee, noodles or soup. Encourage consuming soup ingredients together with the soup so as to increase nutrient intake
• Menu suggestions:
  
  • Chinese yam, Euryale seed and lentils pork shank soup
  • Black-eyed peas, papaya beancurd fish tail soup
  • Tomato potato minced pork soup
  • Beancurd and corn egg drop soup
  • Congee with minced pork and shredded lettuce
  • Rice noodle with fish slices and vegetables

Caution:

Consult healthcare professionals if the eating problem persists or worsens to prevent adverse effects on your nutritional status.