Monday 21 November 2022 11:56 PM DR MEGAN ROSSI: What to eat to prepare yourself for an operation trends now

We talk about getting our bodies ‘beach ready’ or even prepped for the party season, but we rarely hear of people getting themselves ‘surgery ready’ despite millions undergoing operations each year.

Yet getting yourself in good shape in the run up to any planned surgery can make a major difference, with studies showing it can help you leave hospital sooner and heal faster.

Even simple adjustments to your diet can help. Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2017 showed that patients who were advised what to eat — as well as being given nutritious protein supplements alongside their normal food — not only had lower rates of infections, but also left hospital on average four days earlier than those who didn’t.

I’ve seen this effect for myself: I used to work in a hospital with patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancers and we likened the process of getting ready for the operation to preparing for a marathon, as both put the body under tremendous strain.

For with surgery you often have to withstand fasting for hours before the operation, the trauma of surgery itself — and then there’s the intense energy requirements of healing.

The body also has to feed an immune system that is hungrier than usual as it fights off inevitable attacks, at the same time as creating more tissue as you heal. The bottom line is that before any operation you really need to be eating to build up your reserves.

At this time, it’s more vital than ever that you feed your gut microbes the foods that help them flourish, because after surgery you’ll be relying on them heavily to keep you well. Ideally, you would start in the weeks leading up to your operation.

Aim to eat four different types of plant every day – think wholegrains, veg, fruit, legumes (such as chickpeas and lentils), nuts and seeds. They will pay you back by reducing the inflammation that could interrupt the healing process and help to fight off infection — specifically helping to protect against a leaky gut that commonly occurs around surgery (a leaky gut is when the barrier of tight junctions that line the gut become weak, allowing disease-causing nasties to get into the blood).

Another reason to build up the microbes now is that you will probably be put on antibiotics — sometimes before, as well as after your op, which can knock out not just the harmful bacteria, but also some of the beneficial bacteria in the gut. This can open the door to infections such as C. difficile — which can cause havoc in your intestine and make hospital patients really sick (with fewer beneficial gut bugs, the more harmful ones can get a grip and start to take over).

Then, seven to ten days before the operation it’s worth looking to increase the amount (and quality) of high-carbohydrate foods in your diet to improve your energy and micronutrient stores for what lies ahead.

Carbohydrates are stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen which is a ready energy source.

Having that energy supply to call on can slow the body breaking down muscle as an energy supply and can help combat any tiredness and feeling of weakness.

Not all carbs are equal, however — excess glycogen is stored as fat, so this isn’t the time to start feasting on refined carbs such as white bread and biscuits. Instead, look to nutrient-dense starchy veg, grains such as quinoa, oats and barley, legumes such as butter beans, and whole fruit. This will provide the fuel you need alongside key nutrients such as B vitamins, zinc and vitamin C for wound healing.

As a general guide, aim to include an extra one or two servings in your diet at least three to four days prior to surgery.

At the same time, you also want good-quality protein, as this provides amino acids, the building blocks needed for new tissue and to keep the body in good repair.

Protein quality

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