When you have an illness, wound or surgery, or just don’t feel like eating or cooking much, it can be harder to get enough nutrition.

But it is important to continue to focus on nutrition. Having a well-nourished body speeds up your recovery time, strengthens your immune system, preserves your muscle strength, and helps you maintain a healthy weight. It also boosts your energy levels and mental health.¹ This means you can continue to do your daily activities and spend time with your loved ones.

If you notice that

• you are losing weight (your clothes or jewellery are looser than usual),
• you’re not feeling as strong or have as much energy as you did before (you feel more tired after walking or shopping),
• your appetite has dropped (you are less interested in eating or preparing food),
  • Choose snacks that are high in protein and calories and have these in between meals. Some examples include eggs, yoghurt, or custard.

You may want to try some of the nutrition tips below to improve your nutrition. 

How to improve your nutrition: our top tips²

• Choose nourishing drinks after your meals or in between meals. You may like to try a milkshake made with Ensure powder, a hot chocolate milk drink, plain milk, a milky tea, or soy milk.
• Have smaller and more frequent meals so you don’t feel overwhelmed by large portions.
• Eat a palm sized portion of protein food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as often as you can. Protein foods include egg, cheese, meat, fish, and chicken.
• Boost the calories and protein in your food by fortifying it. This is especially helpful if you have a small appetite and don’t want to make your food portion larger. You can add oil, cream, or margarine to boost the calories in food, and mix in skim milk powder, grated cheese, or Ensure  Neutral powder to boost the protein in sweet or savoury food.
• Drink oral nutritional supplements, like Ensure TwoCal HN or Ensure Plus, if you are finding it hard to eat enough protein foods, especially when you are feeling unwell. Speak to your doctor and dietitian about this so they can recommend the most suitable nutritional supplement for you.
• Ask your doctor to refer you to a speech pathologist if you find it difficult to chew or swallow your food or drink. A speech pathologist is a health professional trained to assess swallowing and recommend the food and drink that is at a safe texture for you to eat.

Try one (or more) of these tips to ensure you are getting the nutrition your body needs.

References:

1.  Flanagan D, et al. Managing undernutrition in the elderly - prevention is better than cure. Aust Fam Physician. 2012 Sep;41(9):695-9. Available from: https://www.racgp.org.au/download/documents/AFP/2012/September/201209flanagan.pdf
2. wattersn C, et al. Evidence based practice guidelines for the nutritional management of malnutrition in adult patients across the continuum of care. Nutrition & Dietetics. 2009 Dec; 66(s3):S1–S34. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1747-0080.2009.01383.x