Nutritional Supplements for Patients with Special Dietary Needs

Introducing Products in Singapore from Nestle Health Science

In an earlier article, we talked about why cancer patients might require nutritional supplements. Therein, we introduced Oral Impact®, a supplement from Nestle Health Science that is formulated to be “used as an oral supplement to support the nutritional needs of people undergoing surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy”. In this article, we will explore a few other oral nutritional supplements available in Singapore from Nestle Health Science that patients with special dietary needs might find useful.

Peptamen® Powder

First up is Peptamen®.  Nestle describes Peptamen® as a “nutritionally balanced, peptide-based supplement” that is formulated to be gentle and easily absorbable. This is to make it suitable for people with gastrointestinal intolerance (GI). GI is a condition whereby the digestive system is unable to process some foods, thereby resulting in an adverse physical reaction to the food.

Peptamen® has 100% high quality whey peptides, and 70% of the contained fat as MCT (Medium chain triglycerides – this is a fat that is suitable for people who cannot tolerate other types of fats). Being easily absorbable, it is low residue. Peptamen is suitable for patients suffering from delayed gastric emptying, chronic diarrhoea, short-bowel syndrome, and pancreatic insufficiency.

Peptamen is available from Nestle’s store on Lazada or on Shopee at around $49 for a 400g tin.

RESOURCE® FRUIT LIQUID

RESOURCE® FRUIT from Nestle is a “refreshing, clear liquid fat free supplement” which is suitable for inclusion as part of a patient’s liquid diet. This oral nutritional supplement provides in every serving 300kcal of energy and 8g of high quality hydrolysed whey protein. It is fat-free, lactose-free and gluten-free.

RESOURCE® FRUIT is suitable for patients with fat intolerance, malabsorption, and / or suffering from serious weight / muscle loss due to severe illnesses.

This product sells for around $79 for a carton of 24 x 200ml bottles at Nestle’s official store on Lazada and Shopee.

Beneprotein®

Beneprotein® is not marketed by Nestle specifically as a nutritional supplement for cancer patients. Instead, it is described as being suitable for “patients with increased protein needs”. Beneprotein® is an unflavoured protein supplement with 6g of protein per scoop (100% whey protein) and is lactose free. Available from Nestle’s official store on Lazada and Shopee at around $19 per 227g tin.

Consult Your Healthcare Provider Before Starting on Any Nutritional Supplements

Do any of these products meet your requirements? As a precaution, do consult your doctor to ensure suitability before starting on any nutritional supplements for your special dietary needs.