Thanks to Nestle Health Science for sponsoring this post and for their support of Cancer Services! Their sponsorship will support our educational programs for survivors.
Most people are familiar with the BOOST® nutritional drink. They’re the beverages that are often used in nursing homes, or hospitals when someone isn’t eating well. Or we all have a family member who hasn’t had the best appetite as they aged, and we used BOOST® nutritional drinks to supplement their food intake.
For people during cancer treatment, BOOST®, and other brands of nutritional drinks, can make a real difference. Many of you probably know first hand how cancer treatment affected your ability to eat. Malnutrition is a very serious risk for people during cancer treatment. Without adequate calories and protein, the body can’t heal.
Not getting enough nutrition can result in the following:
- Weight loss
- Muscle loss
- Muscle weakness
- Low energy
- Easily fatigued
- Delayed healing
One of the best ways to know if you’re not eating enough is the scale. Also, pay attention to your body. If you notice changes in your strength or your clothes fitting differently, that can be a sign of a change in your body composition.
Nutritional Drinks
When a cancer diagnosis, or side effects from treatments, prevent someone from getting adequate food intake, we often turn to nutritional drinks to help meet their needs. For my tips on how to get the best taste out of nutritional drinks, check out my article here:
Getting good nutrition when you don’t feel like eating. Tips for people facing cancer.
https://www.cancerdietitian.com/2017/09/getting-good-nutrition-eating-hard-tips-people-facing-cancer.html
NEW PRODUCT
I wanted to let you know about a new option for a nutritional drink! BOOST® Soothe Clear Nutritional Drink comes in a mild, peach-mint flavor, and an 8 fluid ounce carton provides 300 calories and 10 grams of protein. The product has a cooling sensation and is designed to provide nutritional support for patients who experience certain side effects of cancer treatment, including oral discomfort and taste changes.
This new product is a clear liquid, so if someone is post surgery, or with any kind of intestinal blockage and is put on a clear liquid diet, this will likely meet their diet restrictions. In fact, when I shared a picture of the product on social media, dietitians responded very excited about the fact that a clear liquid drink could provide 300 calories and 10 grams of protein!
Another great thing about this particular beverage is that it has a minty taste, and therefore had a cooling and soothing (hence the name!) effect, which may be helpful for people who have a sore mouth from their treatment. Or think of the taste changes that might be a result of treatment.
BOOST® Soothe does not have the added minerals and vitamins that their standard drink has, so it doesn’t have the same vitamin smell, which can be a positive thing for people during treatment who have aversion to certain smells.
I tried the beverage (as I do most things before I recommend them!), and I found the minty flavor to be nice. It is a sweet beverage, so having it over ice was helpful for me. The 10 grams of protein per container is helpful in meeting protein needs. Protein added to drinks usually gives a chalky aftertaste. For this drink, you get a little bit of that effect, but not enough that it would prevent me from drinking it.
If you, or someone you love is finding it difficult to meet nutrition needs because of treatment side effects, this could be something worth checking out!
– Julie
