Development of a method for measuring water absorbency or release of food during mastication

Water release or absorption of food is related to ease of swallowing for individuals with difficulties in mastication or swallowing. The aim of this study was to establish methods to mechanically measure and predict water releasing or absorptive tendency during mastication. There were ten ingredients used. Six, Japanese radish, carrot, potato, salmon, chicken, and scallops were typically heated. The remaining four, apple, bread, cookies and kamaboko were used as is. Eight grams of water was added to 8 g of the ingredient, which was blended for 1 s in a mixer. After blending, the mixture was centrifuged or compressed using a texture analyzer machine. Ingredients were weighed before and after processing without water, and the percent increase in weight was calculated using the weight of the ingredients. Results demonstrated that three ingredients (Japanese radish, carrot, apple), which have strong tendencies for releasing, showed lower percent increases in weight, while two ingredients (cookies, bread), which have strong tendencies for water absorption, showed higher percent weight increases. The other five ingredients (potato, kamaboko, salmon, chicken, and scallops), which have no water releasing or absorption tendencies, showed mid-value percent increases in weight. The tendencies using all treatment methods were the same as during mastication. The percent increase in weight using two processing methods strongly correlated with increased rates of mastication, and demonstrated uncertainty equal to that of mastication. These methods may be helpful in establishing an index for ease of swallowing for classified diets in patients with dysphagia.