The Best Foods to Eat When You Have a Swallowing Disorder

Anyone who has a swallowing disorder (otherwise known as dysphagia) will have been advised to follow a dysphagia diet. The foods in this diet are recommended because they are easier to move around the mouth and chew. Eating these foods helps to reduce the chances of food going down the windpipe, causing choking. Below is a list of some of the best foods for people with dysphagia:

1. Beverages and Liquids

Liquids or beverages are among the hardest things to swallow when you suffer from dysphagia. However, this doesn’t mean you should avoid them. Avoiding them could lead to a range of other health issues, such as dehydration.

Thankfully, it is possible to change the consistency of liquids to make them easier to swallow. Products such as the nectar-flavored SimplyThick thickener can be added to liquids to make them easier to drink. Adding thickeners to your drinks will allow you to continue enjoying the drinks you’ve always loved.

2. Fruits and Vegetables

We all know the importance of eating five portions of fruit and veg daily, but is this possible if you have dysphagia? The great news is that it is possible to enjoy fruit and veg with this condition. Fruits like soft bananas and tinned fruit that don’t contain seeds can be enjoyed by people who suffer from this condition. On top of this, soft, cooked vegetables that you can slice in half with a fork can also be consumed. This means that you can continue enjoying fruit and vegetables.

3. Meats and Meat Substitutes

While it isn’t advisable to eat dry, tough cuts of meat, such as bacon, hot dogs, and sausages, it is still possible to enjoy other types of meat if you have a swallowing disorder. For example, most people with dysphagia can manage ground meat, fish, and poultry. They also find swallowing soft-boiled, poached, and scrambled eggs easy. Basically, any finely chopped or soft meat is ok to eat when you have this condition.

4. Bread, Cereals, and Other Starchy Foods

If you suffer from a swallowing disorder, avoiding foods like chips, coarse cereals, and dry bread rolls is best, but this doesn’t mean you have to avoid all starchy foods. Many options are available to you, including pancakes or French toast. As well as this, you can enjoy mashed, boiled, or baked potatoes, oatmeal, pasta with plenty of sauce, and cereal that has been moistened with milk.

5. Puddings

Almost all of us enjoy tucking into a pudding from time to time. However, while this may be true, many people with dysphagia worry that they can no longer do this. The good news is that some great choices exist for people with this condition. This includes things like ice cream, jelly, Sherbert, apple sauce, custard, and cobblers without seeds. However, if you enjoy eating dry, course cakes and cookies, you’ll be sad to hear that these aren’t the best foods for people with dysphagia. They can cause choking as they are hard to swallow.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with dysphagia, you may be worrying about what foods you can consume. While there are some foods you should avoid, there are plenty of others you can enjoy.