[Nutritional value of soya milk in the treatment of malnourished alcoholic patients].

The malnourished alcoholic patient requires frequently hospitalization for treatment and an adequate nutritional support is necessary for recovery of their health. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the nutritional value of an enteral diet based on "soya milk", corn sugar, coconut oil and water. Seven alcoholics, males, with 36.4 year mean age, without any clinical evidence of hepatic cirrhosis and/or pancreatitis, were submitted to three periods of metabolic nitrogen balance (NB), with multiple levels of protein intake (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 grams of proteins/kg of body weight/day). The nitrogen intake (NI), the fecal nitrogen (FN) and the urinary nitrogen (UN) were determined, and the NB and protein digestibility value were calculated. The net protein utilization (NPU) was calculated by correlation studies between the NI and NB, with a value of 101.3%. The mean true digestibility was 100.1% and the mean requirement for that population was 0.5g protein/kg of body weight/day. Using a 97.5% confidence limit, the protein requirement of the enteral diet was calculated to be 0.8g protein/kg of body weight/day. The enteral diet based on "soya milk" can be profitable for this group of patients. It is a good alternative for use in enteral nutrition, easily available, well tolerable, and of high biological value.