Liquid, Soft and Specialty Diets

Liquid and soft diets are recommended in many situations, including some types of dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), surgery involving the mouth or gastrointestinal tract, and pain from newly adjusted braces.

Liquid diets contain no solid foods.

A Clear Liquid Diet consists of transparent liquids and no opaque liquids or smoothed solids. (e.g. meat or vegetable broth, bouillon, clear fruit juices, clear fruit ices, popsicles, clear gelatin desserts, clear carbonated drinks, hard candies, and black tea or coffee)

A Full Liquid Diet consists of smooth liquids that can contain transparent and opaque liquids and blended liquid foods. It includes milk, milkshakes, ice cream, pudding, strained cream soups, fruit nectar with pulp, smooth cooked cereals such as oatmeal and cream of wheat, butter, and honey. In some cases, a full liquid diet may also include other foods that have been thinned and blended with liquids such as milk, meat or vegetable broth, or fruit or vegetable juice.

A Soft Diet includes foods that are solid but still soft and do not requiring crushing, cracking, or chewing. A soft diet includes all the Clear and Full Liquid Diets, plus rice, pasta, cooker cereals, mashed potatoes, tofu, yogurt, ground meats, soft fish, bananas, peaches, applesauce, soup, creamed or blended vegetables, and soft desserts.

A Dysphagia Diet is a mixture of foods, drinks, and actions to improve the chewing and swallowing of adequate amounts of food for full nutrition and hydration for patients suffering from dysphagia. Concerns for dysphagia patients included malnutrition, dehydration, and food and liquid getting in the lungs.  For more information, visit our dysphagia diet page.