- Eat many small meals, eat slowly and often
To help the stomach recover and prevent dumping syndrome, meals should be divided into 6 – 8 portions per day, chewed thoroughly (more than 20 times).
- Eat slowly, step by step
– Start with 1/3 cup of rice and gradually increase the amount eaten little by little. You can add protein by mixing protein supplements with rice wine.
– It’s advisable to start with a small amount of porridge and maintain this for about 4 weeks after surgery. From this stage, you can add protein-rich side dishes to each meal or incorporate them into the porridge to consume as a nutritional porridge.
– It is recommended to start with rice instead of porridge, and after eating, take a gentle walk to aid digestion.
- Consume enough protein
Eat at least one protein-rich food (lean meat, fish, seafood, eggs, tofu…) at every meal.
- Avoid foods that are too sweet and salty.
It’s advisable to avoid high-salt foods such as pickled foods (pickled vegetables, pickled radish, pickled eggplants, etc.), processed foods (sausages, ham, canned foods, etc.), stews, and dishes that are high in sugar like sweet fruit juices, canned fruits, chocolate, and candies.
- Notes for each type of food
– Cereal group: Avoid foods such as gimbap, rice cakes, sweet rice cakes as well as mixed cereals, whole grains, and sweet potatoes that are high in fiber.
– Fish and meat: Remove skin or fatty parts and eat only lean meat.
– Vegetables: Avoid vegetables such as comfrey bulbs, dried vegetables, and seaweed and eat soft vegetables such as pumpkin, radish, and cucumber after cooking and cutting into small pieces. After switching to rice, you can eat raw vegetables.
– Fruit: After switching to rice, you can eat 1-2 small pieces, then gradually increase the amount until recovery. However, persimmons and bananas should be avoided because of their high tannin content, which leads to the risk of forming a foreign body in the stomach or intestinal obstruction, and canned or dried fruits should be limited to prevent Dumping Syndrome.
– Dairy products: You can drink 1/3 cup of milk when switching to rice, check the level of adaptation and gradually increase the amount.
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