- Foods to heal faster
- Foods that hinder healing
- Diet to facilitate healing in the postoperative period
Healing foods, such as milk, yogurt, orange and pineapple, are important in recovery after surgery because they facilitate the formation of the tissue that closes the wounds and helps to reduce the scar mark.
To improve healing, it is also important to keep your body well hydrated, as the skin is more elastic and the scar is better. A good solution can be water-rich foods like orange, watermelon, cucumber and soups in general. Know what foods are rich in water.
See what else our nutritionist has to say in a super fun video below:
Foods to heal faster
Check the table for examples of foods that contribute to better skin healing and that should be consumed in the postoperative period, after a cut or getting a tattoo or piercing:
| Examples | Post-operative benefit | |
| Protein- rich foods | Lean meat, egg, fish, gelatin, milk and dairy products | They help in the formation of tissue that will be needed to close the wound. |
| Foods rich in Omega 3 | Sardines, salmon, tuna or chia seeds | Reduce inflammation by facilitating healing. |
| Healing fruits | Orange, strawberry, pineapple or kiwi | Important in the formation of collagen, which helps the skin to become firmer. |
| Foods rich in Vitamin K | Broccoli, asparagus or spinach | They help with clotting by stopping bleeding and facilitating healing. |
| Iron rich foods | Liver, egg yolk, chickpeas, peas or lentils | It helps to maintain healthy blood cells, which are important for bringing nutrients to the wound site. |
| Valina- rich foods | Soybeans, Brazil nuts, barley or eggplant | Improve the quality of tissue regeneration. |
| Foods rich in Vitamin E | Sunflower, hazelnut or peanut seeds | Improves the quality of the formed skin. |
| Foods rich in Vitamin A | Carrot, tomato, mango or beet | They are good for preventing skin inflammation. |
Taking the food supplement Cubitan can also be useful to facilitate the healing process, especially in the case of wounds and bedsores that appear in bedridden people.
Foods that hinder healing
Certain foods, popularly known as oars, hinder healing and should not be consumed after surgery, while still having stitches, such as sweets, soft drinks, fried foods or processed meats, such as sausage and sausage.
These foods can impair healing because sugar and industrialized fat increase inflammation in the body and hinder blood circulation, which is essential for nutrients to reach the wound to heal tissue.
So it is important to exclude from the diet everything that has fat and especially sugar, such as:
- Powdered sugar, honey, cane molasses; Soda, candies, chocolate, ice cream and cookies, filled or not; Chocolate milk, jams with sugar; Fatty meats, pork, sausage, sausage, bacon.
A good strategy is to look at the label of processed foods and check if there is sugar in the product's ingredient list. Sometimes the sugar is hidden under some strange names like Maltodextrin or Corn syrup. See the amount of sugar in everyday foods.
Diet to facilitate healing in the postoperative period
A good meal option to eat in the postoperative period is to have a vegetable soup, beat in a blender with a drizzle of olive oil. This first meal should be liquid and can even be taken in a glass with a straw to facilitate.
When the patient is less sick, he can have a light meal, giving preference to cooked food and vegetables. A good tip is to eat 1 piece of grilled or cooked salmon, seasoned with herbs and cooked broccoli, and 1 glass of beaten orange juice with strawberries.
