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Poor appetite in palliative care
Hiakai koe ki te manaakitanga whakamaene
When you lose your appetite, you stop being hungry and you do not want to eat. It is different from nausea, which means you want to eat but feel sick or that you want to throw up.
Several diseases, especially cancer, can make you lose your appetite. It can be as a result of other symptoms such as pain, nausea, constipation and fatigue. It can be caused by mouth problems or by depression or anxiety.
Eating well will probably not change the course of your illness, but it may help you feel better, give you more energy, and improve your quality of life.
If you have lost your appetite, talk to your healthcare professional about it. It may just be that you are feeling too tired or fed up to bother eating much. Your healthcare professional may have some suggestions that will help you.
How to overcome a poor appetite
There are several tricks that can help you to get your appetite back and eat more.
Food preparation
- Serve food on a smaller plate, use smaller utensils (such as a teaspoon) and eat smaller portions. You can always have extra if you are still hungry.
- If possible, get someone else to prepare and cook your food.
- Avoid foods with strong smells.
- If you have a metallic taste in your mouth, try using plastic utensils.
Mouth care
Keep your mouth fresh and clean before and after meals.
Distractions
Try not to focus too much on eating and having to eat.
- Watching TV, reading or listening to music at mealtimes may help.
- Eat with family or friends when possible.
Drinks
- Even if you are not hungry, try to keep drinking.
- Try using a straw for drinks.
- If you usually enjoy alcohol, a small drink half an hour before meals can help your appetite and is safe to take with pain relief.
The important thing to remember is to try not to think too much about what you eat. If you feel like eating something, have it. Do not be disappointed if something works one day and not the next, as this is common. Be flexible and make eating as enjoyable as possible.
What to eat and when to eat
There are no rules about what to eat and when, but try some of the following tips:
- eat little and often, because being hungry could make your other symptoms worse
- eat when you feel hungry, even if it is not a mealtime
- eat in the morning when your appetite may be better
- choose foods you can easily digest, such as soup, eggs, milk puddings, crackers, stewed fruit, mashed vegetables with gravy, and macaroni cheese
- try foods with different tastes (salty, sour, sweet), textures (smooth, crunchy) and temperatures (cold, warm, hot)
- if you usually follow a low-fat or diabetes diet, or other special diet, it is now more important that you eat what you enjoy, even if it is something you previously avoided. Talk with your nurse about this if you are not sure
- keep a variety of snacks handy so there is something tasty available whenever you are hungry.
Quick and easy snack suggestions
Sweet: breakfast cereal, fruit (fresh, dried or canned), puddings (custard, yoghurt or dairy food), ice blocks, ice cream, frozen yoghurt, fruit juice, jelly, milk or flavoured milk.
Savoury: crackers and cheese, dips or peanut butter, eggs (boiled, poached or scrambled), nuts, pizza, popcorn, soup, sandwiches or toast, pita bread, vegetable juice.
You can find more ideas on How to overcome a poor appetite.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Nurse Maude – Symptom management
This leaflet describes common symptoms and how to deal with them.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed October 2024.
Sources
See also:
Review key: HIPAL-17434
