Açaí is used as therapy during post-operative period in a public hospital in Belém

The fruit is served to promote adherence to treatment, from the rescue of affective memories.

Patient taking açaí at Hospital de Clínicas Gaspar Vianna (HC), in Belém. — Photo: Reproduction / Pará Agency

Habit of many people from Pará, açaí has ​​been used as a therapy to help recovery after surgeries in a public hospital in a href='https://g1.globo.com/pa/para/cidade/belem/' target='_self' Belém / a . Since consumption needs to be suspended during hospitalization, patients end up staying away from the bowl that is for many the most special moment of meals.

Maria do Socorro Rocha, 52, says that she still has trouble remembering the longest period she had not taken açaí, until she had heart surgery at Hospital de Clínicas Gaspar Vianna and the last week was certainly on the list.

Last Friday, the patient was surprised with a dessert after lunch. 'I was very happy. I was missing it, and I didn’t expect to be able to go back to taking açaí before returning home,” she said.

The hospital is a reference in cardiology, nephrology and psychiatry and has been experimenting with offering açaí to patients to promote adherence to treatment, based on the rescue of affective memories aroused by food.

For the health professionals involved in the initiative, the resumption of açaí can even help bringing positive results to the patient, in addition to nutritional gain.

“Some patients have been with us for more than a week and we want to be able to return to their normal eating routine as soon as possible, safely and within the conditions of each one”, says Karina Sayumi, speech therapist.

According to Sayumi, the use of açaí ends up becoming a resource part of the treatment, preventing the return to the use of auxiliary devices, such as probes.

At the hospital, the most recent experience had been with children in the Pediatric Clinic. This time, the beneficiaries are patients undergoing treatment in adult and coronary Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The food is offered according to a multiprofessional assessment of each patient and the stage of treatment.

Lorena Cunha, who is responsible for the hospital's nutrition sector, points out the benefits. “In addition to ensuring regionalized food, with affective memories that provide pleasure and satisfaction, from a nutritional point of view it is a food rich in fiber, calcium, vitamins and vegetable proteins, with high antioxidant power, and helps to strengthen the immune system”.

The idea now, according to the professional, is to expand the offer of açaí as a dessert, always according to the restrictions of each patient.

in Source: /em a href='https://g1.globo.com/pa/para/' target='_self' in G1 Pará /em /a