Dysphagia is a condition marked by trouble eating and swallowing food. Sometimes dysphagia is caused by problems with the muscles and nerves in the mouth, which impairs chewing and transferring food to the back of the mouth. Problems with the esophagus can also cause dysphagia. If you have dysphagia, you need to make changes to your diet to prevent aspiration and malnutrition.
Foods to Avoid
When planning a diet for dysphagia, you should exclude certain foods. For example, dysphagia diets typically exclude nuts, raw fruits and vegetables, FPNotebook explains, regardless of the level if dysphagia, you should avoid foods with tough skins or that are very "stringy" or fibrous. Patients may also have trouble with very crisp or deep fried foods, as these substances can be a choking hazard if you have trouble chewing or swallowing.
Textures
Dysphagia diets have to help patients identify food textures that they can handle. Many different aspects of food come under the umbrella of texture, including how firm it is, how much it sticks together or to the patient's mouth, its springiness and its viscosity, a 2010 article in the "American Journal of Nursing" explains. Some patients may only be able to handle pureed foods or semi-solid substances, such as mashed potatoes or pudding, while others can handle softer foods that require some chewing.
Liquids
Thin liquids can pose a problem for some patients with dysphagia because these liquids travel quickly down the throat and can cause choking. Pre-thickened water or juice may be needed in these cases; there are also commercially available thickening agents that can be used to help prevent choking. Different types of liquids, however, need different thickening agents; for example, starch affects the viscosity of orange juice differently than apple juice because orange juice typically contains some pulp, which makes the drink thicker.
Considerations
The American Dietetic Association created a National Dysphagia Diet, which proposes the classification of food, depending on the severity of the dysphagia, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association notes. While this diet provides some useful guidelines, dividing diets into broad categories based on ill-defined stages of dysphagia can cause individual patient needs to be overlooked. As a result, dysphagia diets should be tailored to the specific needs of the patient.
