Diet Chart For dysphagia

Dysphagia means difficulty with chewing or swallowing food or liquid. To understand how this might happen, it is important to know something about how swallowing occurs. First, food must be chewed thoroughly. Then it is moved to the back of the mouth by tightening the cheek muscles and pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth. From this point on the process becomes automatic — it is a reflex that people do not actively control. In “rapid- fire” succession, the soft palate closes the nasal airway to prevent food from backing into it, the airway into the lungs is closed, and the esophagus (food pipe) relaxes allowing food and liquid to enter it. The muscular esophagus then contracts in a wave-like action, sweeping the food along into the stomach. fluid can be thickened to make it easier to swallow. However, close monitoring by the dysphagia team is required for anyone drinking less than 4 cups of thickened fluid a day or anyone not progressing to thin liquids within 4 weeks.

The greater problem for some patients is eating enough calories. The whole process of eating simply becomes too difficult and too tiring. However, calorie and protein intake can be increased by fortifying the foods the patient does eat. Food can be ground/diced into 1/4-inch pieces, crushed potato, tomato, pudding, ice-cream and Lemonade and Oatmeal can be eaten.

1. Dry or tough meats : Hot dogs, Bacon, Sausage links, Beef tips, Peanut butter, Cubed cheese, cheese slices, Non-pureed fried, scrambled, or hard-cooked eggs, Nuts, Seeds.
2. Starches, Breads & Cereals : Bread or bread products, Bagels, dinner rolls, Pizza, Rice, Granola, Cold cereal, Crispy, fried food, Popcorn, Crackers & Chips.
3. Fruits : Raw, whole fruits, Dried fruits, Pineapple, oranges, or other stringy, high pulp fruit.
4. Vegetables : Raw, whole vegetables, Salads
5. Soups : Soups with chunks of meat or vegetables
6. Deserts : Hard cookies, Hard candy, Chewing gum, Chewy candy or desserts
7. Olives, Pickles

1. Consume a wide variety of foods to ensure your body gets essential nutrients.
2. Eat small, frequent meals.
3. Chew small bits- large bits may be difficult to swallow.
4. Eat both hot and cold foods to provide a variety of temperatures in the diet.
5. Sit the Patient in An upright, Erect Position: Sit the patient in a way that he/she is upright in an erect position. If unable to position themselves, you can prop them up with a few pillows.
6. Patient Should be Positioned Head Tilted Forward/Chin Down: Assist the patient to tilt their head forward with their chin in a slightly forward position. It helps open the passage down to the oesophagus, unlike the head tilted back position which makes swallowing more difficult.
7. Place food in the Stronger Side of the Mouth: If the patient has a facial weakness, be sure to place food onto the stronger side of the mouth. This is especially important as it will not only allow for maximum feeding, but also improve safety during feeding.
8. Add more Support to the Impaired Side of the Patient’s Body: If one side of the patient’s body is weaker than the other, be sure to support the weaker side during feeding. This will make it much easier for the force of gravity to bring food bolus downward and pass through the impaired side with great ease.
9. Position Yourself at or Below your Patient’s Eye Level: Sitting at or slightly below the patient’s eye level will make it easier for him/her for keep and maintain their head in the best feeding position and also allow them to feed much more comfortably.

1. Thinned cooked cereals
2. Pureed meats, fish, and poultry
3. Pureed scrambled eggs and cheese
4. Baby cereals
5. Pureed ham, tuna, and chicken salad
6. Pureed vegetables(avoid peas and corn)
7. Mashed potatoes
8. Pureed candled sweet potatoes
9. Decaffeinated Coffee/Tea
10. Ice cream
11. Pureed fruits
12. Thick milkshakes
13. Plain yoghurt
14. Cream