A lecturer from the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University in collaboration with the Thai Dietetic Association, has developed 46 nutritious recipes for swallowing training in the elderly, and patients with difficulty swallowing based on recommendations of The International Dysphagia Diet Standardization (IDDSI). 

“Once you get older and are plagued by oral health and hygiene problems along with other physical conditions that affect the ability to chew and swallow food you can often lose your appetite and this eventually leads to malnutrition and other health problems,” Varanya Techasukthavorn of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University explained the problem that has become an increasingly crucial subject in a full-fledged aging society such as Thailand. 

“There are also patients suffering from brain and neurological conditions, strokes or cancer in the head and neck with side effects caused by the treatment such as stomatitis that causes mouth sores which means they can only eat very soft, mashed food.”  

For this reason, Varanya and her research team came up with “46 Menus to Train Swallowing According to International Standards (IDDSI)” – Thailand’s first cookbook for caregiving of the elderly and those with difficulty swallowing.   

 “Food that trains people to swallow is a rather new concept in Thailand.  The standards for this type of food did not exist before and this is the first recipe book that compiles all the recipes that comply with IDDSI standards,” Varanya explained. 

 “All the recipes derive from the concepts and suggestions compiled from medical practitioners and patients’ feedback.  The Top 5 in the survey are Palo Egg Stew, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Stir-fry with basil, Tom Yum soup with shrimps and stir-fry pumpkin with eggs.”  

“We then developed the foods with the texture and viscosity suitable for the elderly and computed the nutritional value to get the food and drinks with high energy and protein.  The food should also have an appealing appearance similar to what they eat in everyday life to boost the patient’s appetite.” 

The recipes have been tested with patients in many hospitals both in Bangkok and other provinces.