Improving the swallowability of representative foods for the elderly and people with dysphagia

Abstract It is necessary to find food additives that can reduce the food friction coefficient, in order to make it easier for the elderly and people with dysphagia to swallow. The sesame paste and rice paste are two typical foods eaten by the elderly. In this research, the tribological and rheological properties of 2 paste with 12 hydrocolloids were investigated. The results showed that three hydrocolloids (xanthan gum, gellan gum, and pectin) could reduce the friction coefficients of sesame paste and rice paste within a certain range of oral friction velocity. The friction coefficients of two kinds of original paste are in the order of 10 −1 . The addition of three hydrocolloids can reduce them to about 10 −2 , effectively improving lubrication. After adding hydrocolloids, the particles cross‐link to form a network structure, which improves the viscosity and lubrication of food to a certain extent. This has potential application value for designing food that is more conducive to swallowing.