Illness can cause rapid unintentional weight loss
If you are ill, you may experience drastic weight loss without having tried to lose weight.
Unintentional weight loss most often occurs due to:
- lack of appetite and weakness in connection with illness
- your body burns extra calories when the body's defenses are fighting to combat illness
The more serious the illness, the greater the risk of unintentional weight loss and malnutrition.
At the same time, illness also contributes to protein loss, whether it involves infections or surgery (Hessov, I. & Jeppesen, P.B., 2012)
11 tips on how to avoid weight loss during illness:
- Weigh yourself every week so you can quickly address any weight changes
- Eat high-calorie food
- Use Adozan in your regular food. 10 g powder or 20 ml P-Boost per portion.
- Choose whole milk over semi-skimmed milk. Add Adozan for even more nutrition.
- Choose whole-milk yogurt stirred with Adozan.
- Choose red Mathilde (semi-skimmed chocolate milk) or Cocio (not light). Add Adozan and let it sit for a while until dissolved.
- Choose high-fat cold cuts, liver pâté, cream cheese, pâté, rolled sausage (rullepølse), mackerel, and deli salads. Feel free to use mayonnaise, remoulade, and pesto.
- Put a knob of butter on your boiled potatoes and vegetables while they are still hot.
- Get friends and family to help you with shopping, cooking, etc. That way, you save your energy, and the chance of you eating enough is greater.
- Get food delivered during the illness period.
- If hospitalized, you should also be mindful yourself to ensure you get enough food and drink
Consequences of unintentional weight loss
Perhaps you are one of those who wants to lose weight, and perhaps you think that unintentional weight loss is only a positive thing?
But unfortunately, that is not the case.
If you have always been used to having a slightly too high BMI, there will often be a tendency to neglect unintentional weight loss in connection with illness. However, this is very inappropriate. Regardless of previous weight, unplanned weight loss in the elderly and the ill has major consequences for their physical, mental, and social functioning. After only a small amount of unintentional weight loss, a decline in functioning is seen, as the loss of muscle strength and muscle mass is closely linked to weight loss (LeBlanc, 2018)
If you lose weight during illness, you will feel weak throughout your body, and it will become more difficult for you to manage ordinary daily life. This means that it is important that you eat and drink to have something to fight your illness with.
This applies both when you are lying ill at home or are hospitalized.
Adozan can provide extra calories and protein
Adozan can be stirred into food and drink and increase the nutritional content without changing the volume, taste, and consistency. In other words, Adozan can give your favorite dishes some extra power.
Adozan is stirred into food and drink both during preparation and when serving, in baked goods and bread, in hot and cold dishes and drinks.
4 Adozan products in particular are recommended for the ill/those with a poor appetite….
Vital+ has a high content of unsaturated fat, fiber, and protein. This product becomes whitish after dissolving and is very suitable for a cup of coffee, shakes, soups, baked goods, porridge, mashed potatoes, omelets, etc.
Transparent+ provides extra calories from carbohydrates and protein. This product becomes transparent after dissolving and is therefore very suitable for juice, soups, and fruit porridge.
Kilo+ has a high content of unsaturated fat, but has a low protein content. This product becomes whitish after dissolving and is very suitable for a cup of coffee, shakes, soups, baked goods, porridge, mashed potatoes, omelets, etc.
Adozan Chocolate+ contains just as many calories as regular chocolate, but the advantage of Adozan Chocolate is that it also contributes with protein. AND it is ready to eat.
Sources:
Hessov, I. & Jeppesen, P.B, 2012, Klinisk Ernæring, Munksgaard
LeBlanc et al., 2018: Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Long-Term Weight Trajectory and Risk of Hip Fracture, Falls, Impaired Physical Function, and Death. J Am Geriatr Soc
