|
The Holidays Are Here
The winter holiday season with all its beauty and joy is here. Foods and favorite family
recipes make the holidays special, and can often trigger a lost memory or a fond
remembrance by the person with dementia. While celebrating with family and friends
can bring enjoyment, holiday preparations can also add stress when already caring for a relative
with dementia.
 This article is intended to help prevent one potential stress during the holidays: food borne
illnesses. Transferred to people through food, these illnesses are caused by improper handling,
cooking or storage of food.
As adults age, the immune system weakens and therefore, the risk of getting sick from a
food borne illness increases. Additionally, if an older adult becomes ill, it is likely to be more
serious and to last longer than in a younger person. Obviously, this is something to avoid at
anytime of the year, however, due to the potential of more frequent social events, prevention
during the holiday season is especially important.
Here are some important food safety tips to keep in mind.
When preparing foods:
Never underestimate the importance of hand washing. Before and after each food-handling
task, restroom break, sneeze, cough, smoke, or garbage discard, wash hands with warm, soapy
water for at least 30 seconds. Any family member who is not feeling well over the holidays
should be excused from food preparation.
It is also important to clean all work surfaces, equipment, and utensils after each task to prevent
cross-contamination. The best method to prevent cross-contamination is to have two separate
cutting boards, one for ready-to-eat foods and another for raw foods, like meat. If you only have
one though, cut ready-to-eat foods like fruit, vegetables and cheese first, wash the cutting board
and knife and then cut the raw meat.
Any of the food you are not cooking immediately should be placed in the refrigerator until
you are ready. Ready-to-eat foods should be placed on the top shelves while any raw food
should be placed lower.
Usually during the holidays, frozen meats, like turkey, are purchased and before you can cook
them they need to be thawed. The only acceptable method to thaw
such foods is to place them in the refrigerator about 24 hours before
you plan on cooking them. Make sure the refrigerator is below 41
degrees Fahrenheit. Preferably all foods should be thawed in the
refrigerator but smaller things, if forgotten, can be thawed in
a microwave as long as they are cooked immediately after
thawing.
When cooking food:
 Invest in a food thermometer or disposable t-sticks to take temperature during and after the
cooking process.
Cook all foods to their proper temperatures. See table
at right.
For the person with dementia, remove bones from
meat and shred if needed to prevent choking and ease in
chewing. Make sure any meat or eggs provided to your
loved one are well cooked. Also, avoid homemade eggnog;
instead stick to pasteurized store bought brands.
During holiday group gatherings, food may be stored
at room temperature longer than normal and there may be
more leftovers to eat than normal. To prevent food illness
it is important to keep the following in mind:
- Keep cheese, dips, fruit, and raw vegetables on ice. Any
food that has been sitting at room temperature for more
than 2 hours should be discarded. When in doubt,
throw it out!
- Foods intended to be leftovers should be stored within 2
hours and kept in shallow containers in the refrigerator
to speed up chilling. Any leftovers should be reheated
to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Leftovers not eaten within
2-7 days should be discarded.
As you make preparations for a safe holiday season, keep in mind the importance of maintaining
your relative’s routine as much as possible. In order to do so, you may have to adapt past traditions.
Avoiding large crowds, schedule or food changes can help minimize confusion and agitation.
During the holidays there is a tendency to eat foods and liquids not typically included in ones
diet. This can be okay if monitored with the person with dementia. It is important to provide
common foods as well as add those special holiday treats. If the person you are caring for is in
a more advanced stage of the disease and has difficulty feeding himself, provide foods that can
be eaten with the hands, whenever possible. Allowing for more independence can also relieve
someone of the task of feeding the person with dementia, making the event more pleasurable
for everyone.
This is the 11th in a series of articles on the nutritional and feeding needs of persons with AD.
Linnea Matulat is a Nutritionist at GLWD, a non-profit agency in NYC that provides meals to men, women and
children affected by HIV/AIDS, Cancer, AD and many other serious illnesses who are unable to shop or prepare meals for
themselves. The agency’s team of experienced nutritionists also provides nutrition education,information and counseling
in individual and group sessions to clients, their caregivers and other service providers. In partnership with GLWD, the
NYC Chapter is pleased to offer this service to people with dementia and their families. For more information, please call
the Chapter’s 24-hour Helpline at 800-272-3900.
To obtain more individualized nutrition information, the nutrition department of GLWD can be reached at
212-294-8103 or 1-800-747-2023
or by visiting www.glwd.org.
— Linnea Matulat, MS, RD, CDN
Nutritionist
God’s Love We Deliver
 Previous | Next 
|
