Research suggests that thickened drinks cause dehydration because they are thick? A lot of the time they are too thick and those with dysphagia don’t like the feel of them or the residue they leave in the mouth. They also make the drinker feel bloated.

We think that is just one issue – but for the sake of discussion let’s say that is the only one.

Could the simple solution be to have a slightly thick category which has the viscosity of naturally thick liquid like fresh orange juice or whole milk?

We’ve managed to do it, although it has been incredibly difficult to get it right. Consequently, we don’t know how anyone can reliably and repeatedly achieve it with the “scoopandhope’ method.

Ours is called Less than 1. Its symbol is < 1. You can see how it fits into our range on our Consistency Translator.

So- what do you think?

Would providing dysphagia patients with drinks at a naturally thick (slightly thick) consistency improve their hydration levels without putting them in danger of aspiration?