MODULE 1: METHODOLOGY AND TOOLS DEVELOPMENT FOR ADULT EDUCATORS

• Dysphagia-adapted foods and beverages are commonly used to treat individuals who require long-term dysphagia management.

• People diagnosed with dysphagia usually find safer and easier to swallow food and beverages with adapted consistency and smooth texture.

• A speech and language therapist or any other healthcare professional should determine the severity of dysphagia and the required level of modification for each person.

• Those professionals may also recommend the use of a special thickening agent that will help the person preparing the dish to get exactly the right consistency each time.

• Foods should preferentially exhibit safe eating characteristics (avoid choking or aspiration), provide adequate nutrition and also give sensory enjoyment (for example, having good taste).

Food and beverages for dysphagia management (1) _ Safe eating

Adaptation of foods and beverages for dysphagia management is mainly focused on modifying their viscosity, particle size and textural characteristics in order to ensure the safety during consumption.

The foodstuffs recommended for dysphagia diets should be soft, moist, elastic, smooth, and easy to swallow.

For example, foods for head and neck cancer patients should be soft and moist; these may include such foods as soups, puddings, yogurts, jellies, apple sauces, custards, gelatins, smoothies, and soft cookies or baked goods in milk.

Sticky and adhesive textures as well as thin liquids should be avoided since these textures can cause food residue to accumulate in the oropharynx and may lead to aspiration after swallowing.

The beverages should have the right consistency and viscosity.

However, the physical nature of a foodstuff must be assessed comprehensively not only in terms of its hardness or softness but also considering matters such as cohesiveness, adhesiveness and viscosity.

Cohesiveness

Cohesive foods to compensate for difficulties in chewing or bolus formation. Foods that break up are more likely to be retained in the mouth or pharynx, resulting in aspiration.

Adhesiveness

Adhesiveness is defined as the work necessary to overcome the attractive forces between the surface of the food and that of other parts of the mouth which the food comes into contact with.

Viscosity

Fluids with the appropriate degree of viscosity rather than thin liquids should be used. Foods that are too viscous, however, are not suitable as they may be retained in the mouth or pharynx.

Note: Review Unit 4.2. for more information about rheological properties in dysphagia oriented products