AS part of National Nutrition and Hydration Week, specialist dietitians at Southend Hospital have been giving the public and staff the chance to taste test some of the supplement shakes that some patients take to ensure they get the right amounts of daily nutrients and calories.
To the taste they are just like normal milkshakes and come in a range of flavours, such as strawberry, chocolate, banana and vanilla.
One milkshake can contain up to 600 calories and 12 grams of protein, or a smaller supplement for people who can’t handle large volumes of liquid is also available, this one carries 300 calories and 12 grams of protein.
Henry Wood, specialist oncology dietitian, said: “We work out how many calories the patient would need. An average man aged 20-40 would need about 2,500 calories so if he was 600 calories short of his daily quota then two of the 300 calorie shakes to make up for it.”
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