Dysphagia can make eating and drinking more difficult, but that doesn’t mean food needs to become bland, repetitive or unappealing. The right approach is to provide food that matches the person’s prescribed texture while still delivering the nutrition, flavour and enjoyment they need from every meal.
For some people with dysphagia, this may mean texture-modified food such as IDDSI Level 4 – Pureed or IDDSI Level 5 – Minced & Moist meals. The appropriate texture will depend on the individual person, so food and fluid recommendations should always follow advice from a speech pathologist and the person’s care plan.
What Food Helps People with Dysphagia?
There isn’t one specific “dysphagia diet” that’s right for everyone. What matters is choosing food with the right texture, enough nutrition and plenty of appeal. Three things are particularly important:
The right texture
Someone with dysphagia may need their food modified to make it easier to manage when chewing and swallowing. The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) provides a framework for describing different food and drink textures.
The Pure Food Co’s texture-modified meals include IDDSI Level 4 – Pureed and IDDSI Level 5 – Minced & Moist options, with consistent textures across proteins, vegetables and other familiar foods. Whatever texture has been prescribed, the whole meal needs to remain suitable (sauces, sides and garnishes can change how a meal behaves, so they need to meet the same requirements as the rest of the plate).
Protein and energy-dense food
When eating becomes harder or more tiring, getting enough nutrition from food can become more challenging too… and that makes every mouthful count. Fortified and nutrient-dense foods can help provide more nutrition without relying on larger portions. Protein is particularly important for older adults, which is why The Pure Food Co develops chef-crafted, fortified meals designed to support higher protein requirements.
Smaller meals and snacks throughout the day can also create more opportunities to add nutrition. The Pure Food Co range includes savoury snacks designed for “little and often” dining, alongside protein dishes, vegetables, carbohydrates and desserts.
Food that still looks and tastes like food
Texture modification shouldn’t mean taking the enjoyment out of eating. Colour, flavour, variety and presentation can all help make meals more appealing. Instead of serving an indistinguishable plate of blended food, familiar meal components can be presented separately so diners can recognise what they’re eating and enjoy different flavours across the plate.
The Pure Food Co’s range includes familiar dishes such as roast lamb, Golden Chicken, Beef Bolognese, Creamy Fish, vegetables, baked beans and desserts, giving diners more choice while maintaining a consistent prescribed texture.
Practical Food Ideas for Someone with Dysphagia
The exact foods will depend on the person’s prescribed IDDSI level, but a well-planned dysphagia menu may include:
- Texture-appropriate protein foods, such as beef, lamb, chicken, pork, fish or egg dishes prepared to the required consistency
- Texture-modified vegetables, providing colour, flavour and variety alongside the main meal
- Suitable carbohydrate choices, such as appropriately prepared potato, rice, pumpkin or other sides
- Fortified meals and snacks to add protein and energy without necessarily increasing portion size
- Small snacks between meals, particularly when larger meals are difficult to finish
- Desserts and sweet foods that provide another opportunity to add nutrition and enjoyment
- Plenty of menu variety, rather than repeating the same few meals simply because somebody requires a modified texture
- Careful use of sauces and garnishes, making sure anything added to the plate is suitable for the person’s prescribed texture
The important point is that a food’s name alone doesn’t make it suitable for dysphagia. Its finished texture as served needs to match the individual person’s swallowing recommendations.
Where to next?
In the past, people on texture modified diets, especially long-term, often suffered from a lack of choice. The options they did have also tended to appear unattractive, colourless and were generally unappealing. Combined with this, it can be a significant burden on anyone caring for these people to devise, prepare and cook a range of safe, delicious and nutritious texture modified meals.
That’s changed.
Texture-modified food can still include recognisable flavours, different proteins and vegetables, desserts and familiar dishes. The Pure Food Co develops its meals with chefs, food technologists and dietitians, with a focus on safe, consistent textures alongside flavour and nutrition.
For aged care and healthcare providers, ready-made individually portioned meals can also reduce some of the variation that comes with preparing texture-modified food from scratch. A more standardised approach can help teams deliver a consistent texture, portion and preparation method across meal services.
Innovative food companies such as Pure Food Co through their research and development arm, are viewing the preparation of modified texture foods as an opportunity and a challenge – it’s almost a new kind of “MasterChef” contest. Not only does the food have to be nutritious, meeting the needs of people that may carry health conditions on top of an ineffective swallow, but it needs to look good and taste great too!
Harry’s story
So what does this all mean? Well, let’s talk about Harry* – a 6 year old with a neurological condition that affects his ability to chew and swallow.
For Harry, having access to commercially prepared Pureed meals means there’s a range of tasty food available in a safe and consistent texture. It also makes an enormous practical difference for his mum, Sally.
Sally previously spent hours each day preparing Harry’s meals. Having ready-to-eat options available means she can spend less time preparing food while still knowing Harry has access to meals designed around his swallowing and nutritional needs. More importantly, it gives the family something back that can easily get lost when eating becomes complicated: time to simply be together.
Good Food Still Matters When Swallowing Becomes Difficult
A swallowing difficulty changes the way food may need to be prepared, but it shouldn’t remove the things that make eating worthwhile.
Food for people with dysphagia should bring together the prescribed texture, good nutrition, familiar flavours, variety and appealing presentation. When those elements work together, texture-modified food can do much more than meet a clinical requirement. It can help make mealtimes something to look forward to again.
The Pure Food Co creates fortified Pureed and Minced & Moist meals for aged care and healthcare providers, with a wide range of proteins, vegetables, carbohydrates, snacks and desserts designed to make safe, nourishing food easier to serve consistently.
*’Harry’ is a real life case for New Zealand – The Pure Food Company has significantly changed and improved quality of life for both Harry and his family by providing him with delicious, ready-to-eat puree meals.