My mom is in a nursing home w Dementia. The thickeners she's been on (nectar & honey) have increased her weight. She's inactive (and obese) and we are trying to get her to lose weight but the thickeners are hindering any progress so I was THINKING Chia to thicken her liquids. Pros & cons to this? Any other suggestions?
Nectar and Honey refer to the degree of thickness, they are NOT ingredients in thickeners. If she only needs her fluids nectar/honey thick then she really isn't consuming nearly as much as someone who needs Pudding thickness, and in any case the calories in thickeners are pretty small.
I think you need to examine her dietary intake a little more fully to see what is causing her weight gain.
Most thickeners are modified starches or xanthan gum, and although they do contain calories it is minuscule compared to the cream and sugar in the coffee and the calories in the juices and other sweetened beverages she may be drinking.
There are 138 calories in one ounce of chia seeds. They also contain good nutrients. I don't know how much it takes to thicken a cup of coffee or glass of orange juice, but I would think that 10 servings a day would add up to far more calories than the thickener products.
I imagine the seeds would be ground to a powder to thicken liquids. One disadvantage is that because of their fat content they cannot be ground in large batches and stored for a long time. So someone has to grind them on a regular basis. Another is that some people get digestive upsets from them. If they are not fully expanded in the liquid they can expand in the throat, causing serious problems. And because of their color they may seem less appetizing to the person drinking it.
One risk of thickened liquids used over an extended period is dehydration. (Probably because people generally don't like the texture and drink less!) So making the liquid as appealing as possible has some value.
All honey has calories, whether it is directly from the hive or processed. All fruit juice has calories, including those called "nectar." But this is not relevant to this discussion because thickeners DO NOT contain honey or nectar. Honest. When I asked my husband's therapist how I could tell when I had his water thickened correctly, she said "it should be about as thick as nectar." Some people need it as thick as honey. This is only to help you judge the correct thickness. It has nothing to do with what is in the thickeners.
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Was your mother obese before she went into the nursing home? How old is she? Does her doctor want her to lose weight? Her lack of activity contributes to her weight. Any activity she would enjoy would be good for her.
I think dementia also contributes to weight fluctuations. The brain controls all aspects of our bodies, including metabolism, and damage to the brain can cause many things to get whacky (technical term).
BethAnne, Be sure to ask your dietician about the terms for how thick things are. Honey thickened drinks do NOT have honey in them, and nectar drinks have NO nectar- these are thickening instructions, not ingredients.
I am not anti-chia, but I think substituting it for a commercial thickener will add to the weight problem, not solve it.
They stopped letting people sit to mthr's right where she could reach their plate, and she stopped gaining weight. Could sharing food be part of your mother's problem?