Family caregivers need nutrition guidance for older relatives’ diets

Family caregivers nutrition guidance is becoming a larger health issue as millions of Americans help older relatives follow diets shaped by chronic disease, age-related changes and food preferences. Minakshi Raj, a health services researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, says many caregivers handle those tasks with little formal training.

More than 60 million people in the U.S. care for a relative, friend or neighbor, according to caregiving research cited by Raj in The Conversation. Raj and her colleagues estimate that about one in four family caregivers of older adults help with nutrition or diet changes.

The work can cover menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking and making sure an older person eats enough. Raj said caregivers she interviews often do not see the full scope of that labor until they are asked to describe it in detail.

Why is nutrition harder for older adults with chronic conditions?

Dietary needs change with age: older adults often need fewer calories but more protein, fiber and other nutrients to help maintain muscle, bone and overall health, Raj wrote. Changes in taste buds and lower saliva production can also affect what foods are appealing or easy to eat.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than seven in 10 older adults have more than one chronic condition. Raj noted that diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, kidney disease and osteoporosis can require different dietary choices, and those needs can conflict when a person has several conditions.

For example, Raj wrote, a person with type 2 diabetes may be advised to limit refined carbohydrates and eat more foods with fiber, protein and fat to steady blood sugar. If that same person also has kidney disease, they may need to limit foods high in potassium or phosphorus, including some vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes and nuts.

Family food traditions can add another layer. Raj said many caregivers have to adapt advice that is often written around Western or American meals to older relatives who prefer culturally familiar foods, or who follow vegan diets or have food sensitivities.

What nutrition help can family caregivers get?

A registered dietitian nutritionist can help families match food choices with a relative’s medical conditions, medicines, therapies and preferences, Raj wrote. A dietitian is a licensed nutrition professional trained to turn medical diet advice into meal plans that people can use at home.

Raj said dietitians remain underused, partly because families may not know what they do and partly because insurance coverage can be limited. Since 2025, Medicare has allowed registered dietitians to train family caregivers on special diets for conditions such as diabetes or chronic kidney disease, even when the patient is not present, according to Medicare policy changes cited by Raj.

Raj also pointed to online help from groups such as the American Diabetes Association, which offers recipes and disease-specific nutrition information. For families adapting traditional cuisines, she cited Oldways, a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization, as a resource for global meal patterns that can fit nutrition goals.

Caregivers can also reduce guesswork with basic kitchen systems, Raj wrote. Planning a week of meals around grains, proteins, vegetables, fruits and dairy can make shopping more focused and reduce waste, while involving the older relative can preserve choice and routine.

For older adults who need to cut sodium, Raj said home cooking with herbs and spices can help replace some of the flavor that packaged and prepared foods often get from salt. Small changes like those can make a demanding caregiving role more manageable while keeping food connected to comfort, memory and family life.

This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.