Food Supplements in Liquid Form: How Can They Be Useful?

If a person becomes malnourished, it may be necessary to include nutrients in their diet by means of food supplements in liquid form. What are these?

On occasion, it may be necessary to include food supplements in liquid form in your diet. For instance, you may be suffering from a digestion problem or have trouble swallowing. Or perhaps you have an insufficient intake of nutrients from your diet. These situations can sometimes crop up in older adults or in people suffering from some condition that affects their digestive tract.

Below, we’ll show you some situations where food supplements in liquid form can be useful. You should have a good idea of what products to choose and what guidelines you should follow to have an adequate diet.

Don’t forget that either a qualified nutritionist or your doctor is in the best position to advise you when you’re starting any new dietary habits. Starting supplements without professional guidance may do you more harm than good.

Liquid food supplements and cancer

Patients with cancer of the digestive tract can have problems swallowing food, especially when the tumor is in the mouth or the throat. When the patient can’t eat normally, liquid food supplements are necessary, such as smoothies or shakes for instance. These must contain all of the nutrients the patient needs for their body to keep functioning.

What kind of food is suitable for a cancer patient? Well, their diet shouldn’t contain any sugars, and preferably little or no carbohydrates either. Why? It’s because the ketogenic diet (low or no sugars and carbs) has proved to be effective in helping to treat cancer.

This is what an investigation shows that was published in Recent Results in Cancer Research. It affirms that the ketogenic diet can reduce tumor growth and increase the effects of chemotherapy.

It’s also vital that the patient’s diet includes high doses of vitamins C and D. Both nutrients help to reduce inflammation and the production of free radicals in the body. This is a game-changer in tumor treatments, as a study from the magazine Biochemical Society Transactions confirms.

Food supplements for older adults

Another case where food supplements in liquid form may be important is in that of older adults. They may not be able to get all of the nutrients they need from their normal diet. This is because a lack of appetite or taste can cause them to decrease the amount of solid food they consume.

Smoothies can also be useful here. They should have a strong flavor to stimulate a person’s appetite and be somewhat higher in calories than normal. This isn’t to cause the person to put on weight, but rather to cover their daily calorie requirements.

Without food supplements, the person may start to become undernourished, which in turn could lead to the development of other potentially life-threatening disorders.

Malnourished people can also benefit from liquid nutrients

The last of the situations we’re going to look at today has to do with adults who are malnourished. A person may suffer from malnourishment for various causes. One cause might be a disease. Another person may have great difficulty in obtaining a sufficient variety of foods to have a balanced diet. Whatever the case may be, if someone becomes malnourished, it’s very important to address their dietary needs.

What can you do to incorporate the nutrients you need in your diet if you’re suffering from malnutrition? Remember a good option is to use liquid food supplements. However, under these circumstances, it’s essential to increase your calorie intake very gradually. Why?

If you suddenly and drastically increase your nutrient intake, you could suffer from refeeding syndrome. This syndrome causes a very low level of potassium in the blood, which can lead to death.

It would be best to speak to a health care professional about your circumstances. They can help you work out a dietary plan so you can get the nutrients you need and avoid complications.

Food supplements in liquid form, a useful resource

Adding nutrients to your diet in liquid form is something that has greater use than just in the context of sports and exercise. It can also be very useful to use food supplements in liquid form for adults, whether they have a health condition or not. The idea is to increase the intake of nutrients or to help with the management of some diseases.

Make sure you always speak to a nutritionist before making any changes to your diet. You should be aware that a uniquely liquid diet, even if it has sufficient nutrients, can cause digestive problems, which may contribute to other issues.

The ideal thing is to base your diet on a balanced consumption of solid foods. However, as we’ve seen, sometimes that’s not possible. In these cases, food supplements in liquid form can be an efficient way to avoid missing out on the nutrients you need. They can even be useful in helping to combat diseases such as cancer.

Increasing your intake of some substances and reducing others using food supplements in liquid form can be a great advantage.