Preparing for surgery can be rather daunting, especially when recovery is likely to take longer due to age factors or other health impacts. Several ways can help improve healing times, including gentle exercise, proper wound care, medication and accepting help from loved ones.
However, did you know that post-op nutrition plays a vital role in your recovery? Some foods can accelerate wound healing, boost your strength and make you feel better quicker. Making sure your kitchen is stocked with these foods can encourage you to have the most straightforward recovery possible.
Today, we’ll explore how good nutrition can help speed up your healing journey, including foods to include and those to avoid.
Foods to Promote Faster Healing
Eating certain foods helps your immune system work better, protects the body from infections and helps wounds heal faster. This reduces recovery time and helps you get back on your feet post-surgery, so it’s well worth pre-planning your diet before the day of your operation.
Fruits and Vegetables
Several fruits and vegetables are good sources of vitamins and minerals, making them wonderful for post-operation meals. For example, antioxidants help the body repair damage, and Vitamin C rebuilds collagen and soft tissue around your surgical site.
Good fruit options include:
- Oranges
- Apples
- Berries, including grapes and pomegranate
- Melon
- Apricot
- Mango
- Tomatoes
Vegetables are a healthy source of carbohydrates, which provide the body and mind with energy and prevent muscles from breaking down. They’re also good sources of Vitamins A and C, along with fibre.
Try to include as many vegetables in your diet, including:
- Carrots
- Sweet peppers
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Brussel sprouts
- Sweet potatoes
Dark, Leafy Greens
While they’re all vegetables, leafy greens are so important to healing that they deserve their own mention. Dark, leafy greens are a wonderful source of vitamins A, C, E, and K. Vitamin E helps wounds heal faster and reduces the appearance of scars, while Vitamin K helps with blood clotting. These vegetables also contain fibre, magnesium, potassium and calcium. They’re a superfood for surgical patients!
Add healthy portions of dark, leafy greens to your post-op diet, including:
- Kale
- Spinach
- Bok Choy
- Swiss Chard
- Romaine lettuce
- Mustard greens
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats are excellent to include in a post-op diet. They help the body absorb the vitamins being provided by the fruit and vegetables, and fat is essential for strengthening the immune system to reduce the chance of infection.
Sources of healthy fats include:
- Oils, including olive oil and coconut oil
- Avocado
- Nuts, such as almonds
- Seeds
Meat or Similar Alternatives
Meat or meat-free alternatives are excellent sources of protein, which is essential for keeping the body fighting fit. After surgery, the body needs lots of protein to repair muscles, regenerate tissues and speed up wound healing. Meat is also a great source of iron, which is needed to regain energy levels through the creation of new blood cells.
Protein comes from all kinds of foods, including:
- Poultry
- Seafood
- Beans and lentils
- Nuts
- Tofu
Eggs
Eggs are another amazing, healthy food packed with protein. They are considered a superfood for surgical patients, especially those who might find recovery tough due to other health impacts, their age or their lifestyle.
One egg includes:
- 6g of protein
- Vitamins A, E, K and B12
- Folic acid
- Iron
- Calcium
- Zinc
- Riboflavin
All of these nutrients are beneficial for a quick recovery. The best part is that eggs are incredibly easy to cook, so you don’t need to worry about making a fancy meal to increase your nutrient intake. One omelette could give your body a much-needed boost to kickstart recovery.
Whole Grains
Whole grains are another source of carbohydrates to give your brain and body enough energy to keep thriving, even when it’s not feeling its best. Most people will feel tired and sluggish after surgery, but rounding out your meals with whole grains can bring energy levels up and make you feel better throughout your recovery.
Good options for whole grains include:
- Wholegrain bread
- Steel-cut oats
- Wild or brown rice
- Quinoa
Water
It sounds simple, but one of the most overlooked components of a post-surgery diet is water. Dehydration is common in surgical patients, especially when you’re feeling too tired or too in pain to get a glass of water. However, the importance of hydration can’t be overstated. It helps the body flush out toxins and anaesthetics, ensures organs function properly and promotes quicker wound healing.
To make sure you keep hydrated after surgery, consider:
- Flavouring water with fruit to make it more appealing
- Keeping a jug of ice water next to your bed or chair
- Eating lots of fruits and vegetables with high water content
- Drinking herbal teas instead of coffee and black tea
Foods to Avoid Post-Surgery
Knowing which foods to avoid in your post-operation diet is just as important as knowing what to include. Certain foods can negatively affect healing and even slow the process down, so it’s vital to understand which foods should be avoided for the first few weeks after your hospital stay.
Highly Processed Foods
Highly processed foods are full of carbohydrates, sugar and unhealthy fats. While they might sound good, they’re often stripped of vitamins and minerals that keep the body’s processes working at their best. They might also cause blood sugar spikes and increase insulin levels, which the body has to waste energy on fixing instead of recovering from your operation.
Highly processed foods include:
- Sweetened or carbonated drinks
- Crisps
- Packaged cakes, biscuits and pastries
- Ice cream
- Sweets and chocolate
- Ready meals
Foods High in Added Sugar
We often crave sugary foods when we’re not feeling our best, but they can have detrimental impacts on our health—especially when our bodies are already working overtime to heal.
Sugary foods offer no nutritional value and fill you up so you don’t want to eat any good, beneficial food. They also often give you a short-lived boost of energy before making you feel even more tired, making it harder to look after yourself.
Alcohol and Caffeine
Alcohol and caffeine are two drinks you might be looking forward to having after surgery, but they should be avoided until you’re completely healed. Both alcohol and caffeine can slow down the rate of blood clotting, while the former can also make blood thinner. These contribute to an increased risk of bleeding and slower healing.
Drinking these beverages after surgery can also increase the amount of swelling you experience and impair your immune system—two things that will surely slow down healing. It’s vital that you don’t mix pain medication with alcohol, as this can have detrimental effects on your health.
Eating Well After Surgery
The primary role of diet post-surgery is to deliver nutrients to the body, which help it heal and recover. However, it’s not uncommon for you to feel too tired or uncomfortable to cook. You might also lose your appetite depending on the medications and painkillers you’ve been prescribed. Not eating enough can slow down your recovery by failing to provide enough nutrients to the body.
To help fuel your recovery, consider the following tips:
- Eat small, regular meals: Instead of three big meals a day, try eating smaller meals more frequently.
- Try bland foods that are easy on the stomach: Bananas, chicken broth and plain wholegrain toast are quick to make and easy to digest.
- Prepare meals and snacks before surgery: Make snack pots (e.g. vegetable sticks and dips) and nutritious meals to freeze before the day of your surgery so you don’t have to cook.
- Drink your calories: Smoothies and protein shakes are excellent ways to get nutrients without having to chew food.
- Focus on whole foods: Whole foods are naturally more nutritious than processed foods, so prioritise them as much as possible.
- Get moving: Gently exercising as often as your doctor recommends can help aid digestion, encourage feelings of hunger and regain your appetite.
How Country Cousins Can Help
At Country Cousins, we specialise in offering postoperative care to those who need assistance after coming home from the hospital. This includes meal preparation, cooking and planning for the upcoming weeks, allowing you to focus all your energy on healing rather than cooking multiple times a day.
We can also assist with shopping for ingredients, encouraging gentle movements and fostering independence as you start feeling better. Our carers are fully trained in postoperative support and can offer tailored advice on diet and nutrition as you regain your strength after a hospital stay.
Talk to Our Team Today
As the UK’s longest-serving introductory live-in care agency, we have been providing compassionate live-in care to those who need it since 1959 – all from the comfort of their own homes.
Give us a call today on 01293 224 706. Our experienced team is on hand to help from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. Alternatively, contact us through our online enquiry form.
