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great805 Asked March 2014

My Mom 80 yrs old likes to eat too much candies and sweets. Any advice?

Her weight is also reducing she is on steroids for last 20 years she has interstitial pneumonitis can somebody explain why she likes candies so much.

freqflyer Mar 2014
Ah, that explains why my Mom has me buy so many sweet things... never knew their taste buds start to disappear. I am ready to buy stock in Little Debbies, Friendly's Ice Cream, and Entenmann's.

JessieBelle Mar 2014
cbhillman is right. Taste buds start disappearing later in life. The ones that last longest are the ones for sweets. My father loved sweets. Even when he didn't want anything else, I could usually get him to eat ice cream, cakes, and cookies. He liked fruits. If your mother isn't diabetic, I wouldn't worry too much if the candy consumption is not excessive. You may want to steer her toward healthier sweets, e.g. ice cream, yogurt, and fruit. That way she'll be getting protein and vitamins when she eats the sweets.

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cbhillman Mar 2014
The taste for sweet things is the last taste to "go" as a person ages. If she is losing weight anyway, why would you even care. And even if she gained weight, assuming she has dementia, she will forget how to chew and by the end of her life, she will be - as my mom was - a stick. I laughed - albeit bitterly - to think how my clueless sisters worried in the early stages of the Alzheimer's that my mom might be eating to much and (horrors!) gaining weight.

pamstegma Mar 2014
Because they are readily available and easily digestible. You don't have to prepare them by cooking them. They are small and pocket size. Plus, steroids increase appetite.

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