Individuals Recovering at Home From a Health Setback

If you or a loved one is recovering at home from an illness or injury, getting to the target of 30g of protein per meal, three times per day can be a challenge.  In-fact eating in itself can be a challenge.  Yet we all know the importance of nutrition in the recovery process.   The beauty of FitFuel Nourish is it is a great tasting ice-cream enriched with protein, it has all the joy of ice-cream and all the goodness of protein.

Hilary Robinson a senior dietitian at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital where FitFuel Nourish Ice Cream is offered to patients commented “Being able to offer ice cream to my patients with the added bonus of a high protein content combines the best of a patients world and a dietitians!” 

FitFuel Nourish can give you an extra protein boost 1-2 times per day in a delicious easy to eat product.

FitFuel Nourish Protein Ice Cream is beneficial because:

• It tastes great and is appealing to eat so eating is enjoyable.
• The calories and protein in FitFuel Nourish help reduce muscle loss and regain strength.
• The added protein improves the response to exercise taken in order to achieve functional strength gains.
• The added protein helps in the healing process Protein is responsible for building white blood cells which are necessary for immune system function and is also the major component of skin and muscle tissue.

Hospital Patients

FitFuel Nourish Ice Cream is being eaten by people of all ages who are in hospital due to an illness or surgery.  Dietitians are introducing their patients to FitFuel Nourish as it has the beneficial characteristics of a nutritional supplement in the appetising form of a great tasting ice cream.  Hilary Robinson a senior dietitian at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital where FitFuel Nourish Ice Cream is offered to patients commented “I was delighted to find a fresh tasting alternative to offer my patients that doesn’t look or taste like a supplement!”   she explained  “The patients on the Haematology Oncology Ward love FitFuel Nourish ice cream.  Because it is give to them by the dinner girls they see it as a treat rather than a supplement a dietitian would prescribe! Patient satisfaction and adherence is sky high.”

FitFuel Nourish is being suitable for hospital patients for the following reasons:

• The calories and protein in FitFuel Nourish help reduce muscle loss due to the enforced inactivity that hospital stays inevitably create.
• It helps people respond better to the physiotherapy and occupational therapy that they undergo in order to achieve functional strength gains which enable eventual discharge home. Eating the product prior to a Physio or exercise session can help increase the effectiveness of the session.
• “Combining exercise and protein consumption has been shown to double the protein synthesis (muscle building) response to exercise in both young and elderly populations” (Symons et. al. JNHA, 2010)
• The added protein helps in the healing process.  Protein is responsible for building white blood cells which are necessary for immune system function and is also the major component of skin and muscle tissue.
• It tastes great and is appealing to eat.  In some cases, Fitfuel Nourish provides an essential food-source to patients who can tolerate little else due their illness or therapy.  This ice cream is a delicious real food reducing the need to pester family members to eat it.

“High protein supplements have clinical and economic benefits for patients compared with routine care, significantly reducing both lengths of stay and hospital readmissions”.
-Cawood et al (2012), Ageing Research Review

Individuals with a Healthy Active Lifestyle

In order to fuel an active lifestyle protein and calorie intake are vital. All too often the daily diet of individuals is short of the recommended totals of the calories and protein required to retain muscle mass and strength.  Sarcopenia is a condition characterised by progressive and generalised loss of muscle mass (typically 0.5%-1% per year after the age of 25) and strength with a risk of adverse outcomes such as physical disability and poor quality of life.  By adopting the following strategies we can combat Sarcopenia and protect our active lifestyle.  This is something we need to address immediately, before we start losing muscle mass.  To combat this we should:

• Adopt a meal-based approach to protein consumption where 30g of protein per meal is the objective
• Consume protein in close proximity to exercise

Consuming enough protein is often not easy.  FitFuel Nourish is an ideal way to get a boost in protein especially after lunch when food choices often make getting to the 30g protein target a tough ask.

Nursing Home Residents

Nursing home residents can often suffer from reduced activity levels. This can in turn be a cause of poor appetite which can lead to insufficient calorie and protein consumption leading to a vicious cycle of muscle loss and declining strength.

Foods which are easy to eat, appetising and appealing such as FitFuel Nourish Protein Ice Cream can help break this cycle by giving individuals a palatable way to consume an energy-rich food serving with 10g of protein.