What is Soft Diet

What It Is
A diet that allows fruits and vegetables with low-cellulose content as well as fish and meat with no or very little connective tissues. This diet aims to reduce the work load of the digestive system. Proper food selection will provide both the person's nutrient needs together with the rest of the digestive system's needs.

Some Tips:

• Choose fruits low in cellulose content like banana and apple.

• Choose vegetables low in cellulose content like chayote (vegetable pear), carrots, green papaya, upo (bottle gourd), and squash preferably without skin and seeds.

• Choose fish and meat with no tough connective tissues.

• Choose polished rice and white bread rather than whole grain cereals.

• Avoid foods that have caffeine, alcohol and pepper.

• Avoid spicy foods like instant noodles, chips, spicy nuts, sauces, and fatty foods. They can cause discomfort and irritation.

• Observe your tolerance for eating. Since food effects vary from one person to another, master your digestive system. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole cereals, nuts, and grains may negatively affect some patients.

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Mechanical Soft Diet (3-Day Sample Menu)

Day 1

Breakfast
6:00-7:00

• Mashed banana

• Mechanical soft sauteed potato-egg

• White bread with jam

• Oatmeal with milk

• Soy coffee

Lunch
11:45-12:15

• Mechanical soft tokwa adobo

• Mechanical-soft sauteed squash

• Soft rice

• Gelatin delight

Supper
6:00-6:30

• Arroz caldo

• Warm milk

• Soft fruit salad

Day 2

Breakfast
6:00-7:00

• Papaya

• White bread with peanut butter or mashed potato

• Champorado with milk

• Warm milk, no sugar

Lunch
11:45-12:15

• Mechanical soft sweet-and-sour gluten

• Mechanical soft boiled chayote (vegetable pear)

• Soft rice

• Juice

Supper
6:00-6:30

• Sauteed mongo beans

• Lugaw

• Soft fresh fruit

• Juice

Day 3

Breakfast
6:00-7:00

• Scraped apple

• Chopped tempura chunks

• Champorado

• Salabat

Lunch
11:45-12:15

• Mechanical soft vegetarian apritada

• Pureed malunggay

• Lugaw

• Soymilk

Supper
6:00-6:30

• Mechanical soft chili beans

• Lugaw

• Fresh buko

Note: The modification of this diet is simple. Balanced diet is cooked with added, water and is either mashed, chopped, pureed, blended or osteorized.

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Mechanical Soft Diet (Food Selection Guide)

Foods Allowed

Carbohydrate-rich Foods

• Soft Rice (if tolerable to patient)

• Oats

• Lugaw

• Mashed potato, mashed camote (sweet potato), mashed saba (banana)

• Soft bread

• Soft cookies

Protein-rich Foods

For Vegetarians

• Well-done legumes cooked with sabaw (soup)

• Chopped or ground vegetarian products

For Non-Vegetarians

• All well-cooked chopped, flaked or ground lean meat and fish

• Flaked fish

• Poached egg

Vegetables

• Diced string or Baguio beans

• Diced chayote (vegetable pear), carrots

• Mashed squash

• Well-cooked eggplant

Fruits

• All soft fruits

• Crispy fruits which can be scraped like apple, pear

• Any fruits, blended

Beverages

• Fruit juices, milk, fruit shakes, milk shakes

Foods Not Allowed

Carbohydrate-rich Foods

• Hard-cooked rice and cereals

• Hard crackers

Protein-rich Foods

• Litid (ligament e.g. beef)

Vegetables

• Raw or half-cooked 

Fruit

• Hard

Beverages

• Alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea and cola drinks

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What is Mechanical Soft Diet

What It Is
A diet which follows the principle of the balanced diet but includes only foods that are easy to chew and swallow. This diet is prescribed to persons with chewing difficulty or disability. Depending on the patient's tolerance, food is broken down to smaller particles by mechanical means such as grinding, mashing, chopping and pureeing.

Some Tips:

• Choose foods that could be mashed, ground, chopped, pureed or blended.

• Cook rice and other cereals until soft.

• Work with clean hands, equipment, utensils and containers to minimize contamination and spoilage.

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What is Cold Liquid Diet (Tonsil Diet)

What It Is
Any liquid that could be served cold or iced. This diet aims at bringing relief to fresh mouth sores or surgery. The cold liquid diet is not nutritionally adequate. This diet is usually prescribed to patients for not more than 2 days.

Some Tips

• Shift to mechanical soft diet gradually subsisting on cold liquids and intravenous fluid.
• Plan and choose liquids that are good sources of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

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What is Clear Liquid Diet

What it is
The clear liquid diet allows foods that have no/low residue and fat. This is nutritionally inadequate and should not be given for more than 2 days unless ordered by the doctor. This diet is usually prescribed together with nutrient supplements.

The diet aims to prevent dehydration or, for some reasons, to clear the gastrointestinal tract.

Some Tips

• Give clear liquids as often as possible to prevent dehydration and to help increase calorie intake. Allow a feeding interval of 2 to 3 hours.
• Drink a variety of clear liquids like clear or strained juices, jello and fat-free broth.
• Add salt and/or sugar to the clear liquids to increase electrolytes and/or calories.

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What is Bland Diet (CAP-free diet)

What it is
A bland diet provides foods that are not irritating to the digestive tract and do not increase acid production in the stomach.

CAP stands for: C = Caffeine; A = Alcohol; P = Pepper

Stimulating foods containing CAP are to be avoided.

Some Tips

• Avoid foods that have caffeine, alcohol and pepper.

• Eat regularly.

• Eat in a relaxed manner.

• Manage stress. It can overly increase gastric secretion.

• Observe your tolerance for eating. Since food effects vary from one person to another, master your digestive system. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole cereals, nuts, and grains may negatively affect some patients.

• Avoid spicy foods like instant noodles, chips, spicy nuts, sauces, and fatty foods. They can cause discomfort and irritation.

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What is Balanced Diet

What It Is
Balanced Diet is a food preparation which provides complete nutrients as well as supplies carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fiber in their normal proportions. It is the basis for all diet modifications.

Some Tips

• Eat 3 meals a day instead of frequent ones or eating between meals.

• Establish a regular eating habit.

• Eat a heavy breakfast, a moderate lunch, and a light supper.

• Eat food of the right kind, at the right time and interval, in the right amount, and in the right condition of mind (eating in a relaxed atmosphere is ideal).

• Have at least a 5-hour interval between meals for digestion to be efficient. Last meal of the day should be taken at least 3 hours before sleeping.

• Eat more fresh fruits instead of rich desserts.

• Eat at least one serving of dark green leafy vegetables a day.

• Eat more unrefined, unprocessed foods.

• Avoid tea, coffee, alcoholic and carbonated beverages (soft drinks).

• Drink at least 6 glasses of water a day between meals.

• Include a variety of foods each meal.

• Take time to enjoy your food. Do not hurry.

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