What to eat after gallbladder surgery

The operation to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) significantly affects the functioning of the digestive system, therefore, after it is carried out, a person should completely reconsider his nutritious diet and lifestyle in general. Diet after gallbladder surgery is an important step in the rehabilitation period. It allows you to reduce the load on the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, improve overall health, eliminate possible postoperative complications. To reduce possible risks, everyone should know how to eat after gallbladder surgery, why a diet is needed, what foods can be on a diet and which ones should be avoided.

Why you need a diet after surgery

Proper nutrition after cholecystectomy is the key to a quick recovery and a good opportunity to get rid of dyspeptic disorders. The diet is quite varied and only in the first days and months of the postoperative period requires strict restrictions that will help the body adapt to changes in the digestive system.

In order to understand why a diet is needed, you need to familiarize yourself with the changes that occur after surgery. Normally, the gallbladder is a reservoir for bile produced by the liver. She takes an active part in the digestion of food, breaks down fats. After the operation, the flow of bile changes, it immediately enters the duodenum from the liver. Over time, the body gets used to the changes, compensatory mechanisms are activated, allowing it to work in the same mode. But until then, it is important to follow a diet, limit and completely eliminate certain foods.

Following a diet after surgery will:

• quickly and easily adapt to the body;
• exclude the appearance of nausea, diarrhea and discomfort in the stomach after eating;
• normalize the general well-being of the patient;
• reduce the risk of exacerbations of other diseases of the digestive tract;
• to exclude the recurrence of stones in the bile ducts.

Medical nutrition after gallbladder surgery is considered a prerequisite for the rehabilitation period, which every patient must adhere to.

Nutrition Features

The main goal of the diet after cholecystectomy is to reduce the burden on the digestive system and normalize bile secretion. In order to avoid all sorts of consequences, it is necessary not only to adjust the diet, but also to adhere to the diet:

• Frequent meals - up to 6 times a day.
• Small portions, about 250 grams.
• Exclude the use of prohibited foods.
• Daily salt intake should not exceed 5-8 g;
• Eat foods boiled, baked, stewed or raw.
• The last meal should be taken no later than 1 hour before bedtime.
• Chew food well.
• Drink up to 1.5 liters per day. water.
• The food you eat should be of medium temperature, neither hot nor cold.

Diet No. 5 is based on these principles of clinical nutrition, which is prescribed by doctors to patients after cholecystectomy. What you can eat after gallbladder surgery and what foods you need to refuse, the attending physician or nutritionist will tell you.

Diet in the first days after surgery

Gallbladder surgery has a short hospitalization period. Basically, the patient is discharged home after 2-3 days. At home, you need to properly organize food, strictly follow all medical prescriptions.

In the first week after discharge, treatment table No. 1 is prescribed, which consists of the use of liquid and pureed food, as well as the exclusion of products that can cause increased gas formation.

The diet after gallbladder surgery should be as limited and conservative as possible.

• On the first day, you need to adhere to therapeutic fasting, it is allowed to drink unsweetened tea, rosehip broth, jelly.
• Starting from the 3rd day of the postoperative period, pureed soups from lean meats or fish can be consumed. Protein omelet, mashed potatoes are allowed.
• On the 5th day - 100 g of crackers or white bread of yesterday's baking.
• After a week, it is recommended to expand the menu with wheat, buckwheat or oatmeal porridge in milk diluted 1: 1 with water.

You need to adhere to such a diet for 1 to 3 months, and only then, with positive dynamics, the menu can be expanded with other foods.

What can you eat on a diet

Nutrition after gallbladder surgery provides for diet No. 5, and only in the first days and up to 1.5 months, table No. 1 is recommended. Diet number 5 should be followed for a long time, and sometimes for life. The products that are included in its composition are healthy and high-calorie, contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals for the full functioning of the body.

The list of allowed products is quite large. The diet may include:

• bread from yesterday's baking, crackers or dry biscuits;
• low-fat varieties of poultry and meat: chicken, veal, beef;
• lean fish;
• butter, olive or sunflower oil in a small amount;
• vegetables: pumpkin, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, onions in a small amount;
• dairy products: cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, fat-free sour cream;
• cereals: buckwheat, oatmeal, oatmeal;
• non-acidic vegetables and fruits;
• honey;
• unsweetened tea, rosehip broth, jelly, weak coffee.

You can cook delicious, varied and healthy dishes from permitted foods. The main thing is not to forget that they can be served to a person in boiled, stewed or baked form, while the size of one serving should not exceed 250 grams, and meals should be taken every 3 hours.

With a successful operation and compliance with all medical prescriptions in the postoperative period, the recovery process will take place quite quickly and already 1 year after surgery, a person will be able to return to normal nutrition, while not forgetting about some restrictions.

Prohibited Products

The list of prohibited foods in diet number 5 is not so large, but they still need to be completely excluded from the diet. You need to refuse the following set:

• spicy sauces, spices and spices;
• fatty meats: pork, goose or duck meat;
• canned food and smoked meats;
• cottage cheese, sour cream or milk with a high% fat content;
• chocolate, cakes;
• cocoa, strong coffee;
• sorrel, spinach;
• beans, peas;
• mushrooms;
• any alcoholic and carbonated drinks;
• sweets, cakes;
• ice cream.

It is strictly forbidden to eat fried, spicy food, smoked meats, pickles should also be abandoned. Regarding other restrictions, in addition to the processing of products, its temperature when consumed is important. All food should not be too hot or cold, but served warm.

The consequences of not following the diet

If you ignore medical nutrition after surgery on the gallbladder, there are high risks of various complications that may appear immediately after eating prohibited foods or after a few hours. Among the frequent consequences of non-compliance with the diet, violations of other organs of the gastrointestinal tract can be noted, which is fraught with the development of colitis, pancreatitis, cholangitis, duodenitis and other diseases with a pronounced and acute clinical picture.

With an increased load on the digestive tract, a person who has undergone cholecystectomy, after eating harmful foods, will feel the following symptoms:

• pain, discomfort and heaviness in the abdomen;
• nausea, urge to vomit;
• frequent and bitter belching;
• diarrhea;
• increased gas formation;
• constipation or diarrhea.

With the development of concomitant diseases, other unpleasant symptoms will also disturb, significantly worsening the well-being of a person. A common consequence of non-compliance with proper nutrition is the re-formation of stones, but already in the bile ducts. In order to avoid all sorts of complications, you must strictly follow the diet and avoid the slightest error.

Diet Recipes #5

From the products of the medical table No. 5, you can cook a variety of delicious dishes: casseroles, stuffed vegetables, steam cutlets, various soups, cereals and side dishes. Consider some simple and delicious recipes:

chicken casserole

To prepare the dish, you need to boil the chicken breast, cut it into small cubes, add boiled rice and carrots, 1 raw egg and chopped greens. Season all ingredients with a little salt and mix well. Take a baking dish and grease with butter, put the mixture and put in the oven for 40 minutes. Bake at 180 degrees. Before use, you can sprinkle with grated cheese and herbs on top.

stuffed apples

A delicious and healthy dessert, for the preparation of which you will need 2 large apples, cottage cheese, raisins. Apples need to be cut in half, cut out the middle. Previously, a curd mass is prepared, to which raisins, 1 egg, a little semolina and sugar are added. Apples are stuffed with the finished mass and put in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes. Apples should be served with sour cream.

milk noodles

To prepare a hearty breakfast, you will need the following ingredients:

• 200 g flour;
• 2 tbsp. l. water;
• 1 egg.

From these ingredients, you need to knead the dough, roll it thinly and dry it a little so that the dough does not stick together during the cutting process. Then thin strips are chopped from the dough, which are thrown into boiling water and boiled for 10 minutes. After cooking, the finished noodles are poured with 1 liter of boiling milk and boiled for another 5 minutes. Then add some sugar and butter.

Steam cutlets

For cooking, turkey or chicken meat is ideal. You can prepare a dish from the following ingredients:

• 500 g meat fillet;
• 1 onion;
• 50 g of yesterday's bread;
• 1 egg;
• half a glass of milk;
• salt.

Bread needs to be soaked in milk. Pass the meat through a meat grinder, add the egg, finely chopped onion, salt. Dry the bread and add to the minced meat, mix well and form cutlets. Steam them for 40 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Diet and lifestyle advice

Diet after gallbladder surgery is considered one of the most important stages of the rehabilitation period. It eliminates the burden on the digestive organs, eliminates the fermentation and decay of food, thereby eliminating the risks of possible inflammatory processes. In addition to proper nutrition, a person needs to pay attention to lifestyle, adhere to some rules:

• after the operation, monitor the condition of the postoperative suture;
• exclude physical activity and heavy lifting;
• without medical prescription, do not take analgesics or any other potent drugs;
• healthy and full 8-hour sleep;
• wear a bandage;
• give up a hot bath, a visit to the bath or solarium.

By following these rules, the recovery period will occur much faster and without any complications. A year after the operation, some of the restrictions are removed, and new foods are introduced into the diet in small portions. After taking them, it is important to monitor the reaction of the body. If there is nausea, pain in the right hypochondrium, a violation of the stool, then you need to stop using it. After the operation, it is important to periodically visit a doctor, undergo the necessary examinations that will help monitor the dynamics and evaluate the work of the digestive tract.

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