Food is one of the greatest pleasures in life but a lot of elderly people struggle to maintain a regular healthy diet, often due to problems swallowing: dysphagia.
Food is one of the greatest pleasures in life but a lot of elderly people struggle to maintain a regular healthy diet, often due to problems swallowing: dysphagia.
Encouraging old people to enjoy eating tasty, healthy food again is at the heart of HARG’s mission. We are a Benefit Corporation: our goal is to create a positive impact for society in a transparent, responsible and sustainable way.
With this in mind, we have created a high-tech company that invests in Research & Development with the aim of creating, through important partnerships and using innovative non-medicinal approaches, new services and ground-breaking initiatives in the area of nutrition for the most vulnerable groups of people.
Our objective is: to ensure people’s well-being, both effectively and efficiently while at the same time protecting the environment.
Dysphagia
Dysphagia patients suffer from an energetic protein and mechanical deficit that prevents them from swallowing food that is not texturized and of uneven viscosity, with serious health risks. The most serious is pneumonia, which is one of the three leading causes of death in long-term patients.
Dysphagia is a dysfunction of the digestive system, which manifests itself as a disorder in the swallowing of food and drinks. The transit of food from the mouth to the windpipe to reach the stomach is potentially dangerous and, if left untreated, can lead to pneumonia.
It is mainly caused by neurological diseases that alter nerve or muscle control, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, neurodegenerative diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis, brain, cervical and vertebral trauma, stroke, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, diseases oncology and head and neck surgery.
It is a more widespread disorder than one might think and mainly affects elderly hospitalized patients and patients hospitalized in long-term care facilities.
Our process of preparing DysphaMeal products is patented and guarantees each patient the correct intake of the necessary nutrients without the need for further pharmacological contributions.
Each food, entirely of natural origin, is cooked for a long time at a constant low temperature of 57 ° C and subsequently dehydrated by sublimation. In this way we are able to keep the macro and micro nutrients of each dish and their sensory and visual aspect unaltered.
The patient can thus count on a stable and homogeneous dish, with a measurable and specific caloric and nutrient quota for his needs, obviating the problem of protein-energy malnutrition and without the need for pharmacological additions.
An excellent solution for nursing homes
A safe, practical and convenient solution for all nursing homes that have to deal with dysphagia patients: Dysphameal products allow a reduction in overall costs thanks to the saving of pharmacological administrations and the working time of healthcare professionals, and guarantee an overall return both in economic terms and in terms of the health of its guests.