What To Eat, Take, & Do Before & After A Surgery

It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

No question/request too big or small 😎

❝Am about to have hip operation. Have been told to avoid various health supplements, but would be in interested to know your thoughts on what it is actually good to eat! Subject for an article, maybe? Keep up the good work!❞

Thank you, and indeed!

In the category of supplements, you’ve probably been warned off vitamins B7 and E, and in general supplements and/or medications that affect blood clotting (with garlic extract likely being on the list, as well as aspirin, warfarin, etc), and anti-inflammatories (be they supplements or medications). Less common specific vetoes (being generally considered under the umbrella of “things with anti-inflammatory properties”) include fish oil and glucosamine, with a similar rationale.

You may be wondering: why don’t we want anti-inflammatories?

And the answer is: because inflammation, annoying as it may be, is the initial part of the healing process, so we don’t want to compromise that (yet, at least; later becomes more reasonable again).

These supplements are best avoided for at least two weeks before surgery.

You may also have been advised to eat a “low-residual diet” for one or more days before you have to fully fast for the operation. The idea of this is to clear out your gastrointestinal tract as much as is reasonably and safely possible, because general anesthetic does not discriminate, which means various sphincters (including your esophageal sphincter and your anal sphincters*) will relax, and the surgeon doesn’t want any of the contents going where it shouldn’t (probably you don’t, either).

^{*yes, anal sphincters in the plural. There’s an upper and lower, or inner and outer if you prefer, sphincter. The first is entirely autonomic, and when it opens, nerves near the lower/outer sphincter signal to your brain that it’s time to go. The second is consciously controlled, except in cases where someone has a malady that prevents such.}

Anyway, the low-residual diet can be simplified as: no dairy, and as little fiber as possible.

So, this latter injunction results in the opposite of a lot of normal health advice, because suddenly the recommendation list is rife with such things as white bread, plain mashed potatoes, honey/syrup, etc.

However, if you prefer, you can simply water fast beforehand if you prefer, stopping water too for the required number of hours prior to your anesthesia, of course.

In the weeks before that

Aside from the above considerations, a normal healthy diet should be fine until you get to the low residual diet phase.

However, if you want to particularly optimize things, then there are several considerations:

You want to prioritize gut health. If your gut is going to be near-emptied prior to the operation, that’s going to leave it vulnerable to pathogens. Now, the hospital will surely give you antibiotics, but those aren’t exactly great for your gut microbiome either, so prioritizing gut health (so: high fiber, consider probiotics, minimal processed food), right up until you have to switch to the low-residual diet is sensible, as it gives your gut the best chance of a swift recovery afterwards. Look at it this way: if >95% of your gut microbes are going to be nuked by antibiotics and perhaps even enemas, you want whatever’s left to have the best possible percentage of good bacteria, because that’s what’s going to be there there to repopulate.

See also: Antibiotics? Think Thrice ← which also brings up “Four Ways Antibiotics Can Kill You”; seriously, the risks of antibiotics are not to be underestimated, including the risks associated only with them working exactly as intended—let alone if something goes wrong. Now, in the case of a surgery, antibiotics are a necessary evil, but we do want to mitigate the harm as much as possible.

On which note, see: Minimize The Harm Of Antibiotics ← this was also in response to a question about a hip surgery, by the way

For more on helping things work as they should, see: Stop Sabotaging Your Gut

And we imagine regular 10almonds readers are already familiar with the more foundational: Making Friends With Your Gut (You Can Thank Us Later), but for anyone who’s not, here you go.

You want good circulation. Healing can’t happen without it, and a hip surgery carries the risk of thrombosis. Likely your hospital will be very much on top of that, but if you want to prepare yourself to minimize your risk as much as possible, then you want to:

• keep your blood pressure in a healthy range (see for example: How To Lower Your Blood Pressure (Cardiologists Explain))
• keep moving as much as you reasonably can, especially your lower body (see also: The Doctor Who Wants Us To Exercise Less, & Move More and The Best Home Exercise To Improve Circulation In Your Legs)
• consider supplementing with rutin: Rutin For Your Circulation & More but if you do, STOP at least 2 weeks before your operation, for the same reason as avoiding blood thinners and such)

After the operation

You’ll want to skip the anti-inflammatories for at least a short while after the op, but once inflammation has occurred and healing begins, you’ll probably want to dial down the inflammation.

If you’re picking something to start with, you might want to consider bromelain, as while it is an anti-inflammatory, its anti-inflammatory properties are unique to it, work by a different mechanism than others, and can even actually hasten healing once healing is occurring.

For more about this paradoxical supplement, see: Bromelain vs Inflammation & Much More

As for the rest… Rest! And get in gentle movements to rebuild your mobility. The help of a physiotherapist can work wonders in that regard.

Lastly, we’ll leave you with: How To Heal Injuries More Quickly

We also recommend checking out: Nobody Likes Surgery, But Here’s How To Make It Much Less Bad: The Insider’s Guide To Making Hospital As Comfortable As Possible

…and that featured expert’s book: Calm For Surgery – by Dr Chris Bonney

Take care, and may your op (and recovery) go smoothly!