Eating with
Dysphagia

Nutrition in dysphagia management

Good nutrition is very important and can be challenging for people with dysphagia, as swallowing difficulties may result in eating or drinking less.

Individuals with swallowing difficulties should continue to eat balanced meals and snacks. You can do this by¹:

• Emphasizing small, more frequent meals (for example, three meals and three snacks per day), as well as high calorie and high protein foods and drinks, to help you get enough nutrition and hydration.
• Increasing the variety of meal choices, and snacks between meals to provide adequate nutrition.
• Focusing on getting enough calories, protein, fibre, fluids, and key micronutrients (vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin E, B vitamins, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc).

How do texture-modified foods and fluids help with safer swallowing?

For people living with dysphagia, the muscles that are responsible for safe swallowing may be weak, which may lead to foods or liquids going down the wrong way, into the airway, rather than into the stomach. Thickened liquids and texture-modified foods may help with swallowing safety by slowing down the movement of liquids in the mouth and throat and creating food textures that are easier to chew and manage in the mouth.Thickened liquids move more slowly and are often easier to handle in the mouth. Changing the texture of food can make it easier to chew and get the food ready to swallow.

Ask your healthcare professional about foods that may be easier for you to eat, and those that may be more challenging. In the meantime, see below for some examples of foods that may be difficult to eat for some people living with dysphagia:

• Thin liquids (If you have been recommended to thicken your liquids by a healthcare professional)
• Juicy foods, which may have one consistency on the plate but separate into liquid and solid once in the mouth, such as watermelon
• Chewy or sticky foods like sweets or dried fruit
• Tough food, such as some cuts of meat, like steak
• Any foods with a crust or crispy topping, like mac and cheese or battered fish
• Bread or bread products, such as muffins
• Stringy, fibrous textures (pineapple, celery, lettuce, bacon)
• Vegetable and fruit skins (broad beans, baked beans, soya beans, peas, grapes)
• Mixed consistency foods (soup with lumps, stewed fruit, minced meat with thin gravy, hard or gritty cereals such as muesli which do not blend with milk)
• Crunchy foods (toast, biscuits, crackers, nuts, flaky pastry, crisps)
• Crumbly foods (bread or pie crusts, crumble biscuits)
• Hard foods (such as hard candies, nuts and seeds)
• Husks (sweetcorn, brown breads, seeds, beans, popcorn)

References:

1. Ballersteros-Pomar, MD et al, J Nutr Health Aging. 2020. 24(6):576-581.