Food

Maintaining optimum nutrition can be difficult if the mouth and throat are affected making chewing and swallowing painful, but it is vital to try to eat and drink nutritious food and beverages. Assessing your individual tolerance to foods and adjusting what you are eating will enable you to better ensure good nutrition.

There is absolutely no evidence that there are any foods that contribute to pemphigus or pemphigoid.

If you have an ulcerated mouth, eating can be difficult, and some foods can make the pain worse. It could be best to avoid:

All herbs and spices

Berries e.g. strawberry (including strawberry yoghurt), blackberry, etc

Chillies

Chives

Crisps

Fizzy drinks

Garlic

Hard food such as apples

Leeks

Lemons

Marmalade

Nuts

Onions

Oranges

Pickles

Pizza

Salad dressings

Salt

Some cheeses (with high salt content)

Toast and crusty bread

Tomato and brown sauce

Tomatoes

Vinegar

PEM Friends does not endorse any of the items shown above. These items have been suggested by individual members because they have found them useful.

Alcohol can dry out the mouth, particularly red wine.

Milk and dairy products can also affect mucous levels if you have nose and throat implications for your disease. Dairy alternatives are not mucous producing.

When mouth lesions are particularly painful, you can try:

(Non-dairy) yoghurt, ice cream, drinks (‘milk’)

Custard

Eggs

Fish

Ice cream

Mashed vegetables: potato, sweet potato, swede, carrots, parsnips

Nutritional and protein drinks

Pasta

Porridge

Pureed meat and vegetables

Rice, semolina

Smoothies

Soft small pasta shells (take care about the sauce)

Soft vegetables (steamed to retain nutrients)

Soup

Steamed vegetables

Tofu (not highly seasoned)

PEM Friends does not endorse any of the items shown above. These items have been suggested by individual members because they have found them useful.

Eating out can be difficult, although some restaurants will prepare a special simple dish omitting certain items. You need to be proactive and ask for a dish without a certain item or sauce and check menus carefully for what is in each dish.

Try using a small plastic spoon as it is softer on the mouth than metal cutlery.