Colonoscopy Diet Management
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A colonoscopy diet starts with increased fiber. Has your colonoscopy revealed polyps and has your doctor warned you that they might recur? If so, this is a good time to make lifestyle changes that will benefit your health. Adding fiber to your meals - the primary way to change your regular diet into a colonoscopy diet - is easier than you think.
But keep in mind that fiber must be drastically reduced in the few days before a colonoscopy and eliminated the day before the procedure.
Fiber's value has been established for healthy colon activity. Specifically, dietary fiber is best known for preventing constipation. It is also helpful in lowering the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
We should note that the value of a high fiber diet in actually preventing colon cancer is still unclear. While some research indicates that it prevents colorectal cancer; other research does not say that it prevent polyps and cancer. Still others think that the whole grains or some other compound in high fiber foods is what makes it beneficial. But the bottom line is that most research indicates that adding fiber to your diet is beneficial to your health.
The first step in your new colonoscopy diet regimen.
The first step is to buy a jar of wheat germ or a box of bran fiber. Add these foods to your cereal, and add them to your meat loaf. Add them to bread crumbs when cooking and sprinkle them in baking dough – cookies or cakes. There, you have added fiber to your diet.
The next step is to buy shelled walnuts or almonds, and put a small handful in a sandwich baggie every day. These make an excellent snack in mid-morning or late afternoon. Eating a handful of nuts is great for weight control because they eliminate the hunger you may feel before lunch or before dinner.
There are two types of fiber – soluble and insoluble.
Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stools. It includes wheat bran, nuts, and many vegetables, especially green leafy ones. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like material that is helpful in lowering cholesterol and glucose levels. Soluble fiber includes fruits, oats, peas, barley and psyllium.
The benefits of adding fiber to your food incude:
- preventing constipation,
- lowering your risk of bowel disorders, such as IBS and diverticular disease,
- lowering blood cholesterol,
- controlling blood glucose levels.
How much fiber do you need each day?
The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine provides science-based advice on matters of medicine and health. It recommends the following daily amounts of fiber for adults: 38 grams for men, 25 grams for women, and a little less if you are over age 50.
Make changes to your diet.
Is having a colonoscopy and finding colon polyps part of your medical history now? If so, accept the fact, and gradually make changes to a colonoscopy diet. The payoff is huge. But unless you try, you will never know that.
Be brave, take a deep breath and do something for yourself for a change. Go out and buy the wheat bran and nuts. And park your car far away from the store, so you have to walk farther.
Protect Yourself From the High Cost of Cancer
According to the recent studies, American men have a 44% chance of developing cancer while the chances for women are about 37%. The general risk of developing colon cancer in the United States is about 6%. For this reason, it's important for everyone, particularly people above the age of 50 years, to go for routine screening.
Whether discovered early or late, cancer is a debilitating disease due to the care, costs and the mental and physical trauma involved. Many times the cost of treatment leaves the patient in heavy financial distress.
Most insurance plans do not cover the total cost of the treatment, which leaves the patient and their family in a lurch. These days people have started purchasing supplemental cancer insurance that can help in covering otherwise uninsured expenses related to cancer illness. If you would like to learn more about supplemental cancer insurance you can click here.
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