Eating & drinking

It is really important to eat and drink well and to continue to enjoy mealtimes. A balanced diet and plenty of fluids helps healthy bowel and bladder function. It also can reduce fatigue, improve concentration, improve mood, reduces the chance of infection and aids recovery from infections.

If your movement is slow and stiff from the effects of MSA, eating and drinking can become very tiring and reduce the pleasure of mealtimes. Getting food to your mouth, cutting food up, keeping food appetising when it takes longer to eat, can all make mealtimes challenging instead of enjoyable. There are many aids that can help if you have these experiences – please see our factsheets below for support with this.

Please also see Changes to swallowing.