{"id":5482,"date":"2019-08-09T14:34:55","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T12:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/vitalites\/pureed-food-for-elderly-people-in-residential-care\/"},"modified":"2022-04-12T21:40:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T19:40:56","slug":"pureed-food-for-elderly-people-in-residential-care","status":"publish","type":"vitalites","link":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/vitalites\/pureed-food-for-elderly-people-in-residential-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Pureed food for elderly people in residential care"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n\t<em>Diet is an important part of caring for the elderly. Extra care is necessary when the state of health requires a <strong>change in diet<\/strong> or <strong>consistency of food<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>\n\t<strong><em><u>WHAT IS DYSPHAGIA?<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\n\t<strong><em><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/swallowing-difficulties\/\">Dysphagia<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/strong><em>, or\u00a0<\/em><strong><em><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/swallowing-difficulties\/\">swallowing issues<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/strong><em>, means <strong>difficulties in swallowing certain types of food<\/strong> or drink. A special diet of a suitable consistency can be served according to the resident\u2019s abilities. Food can be minced or pureed, for example.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>\n\t<strong>What is a pureed meal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\n\tA pureed consistency is smooth with no lumps. All components of a meal \u2013 meat, fish, vegetable and fruit \u2013 can be pureed. Once the main ingredient has been pureed, cream, egg, mashed potato or a gelling agent can be added. A whole meal of suitable consistency can be presented in a pureed form.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tGood food hygiene practices should be strictly followed. Chefs should receive adequate training in the rules and techniques required. These meals should be served as part of an overall nutritional programme designed to fulfil the special needs of elderly persons.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tGiven these constraints, some residential homes prefer to source meals from nutrition specialists.<\/p>\n<h2>\n\t<br \/><strong>Who is pureed food for?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\n\t<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/swallowing-difficulties\/\">Swallowing difficulties<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0may be the\u00a0<strong>consequence\u00a0<\/strong>of several pathologies: neurological problems, cancer, handicap, etc. A <strong>pureed diet <\/strong>can be suitable for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\tDependent elderly persons,<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tPolyhandicapped persons (children and adults),<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tPost-stroke or postoperative patients (especially ear, nose and throat conditions)<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tCancer patients (especially of the tongue, mouth and throat) or those suffering from mucositis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tThe issues may be passing, temporary or long-term. Meal consistency may vary according to ability to swallow and chew and regular monitoring is necessary to ensure that dishes are of a suitable consistency.<\/p>\n<h2>\n\t<strong>What is the right consistency?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\n\tIn France a study conducted in 2007 by the GEMRCN for catering services drew up the following guidelines:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t<strong>Liquid<\/strong>: can be drunk out of a glass or through a straw.<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t<strong>Thin Puree: <\/strong>smooth consistency for both meat and vegetables.<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t<strong>Thick Puree: <\/strong>meat is minced, vegetables are mashed or very tender.<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t<strong>Minced: <\/strong>only meat is minced, except if the protein element is tender.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tIn 2011, the ANAP (Agence National d\u2019Appui \u00e0 la Performance) published a <strong><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.anap.fr\/ressources\/publications\/detail\/actualites\/les-repas-dans-les-etablissements-de-sante-et-medico-sociaux-les-textures-modifiees-mode-demploi\/\">guide to help French residential care homes<\/a><\/u><\/strong>\u00a0introduce suitable meals.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tIn 2015, an international group of speech therapists introduced a common framework to standardise terminology and practices: the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative framework. It comprises five grades for food:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\tGrade 7: Regular<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tGrade 6: Soft and bite-sized<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tGrade 5: Minced and moist<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tGrade 4: Pureed<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tGrade 3: Liquidised<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\n\t<strong>Elderly persons in residential care\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\n\tMeal quality greatly affects the level of satisfaction for residents and their families. The meals served should take account of tastes, habits and constraints. However, catering for individual tastes can be problematic for many establishments.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tNot to mention the strict hygiene requirements.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tDetermining the most suitable consistency can be an issue, due to a lack of training, a lack of speech therapists and the responsibility shouldered by staff.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe problem can be addressed in several ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\tDishes made on site,<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tDishes made off-site and delivered,<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\tSupply of ready meals to which chefs can add a personal touch (sauce, presentation etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tGreat care should be taken with presentation. A colourful, appealing dish stimulates the appetite. Herbs and spices can be added according to taste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Diet is an important part of caring for the elderly. Extra care is necessary when the state of health requires a change in diet or consistency of food. WHAT IS DYSPHAGIA? Dysphagia, or\u00a0swallowing issues, means difficulties in swallowing certain types of food or drink. A special diet of a suitable consistency can be served according [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5483,"template":"","thematique_blog":[24],"tags_blog":[],"class_list":["post-5482","vitalites","type-vitalites","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","thematique_blog-alimentation-adaptee"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vitalites\/5482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vitalites"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vitalites"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"thematique_blog","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thematique_blog?post=5482"},{"taxonomy":"tags_blog","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrisens.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags_blog?post=5482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}