Your doctor and speech pathologist have found that it is safer for you to drink thickened liquids. This helps the fluids go through your mouth and throat more slowly. This should lower the risk of liquids going into your lungs or causing you to cough.
Basic Tips
Do not eat anything that melts.
Do not add ice cubes to thickened liquids.
You may need to avoid juicy foods like watermelon, apples or oranges.
Drain the juice off canned fruit.
You can buy thickeners at the drug store or order online.
You can buy pre-thickened juices and milk.
Your speech pathologist will teach you the correct way to thicken your liquids.
Dairy products, like milk, take longer to thicken.
Hot drinks that have been thickened tend to become thicker as they cool.
If you mix a drink in advance and let it sit for a long time it will keep getting thicker.
Soups may be pureed in a blender or strained to remove chunks or lumps then thickened with flour, cornstarch, potato flakes, or store-bought thickeners to the right thickness.
Mildly Thick Choices
(Available at UW Health)
Pre-packaged mildly thick:
Apple juice
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
2% milk
Water
Novasource Renal® Nutrition Supplement
Magic Cup® (chocolate, vanilla, orange, wild berry)
Prosource® Gelatein Plus (pineapple)
Kitchen will thicken on request:
Lactaid® milk
Diet lemonade
Grape juice
Iced tea (regular or decaf)
Coffee (decaf)
Hot cocoa
Moderately Thick Choices
(Available at UW Health)
Pre-packaged moderately thick:
Apple juice
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
2% milk
Water
Magic Cup® (chocolate, vanilla, orange, wild berry)
Prosource® Gelatein Plus (pineapple)
Kitchen will thicken on request:
Lactaid® milk
Lemonade
Grape juice
Iced tea (regular or decaf)
Coffee (decaf)
Hot cocoa
Liquids
Some thin liquids are safe on thickened liquid diets if they are thickened. Other types of liquids you need to avoid because they cannot be thickened safely.
Safe If Thickened
Soda
Milk
Tea (hot or cold)
Fruit juice
Water
Nutrition supplements (Boost®, Ensure®)
Coffee
Broth
Soups
Vegetable juice
Lemonade
Avoid
Gelatin
Jell-O®
Frozen yogurt
Popsicles
Sherbet/sorbet
Hard candy
Milkshakes
Malts
Italian ice
Ice cream
Fruit smoothies
Who to Call
If you have more questions, please contact UW Health at one of the phone number listed below. You can also visit our website at www.uwhealth.org/nutrition
Nutrition clinics for UW Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) and American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH) can be reached at: (608) 890-5500.
Nutrition clinics for UW Medical Foundation (UWMF) can be reached at: (608) 287-2770.