What are Must-avoid Foods for Post-surgery?

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Here are kinds of food that you must avoid for post-surgery:

Avoid Foods That Cause Constipation

Constipation is common after surgery because prescription pain medications—opioids, in particular—are often used in the days following a surgical procedure and have a known side effect of decreasing the movement of the intestines, as cited by Verywell Health.

While some foods can help prevent or treat constipation, there are other foods that can make constipation more likely. Constipation can increase your pain level and can place additional stress on your incision, so it is important to avoid whenever possible.

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Foods Likely to Cause Constipation

These foods may contribute to constipation:

- Dried or dehydrated foods: These include dried fruits (prunes are an exception, they can help to ease constipation), beef jerky, and some types of potato chips.

- Cheese: Cheese is high in fat.

- Milk and dairy products: Especially avoid full-fat dairy products, including ice cream and sour cream.

- Red meat: Beef and other kinds of red meat are often high in saturated fat.

Added sugars

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Food and drink with added sugar offer your taste buds a quick reward. But the added sugar is high in calories and gives your body no nutritional value. You may feel a short burst of energy and alertness but will quickly feel more drained and tired. Bacteria and viruses thrive on sugar, which is one more reason to avoid sugary foods after surgery. You want to keep your body strong since sugar will only weaken your body and strengthen the germs.

Highly processed foods

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After surgery, you may have a small appetite and be tempted to indulge in whatever sounds good. Highly processed foods are usually white, sweet and come in a package. Or they are artificially coloured. These foods primarily provide your body with carbohydrates. This causes blood sugar spikes and high insulin levels. Both drain your body of energy and the ability to heal.

Processed foods are also often stripped of fibre, which helps to keep your bowels moving. After surgery constipation can be a serious and uncomfortable condition. Counter this problem by adding extra vegetables and limiting processed foods in your diet.

Alcohol

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You might look forward to having a drink to unwind or relax post-surgery. But alcohol slows down the rate of blood clotting and makes your blood thinner. This can cause your incision to take longer to heal and you will also have an increased risk of bleeding. Alcohol also impairs your immune system, putting you at a higher risk for infection, Health Care Assistance cites

Following surgery, you will heal faster when there is less swelling. Alcohol causes blood vessels to swell. One of the biggest reasons to avoid alcohol is how it affects your pain levels. You may think that a drink will help you feel better, but alcohol does not mix well with pain medication prescribed by your doctor. It can even be deadly to mix alcohol and pain pills.

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