要食事介護者向けアイスクリームのとろみの評価

Abstract

アイスクリームは冷たく滑らかな舌触りから，食欲減退時にも好まれる食品の一つであり，その栄養価の高さから低栄養状態の改善に用いられることが多い。しかし，室温で溶けやすく，嚥下機能低下者では誤嚥の危険性が伴いやすく，喫食に時間を要する場合には食べる楽しみが減じてしまうことが難点である。そこで考案した室温においても液状化せず，口腔内の温度によりゆっくりと溶解する『要食事介護者向けアイスクリーム』の物性について，嚥下調整食分類に基づきとろみの評価を行った。Line Spread Test によるLST 値でのとろみの評価と室温静置での形状変化の観察より，アイスクリームに0.5％以上の濃度でゼラチンを添加することで室温約25℃に30 分間おいても液状化がみられず固形を保ち，口腔内で溶解した際に「薄いとろみ」を保つことが示された。また，室温に30 分間静置後のアイスクリームの温度は0℃以下を保っていた。以上の結果より，要食事介護者向けアイスクリームはゼラチン濃度0.5％を基準に，喫食者の嚥下機能に応じてゼラチンを増減することで，食介助を必要とする場合に広く活用できる可能性が見いだせた。Ice cream is one of the most popular foods for people with decreased appetite due to its cool and smooth texture, and is often used to improve low nutritional status due to its high nutritional value. However, ice cream is easy to dissolve at room temperature, and people with impaired swallowing function are at risk of aspiration, and if it takes time to eat, the enjoyment of eating ice cream is reduced. Therefore, we devised an “ice cream for people who need dietary care” that does not liquefy at room temperature and slowly melts in the mouth, and examined the “degree of thickness” of the ice cream. As a result of the line spread test, when ice cream with 0.4% to 0.6% gelatin melted in the mouth, these were judged to be “mildly thick”. Ice cream to which gelatin was added by 0.5% or more remained solid without liquefying even after 30 minutes at a room temperature of about 25°C., and the temperature of the ice cream remained below 0°C. These results suggest that this ice cream should be based on a gelatin concentration of 0.5%，and that it may be widely used when dietary assistance is required by increasing or decreasing the amount of gelatin added according to the swallowing function of the eater.