What Is Considered a Soft Food Diet?
Soft food diets are prescribed to patients recovering from surgery or who have diseases or disorders of the upper digestive system. While some foods, such as mashed potatoes, are obvious soft food choices, there are plenty of other options that can add variety and nutrition to the diet.
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What is a Soft Food Diet?
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A soft food diet (also known as a "soft diet") consists of foods that are bland, moderately low in fat, and soft in texture. In some cases soft foods can be consumed whole. In other cases it is necessary to blend, mash, or puree foods to make them easier to swallow and digest.
Who needs a Soft Food Diet?
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Doctors prescribe soft food diets for many reasons, usually because a patient is recovering from radiation treatment to, or surgery on, the mouth, jaw, throat, or stomach. People with mouth sores or have problems chewing may also be placed on a soft food diet.
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Soft Food Examples
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According to guidelines available on the National Institutes of Health website, soft foods include noodles, steamed rice, tender meats, creamy peanut butter, unfried eggs, bananas, avocados, and hot cereals.
Patients and caregivers should follow dietary instructions from a medical or dietary professional, as some people may be more, or less, restricted in their soft food diet.
Foods to Avoid
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High-fat, spicy, tough, and stringy foods aren't permitted with a soft food plan. Foods that contain whole seeds, sharp edges (such as a crisp flatbread), fish scales (such as sardines) should be avoided. Raw fruits and vegetables (except lettuces, bananas, and avocados) are also not permitted.
Preparing Soft Foods
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When preparing a soft food diet avoid frying and don't use whole or coarsely ground spices. Meats should be braised or slow cooked for maximum tenderness, and fish has to be thoroughly deboned.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Or Hiltch
