

If you blend in enough milk and it can then run off of a spoon, it’s now a full liquid.įor individuals who are low in weight or at risk of being malnourished, they should consume high fat, high calorie, and high protein foods to help maintain weight while on full liquids. Ex: mashed potatoes stick to a spoon and that’s not a full liquid. A good test to check if an item is a “full liquid” is to see if it runs off of a spoon. What is a full liquid diet?Ī full liquid diet consists of foods in a liquid form- they can be thickened but they must have no solid chunks of food present. Especially if they are diabetic, it’s more important than ever to manage blood sugars for healing and avoidance of infection! And a bigger “especially” is if a person is battling cancer- we really don’t want to add fuel (sugar) to that fire! Not only are all of the full liquid foods mostly sugar, the meal replacements (Boost/Ensure) are ~48% carbohydrate per serving. After explaining the above, they are usually happy to give themselves the best chance at healing well and recovering faster. In my own outpatient and clinical practices, I avoid giving my patient’s the hospital handouts and instead recommend more nutrient dense foods to eat. If you have trouble chewing or swallowing foods (dysphagia)

Radiation to head/neck/throat (if not on tube feeding) Typical surgeries that would require a full liquid diet for a couple of weeks or more: If it doesn’t, it will borrow from other body tissues if it has to, essentially weakening the whole body to a degree. A body that is fighting infection (because it’s happening whether it can be seen or not!) and building tissues should have materials ready for it to work with.

If someone only lived on the above foods for days to weeks, that would be all the nutrition their body is receiving while trying to heal from a procedure which requires the best building blocks that can be provided. They emphasize high sugar, low protein and fat foods like:Īt any age, surgery is difficult for the body to recover from. Most hospitals or offices that offer a “full liquid” or blenderized diet after surgeries offer a short list of foods options that can be nutritionally inadequate. The Nutritionally Balanced Version For Short & Long Term Users
