Caregivers still need to eat right

Handle on Health

By Judith Allender

(Updated: Friday, March 28, 2008, 4:22 PM)

Jennifer has been taking care of her 84-year-old grandmother since she fell and broke a hip more than a month ago. Her grandmother was in a nearby rehabilitation center for two weeks and has been recovering further at home. Jennifer splits her time between her grandmother's place and her own home, where she has a husband and two school-aged children. Besides stating she is "getting through" this responsibility, she has been snapping at her family, and her grandmother and Jennifer has gained 10 pounds.

As a result of her grandmother's injury, Jennifer has altered her usual routine. Instead of having a balanced breakfast with her family, she rushes off to her grandmother's apartment and grabs a donut or sweet roll on the way. She drinks a few cups of coffee while assisting with her grandmother's activities of daily living, nibbles on some of the casseroles neighbors have brought over and before getting home in the evening stops to buy a pizza instead of cooking dinner. She relaxes a few minutes before falling into bed for another restless night, but not before treating herself to a large dish of ice cream with chocolate syrup. Jennifer is taking better care of her grandmother than she is of herself.

Jennifer needs to keep a "food diary" for two days. She should write down everything she eats and drinks. She'll find out she is consuming most of her calories at night and they are high in carbohydrates and fats and low in fiber, protein and other nutrients her body needs during this especially stressful time. She would feel better and sleep better if she redistributed her calories throughout the day better and chose healthier calories.

A key meal is breakfast. She needs protein in the morning and nutritious carbohydrates. She's getting most of her carbohydrates from sugars rather than from starchy carbohydrates, such as from cereals and whole grain breads. Protein seems to be completely missing -- an egg or some low fat cheese.

At lunch she should socialize with her grandmother, while she prepares a light and nutritious lunch for the two of them. At dinner, she again needs protein with some fresh vegetables. A quickly broiled pork chop or hamburger with some steamed vegetables doesn't take long and would be better for the whole family. If Jennifer wants a bedtime snack it should be some low fat cookies or graham crackers and nonfat milk or a piece of fruit.

Caregiving for another person is stressful in and of itself but the caregiver must take care of herself first and paying attention to one's nutrition is a place to start in order to stay well.