Best Foods to Eat after Surgery to Reduce Swelling

If you have had surgery in the recent past, the type of food you eat can have a significant impact on your overall recovery. In fact, eating the right foods can help prevent after surgery complications such as swelling and high blood glucose and as well promote faster healing. Among other after-surgery side effects, bruising, pain, and swelling are among the most common and worst effects especially a few days after the surgery. However, as time goes by, these symptoms tend to fade away. In this article, let's discuss after surgery effects particularly swelling, and foods to eat after surgery to reduce swelling.

Foods to Eat after Surgery to Reduce Swelling

If you are looking to reduce swelling and as well speed up your recovery, consider adding these foods into your diet.

Vegetables

Munching on some fresh, green and all natural salad with spinach and lettuce is a great way to reduce swelling especially after a surgery. Most leafy vegetables are packed with essential components such as fiber, minerals, and vitamins that have the potential to relieve a lot of health woes.

For instance, spinach is packed with vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene which makes it among the most important ingredients to control inflammation-related cases.

Broccoli, on the other hand, is a nutritional powerhouse full of disease-fighting components including vitamin C and B vitamin filters as well as beta-carotene. Broccoli also contains kaempferol which is a flavonoid that can help manage and reduce inflammation.

Fruits

Even though swelling is associated with excess water build-up, surprisingly, the best way to eliminate excess water in the body is by consuming more. One way you can do this is by eating fruits rich in water content. This may include watermelons, oranges, blueberries, and strawberries. For instance, both blueberries and strawberries are rich in fiber which aids in the absorption of excess water in your digestive system thereby reducing bloating which causes swelling.

Pineapples and papayas also contain essential enzymes known as a protease which helps the body to digest and break down proteins. Also, the papain and bromelain enzymes help to reduce inflammation and swelling. Fruits are great foods to eat to reduce swelling after rhinoplasty surgery or any other type of surgery especially on the outer parts of the body.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Sometimes swelling after surgery can be caused by inflammation in your body. To fight back, you can use anti-inflammatory foods that are rich in antioxidants that aids in destroying inflammatory-causing compounds.

Omega-3 fats are among those foods can help manage and reduce inflammation. Foods rich in omega-3 acids include halibut, salmon, fish oil, mackerel, flax, flaxseed, as well as walnuts and walnut oil, and hempseed and hempseed oil.

Proteins such as Beans

Beans are not only affordable and very rich in essential components. For instance, beans are packed with phytonutrients and fiber which helps to control body inflammation. Therefore, swapping meat for a serving of beans can be a great way to reduce swelling after a surgical procedure.

Eggs yolks, on the other hand, contain essential amino acids that are important in reducing inflammation, promoting healing, and minimizing pain. Therefore, they play a significant role in controlling some of the typical after effects of surgery. In fact, eggs on themselves are also rich in antioxidants that are known for their power to reduce swelling as well as promote recovery.

Spices

Numerous foods herbs are well-known for their anti-inflammatory powers including ginger, parsley, chili peppers. Therefore, adding these spices in your food can be advantageous as far as your recovery is concerned.

Those are just a few foods to eat to reduce swelling in legs or any other part of the body, especially after a surgical procedure.

Tips to Reduce Swelling

In order to reduce swelling after surgery, it's vital that you enact your at-home care routine before abs immediately after you undergo the surgical procedure. Here are simple tips that they can use to manage swelling during the recovery process.

• Cold Compress - Use a soft but ice pack over the operated area
• Drink More Water - Drinking more water is very important as it helps you heal faster. In addition, it helps reduce the risks of suffering from medications side-effects such as constipation. It's recommended that you drink enough water to flush out your system.
• Rest - It's highly recommended that you rest for a few weeks after having a surgery especially if it was a major procedure. Overexerting yourself can worsen the side effects such as swelling and as well delay healing which will, of course, cause more pain.
• Avoid Smoking - Smoking should be avoided as it can cause slow healing and as well increases post-surgical complications. If possible, avoid smoking at all, it's not good for your health.
• Avoid Salicylates - Generally, foods rich in salicylates are said to affect your blood, therefore, promoting bruising. Avoid or minimize foods high in salicylates such as mushrooms, tomato, dates, raisins, cantaloupe, guava, and radish among others.
• Reduce Salt Intake - Salt is among one of the most significant contributors of swelling. Salt tends to attract water leading to uncomfortable swelling and bloating all over the body. Therefore, both in your recovery period as well as after, avoid fried, convenience, and processed foods.

Note that choosing the right foods to eat after surgery to reduce swelling is essential. But, continually picking the wrong diet can accelerate the swelling process which of course will be painful and uncomfortable to handle especially over a long period of time.

Conclusion

Foods fuels our bodies to ensure that it functions at its best. And, there are plenty of foods that we can incorporate into our diet that are rich in essential vitamins and minerals that promote healing especially after a surgical procedure. Therefore if you are worried about the foods to eat after surgery to reduce swelling, then you have what you need. Eat healthy foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, and you can begin living a comfortable and pain-free lifestyle.