The importance of nutrition when recovering from surgery
There can be many reasons for having to result to surgery, whether it’s cosmetics, injury or even necessity for medical purposes. The road to recovery can be quite a journey and how you recover from it can be dependent on age, health, medical conditions and your nutritional intake. The healing process can be a worry for patients, with the fear that further discomfort is possible, but your action during the recovery period can reduce these complications. Out of the possibilities to help your recovery, nutrition is one factor that you definitely can control. Here are ways that you can take advantage of a good diet to enhance your surgical recovery.
Eat The Right Foods
During the healing period, your diet can play a major part in how well you recover. What you eat can either hinder or boost your healing process as the foods you eat can have vital nutrients to encourage healing in your body. Adopting particular foods in your day-to-day diet can be essential in improving your healing ability. Here are a few to consider:
Vitamin C
A popular tip that nutritionists and doctors provide shortly after surgery is making sure that you have plenty of Vitamin C. The reason is that of the collagen qualities that vitamin C holds as it can help to protect the cells from damage by free radicals. This can effectively help wound recovery in certain situations. Examples of foods that include Vitamin C include spinach, broccoli, tomatoes as well as oranges and other citrus fruits.
Protein
As a form of protein, collagen shouldn’t be underestimated in its qualities for recovery after surgery. Protein is essential in muscle and bone repair which when included in your diet, can seriously aid your recovery. There are many sources in foods for protein and these include chicken, fish, turkey, eggs.
Nuts
Nuts contain zinc which is an essential component for wound healing, and eating particular foods will allow you to make the most of this. Foods such as pumpkins and sesame seeds have large amounts of zinc included in them. As well as zinc, nuts can also contain forms of omega 3 fatty acids which can be helpful to those who have a strict diet such as being vegetarian.
Nutritional Supplements
In some cases, it can be quite difficult to incorporate certain foods into your diet to help your healing process as some effects may not be as noticeable. In which case, higher amounts of nutrients are required to help the healing process.
Elements such as protein, vitamins A & C and zinc are all forms of nutrients that can benefit the recovery process in your body, repairing skin and body tissue even in the most severe of circumstances. Anything from minor skin peels to more excessive treatment such as breast reduction can all benefit from the correct nutrients being consumed in the body.
Due to the after-effects of surgery, your body can go through changes that cause you to become more tired or affect your personal appetite. In which case, nutritional supplements can be taken advantage of which can provide an extra dose of the essential nutrients that you require.
To Conclude
It can be difficult to monitor nutritional intake whilst going through the recovery process after surgery, but it is crucial in benefitting your long-term health and developing a successful healing process. It’s important to take charge of your healing to get you back up and running and enjoying life again!
Author: My name is Jamie Costello and I’m a nutrition student based in Manchester. As part of my course I tend to learn about many topics ranging from health supplements to dietetics research. When I’m not studying I enjoy swimming and keeping up to date with the latest sports news.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in the article belong to the author. Slimnhappy doesn’t take any responsibility for the same.
