Leveraging a soft diet

Disclaimer:

Any medical/health information in this course is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based on such information, I encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. The use or reliance of any information contained in this course is solely at your own risk.

If you have a jaw problem, you might be asked to follow a soft diet for a period of time.

With some jaw problems, especially painful problems, the joint benefits from a break - a time of decreased load - in order to to allow the tissues to calm down and return to normal.

A soft diet is one of several steps to decrease the load on the jaw joint. While it is usually not the only strategy needed, it can be powerful for the right person at the right time.

Following a soft diet is not too different from being a runner, having an irritated knee joint, and taking a period of time to slow down and go on walks instead of runs while the body resets.

What’s a soft diet?

A soft diet is less about the foods you eat, and more about the textures you eat.

On a soft diet, you temporarily avoid tough, crunchy, or chewy foods, or foods that require a lot of chewing. Instead, you choose foods of a softer texture that require less chewing.

This can help irritated tissues in the jaw settle down, and return to a normal diet with less (or no) pain.

Here are some examples of foods that are typically avoided on a soft diet:

• Tough meat, such as steak or beef jerky

• Breads with tough crust, such as baguettes

• Breads with added nuts/seeds/dried fruit

• Chewy breads, such as bagels

• Chips

• Nuts, seeds

• Candies, such as gummies or toffee

• Firm cheeses, such as parmesan

• Raw fruits and vegetables

• Salads

  
  

Usually, a soft diet is recommended for 4-8 weeks, depending on the case. Some individuals have to be quite stringent in avoiding the above foods; others can follow a “mostly soft” diet and be successful.

Strategies

As I mentioned earlier, the strategies in a soft diet are less about the actual food, and more about the texture of food.

Often, people can successfully change the texture of the food by cooking or blending foods. Here are some examples:

• Cooked instead of raw carrots

• Applesauce instead of raw apples

• Spinach in a smoothie instead of in a salad

• Slow-cooked/shredded chicken instead of fried chicken

• Peanut butter instead of peanuts

• Scrambled eggs instead of fried eggs

  
  

For many of these strategies, you’re trying to pre-chew the food by blending or cooking it down. In this way, a machine or heat is doing the breaking down for you, so your jaw doesn’t have to.

There are a couple of "sneaky" foods that seem soft, but actually still require a lot of jaw work. These include:

• Lettuce/salad

• Fruits that have a soft inside but a skin on the outside (grapes, plums, peaches)

  
  

While these foods seem soft, they require a lot of chewing to break down, and should be avoided.

Challenges

Depending on your lifestyle, current eating patterns, and comfort in the kitchen, a soft diet can be relatively easy to follow.

For others, it takes more intentionality, food prep, and strategy.

The top three challenges I see people face include:

1. Increased time demand for planning and preparing food

2. Difficulty consuming enough calories

3. Disordered eating behaviors triggered or worsened by following a diet

   
   

If you're trying to follow a soft diet but are running into these difficulties, please discuss it with your therapist.

Final thoughts

Lastly, while on a soft diet, it’s generally recommended to avoid taking large bites that require wide jaw opening, or require extensive chewing.

While a soft diet can be inconvenient, following one temporarily can often give the necessary offloading to the jaw needed to “reset” and return back to normal.

Need answers for your jaw problem? It’s what we do! Hit the “Contact” tab above to reach out, and we’ll call you to discuss your problem and set up the most comprehensive evaluation you’ve ever had.

Dr. Rebecca Salstrand, PT, DPT