Sudden diet change can be ‘first symptom’ of dementia with early start – striking before classic signs of the condition, doctors warn

Bizarre changes in eating habits – such as a lifelong vegetarian suddenly yearning for meat – could be an easily missed sign of dementia, warns a top doctor.

Unusual desires for food can also indicate the condition, especially in cases with early start, which influence those younger than 65.

In a Tiktok, almost 30,000 times, the University of Southampton dementia expert Dr. Kellyn Lee said that changes in dietary habits can be like a shock for loved ones.

“When we think about food, we often know that person for a long time,” she said.

‘We know what they eat, we know what they like and what they don’t like. But when the brain doesn’t work like before … Tastes changes. ‘

The psychologist added: ‘For example, someone who has always loved fish and chips does not like them now.

‘Someone who has always enjoyed lunch with roast beef, absolutely in any way, they will eat.

‘Food texture can feel different [so people might think] Something that used to be in my mouth in my mouth is no longer okay. ‘

The warning from Dr. Lee is supported by charity settings that also warn that changes in the diet can be an early sign of a specific form of dementia that usually stands out younger people.

Dementia Charity, the Alzheimer’s Society, says that a person suddenly craves sweet, fat food can be a potential sign of frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

This is a rare form of the disease that influences behavior and personality instead of memory.

FTD accounts for two percent of the cases of the condition in the UK.

However, it is seen in about 12 percent of the cases of dementia with early start-defined as diagnosis before 65.

This food -related behavior is much more common in FTD than at Alzheimer’s, showing studies, in which many patients experience more appetite, binge eating or loss of table manners.

Experts say that such changes are one of the most distinctive – but often overlooked – early symptoms of the disease.

The Alzheimer’s Society also said that dementia patients can generally undergo challenging changes in their nutritional preferences that can be painful for families to deal with.

Dementia is a memory distribution that teases nearly 1 million British and 7 million Americans

Patients with dementia who have never eaten meat or specifically for religious reasons for religious reasons, suddenly cannot regard this as a problem.

Respond to the video of Dr. Lee, a number of users in detail how dementia had changed how and what their loved ones ate.

“My mother was a vegetarian for 35 years. Now, with FTD, and recently to go to full -time care, she eats everything and much of it, “they wrote.

Another said: ‘My husband says that food ensures that his tongue tingles/burns. Very difficult to find things he will eat now. ‘

A third, who worked in dementia -care, added: ‘A resident came in, family said she is a strict vegetarian, resident did not like vegetarian meals, but started opting for meat meals. Family was not happy. ‘

As part of her video, Dr. Lee ensures that a different food -related challenge that can arise with the care of people with dementia is that they often forget that they have just eaten and request more food.

“You might have just had lunch and then give it for half an hour and you might be in the lounge and the person says,” Ok, so are we lunch now? “, Or” When did we have lunch? We haven’t had lunch yet. “

“Then you could say to the person:” We have lunch, we’ve already had lunch. ‘That can escalate in an argument or fear of the person because they cannot remember that they have that. ‘

University College London scientists estimate that the number of people with dementia in the UK will rise to 1.7 million within two decades, because people live longer

Instead, Dr. Lee to use what a distraction task is called, in essence reassuring a person he would soon eat and use an activity, such as calling in some music, to re -focus their attention elsewhere.

“So it’s a case that you say,” Ok, we can have lunch right away, “and then you use a distraction task,” she said.

Around 944,000 in the UK is supposed to live with dementia, while it is thought that the figure is about seven million in the US.

A recent analysis of the Alzheimer’s Society estimated that the total annual costs of dementia for the UK are £ 42 billion a year, with families with the victims.

An aging population means that these costs – which include lost income from unpaid carers – will rise to £ 90 billion in the next 15 years.

Although dementia can be caused by multiple health problems, it is usually activated by Alzheimer’s disease.

Memory problems, thinking and reasoning problems and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition that worsen over time.

Alzheimer UK analysis of Alzheimer’s UK research showed that 74,261 people died of dementia in 2022 compared to 69.178 a year earlier, making it the biggest murderer in the country.