qué comer y qué evitar

Colonoscopy is a diagnostic test that usually entails doubts and misgivings, more than the test itself, due to the dietary restrictions of the previous three days. Before consulting with San Google about what clear liquids are for a colonoscopy or what a zero-residue food table looks like, digestive doctors and dietitians-nutritionists remind us that they are the experts and they are the ones to whom They should fearlessly raise all doubts regarding this test. Including those about what it means to follow a low-residue diet before a colonoscopy.

What is a colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is a procedure that consists of introducing an instrument equipped with a camera in the form of a flexible tube called a colonoscope every year. Thanks to this technique, the specialist can observe the interior of the large intestine and the final part of the small intestine and detect possible colorectal cancer. If necessary, it also allows tissue to be extracted for analysis (biopsy) and even polyps to be removed.

This test is performed with sedation and hardly causes any discomfort. In fact, the entire previous bowel preparation process is usually more cumbersome for the patient.

The preparation of the test is usually much more cumbersome for the patient than the colonoscopy itself, since it is performed with sedation. Photo: Sudok1.

Why do you have to prepare the intestine and how is it done?

On the day of the examination, the colon must be clean to facilitate correct visualization of its walls. In other words, to avoid errors or difficulties in visualizing the area, it is necessary for the camera to see the tissues well, without fecal remains in the way. If not, the test may need to be repeated.

To achieve this ‘emptying’ it is essential to modify the diet in the previous days. For this, the digestive doctor provides a list with dietary recommendations. These guidelines will depend on the internal protocols of the center or hospital where the test is performed and will also take into account other aspects of the patient’s health, such as requiring insulin in the case of a person with diabetes.

Can you take medications before a colonoscopy?

A week before the test, if you are taking drugs, whether for serious ailments, or just ibuprofen or paracetamol, you must discuss their withdrawal or replacement with the specialist. Likewise, if you are taking anticoagulants, you should stop taking them or discuss a possible replacement with your doctor approximately 3 days before the test.

What is a zero residue diet for colonoscopy and when should you start?

The patient does not have to improvise in the kitchen. You simply have to limit yourself to following the instructions given by the team in charge of the test for correct colon preparation. Each hospital center has its protocol, but generally a 3-day dietary preparation prior to the test.

  • During this period the patient must eat foods with low or no fiber content and without residues of food of animal origin.
  • Regarding the ways of preparing these foods, it is advisable to opt for forms of simple kitchen that facilitate digestion (boiled, grilled…).
  • It is also recommended to avoid large meals.

What you can eat and what to avoid 3 days before

In the information sheets distributed by the medical center there are normally lists of foods to consume and avoid.

Foods to avoid before colonoscopy

  • Fruits and vegetables in any form, especially raw, with skin or seeds.
  • Legumes in any form of preparation including puree or cream
  • Whole grains and their derivatives
  • Nuts in any form, whether whole or cream
  • Seeds in any of their forms, whole, soaked or ground.
  • whole dairy

If you want to consume fruits, it is always better to eat them without skin and cooked, although it is much better to avoid them, especially the two days before the test.

Foods allowed before a colonoscopy

  • Strained vegetable broths
  • Blended fruit juices
  • Refined cereals and their derivatives: white rice, non-whole wheat pasta and seedless white bread.
  • Fresh low-fat cheeses and low-fat yogurts
  • Lean non-fibrous meats, without skin or visible fat, giving priority to clean white meats (chicken, rabbit, turkey)
  • White fish and eggs
In a diet prior to a colonoscopy, you cannot eat whole fruits, but you can eat strained juices to eliminate fiber. PHOTO: Greg Rosenke on Unsplash.

Sample menu for 72-48 hours before colonoscopy

Typical menu for 72-48 before colonoscopy
Breakfast Coffee or infusion with skimmed milk
Toasted bread (white) with fresh skimmed cheese
Orange juice (without pulp, always strained, to eliminate fiber)
Media tomorrow Skim yogurt accompanied by white bread sticks or puffed rice
meal Boiled white rice with grilled turkey breast
dinner Pasta or semolina soup
Baked white fish, or a French omelet

Breakfast: coffee or infusion with skimmed milk, toasted bread (white) with fresh skimmed cheese and orange juice (without pulp, always strained, to eliminate fiber).

Mid-morning: Skim yogurt or with white bread sticks, or puffed rice

Midday lunch: boiled white rice with a grilled turkey breast.

Dinner: pasta or semolina soup with baked white fish or a French omelette.

What can you eat 24 hours before

Once again, the center’s recommendations will have to be followed, but mainly the diet during the 24 hours prior to the test is based on liquids. The goal is to make cleaning the large intestine even easier. Apart from water, you can drink clear homemade broths, infusions, coffee (although there are protocols that restrict caffeine), which if desired can be sweetened with sugar or honey, sports drinks (isotonic) or clear gelatins.

The consumption of alcohol, carbonated drinks, fruit juices with pulp or vegetables, milk or vegetable drinks alternatives to milk (such as oatmeal drinks, soy drinks, etc.) are not recommended.

In the hours immediately following the examination, the patient will be recommended not to eat any type of food, neither solid nor liquid.

Diet after a colonoscopy

Once the test is completed, it will not always be necessary to follow a specific diet. Depending on how the patient is feeling, foods can be introduced little by little until feeding is normalized. But this will depend on your state of health and the recommendations of the reference hospital.

The ALDI Council

Some medical tests require small changes to your usual diet. Follow your doctor’s instructions in each case so as not to alter the results or so that you do not repeat it again.

Iva Marquis. Patron of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Graduate in Nutrition and doctor in Pharmacy. Professor of Nutrition and Bromatology at the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences of the University of Zaragoza. She is a researcher at the IA2 Agri-Food Institute of Aragon, forming part of the Research Group “Analysis and evaluation of food safety”. Director of the University Expert Title “Nutrition and feeding of vegetarian and vegan children” at the University of Zaragoza. She has been Editor-in-Chief of the Spanish Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as President of the Spanish Conference of Deans and Directors of Centers that teach the degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics. She is currently Patron and Honorary Academician of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, member of the Portuguese Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education A3ES and of the Scientific Committee of the Association «5 a day». Facebook: @iva.marqueslopes.

Martina Miserachs

Martina Miserachs. Vice President of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Coordinator of the Institutional Relations Area and the Knowledge Management Area of ​​the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Nutrition Director. She was previously responsible for the Department of Relations with Industry and Entities and patron of the Spanish Foundation of Dietitians-Nutritionists (former Spanish Association of Dietitians-Nutritionists). She currently works as a Dietitian-Nutritionist in private practice at the Sant Just Clinic in Sant Just Desvern and as a dietitian-nutritionist at the nursing homes of SUMAR Serveis Públics d’Acció Social de Catalunya. Among her activities, food-nutritional advice stands out for agri-food companies, hotels and nursing homes, and collaborations in different media and television programs (Operación Triunfo, Supermodels, etc.). She is the author of ‘Lose Weight, Gain Health’ and the ‘Family Food Encyclopedia’ (RBA Books).

Content endorsed by the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
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