Recommended Diet Before a Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation
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Your diet before a colonoscopy bowel preparation is very important to ensure a successful colon exam. It is essential to consider certain changes to your diet three to four days prior to the procedure. There are certain foods that you can and cannot eat as part of your diet. Remember that your bowels need to be empty for the exam.
What foods are good to eat?
Cut down on heavy solid foods three to four days before the procedure and start introducing lighter meals to your diet. The following food suggestions are a good part of your diet before a colonoscopy bowel preparation.
- Light meat that is easily digestible such as chicken (without the skin)
- Potatoes without skin
- Cheese
- Eggs
- A light meal of steamed white fish
- Light clear soups
Start eliminating solid foods altogether within the next two days. Have a light breakfast the day before the colonoscopy, for example an egg on white toast. After that, do not eat any solid food of any kind. Increasing fluid intake as much as possible to keep yourself hydrated may be the most important part of the colonoscopy diet.
Fluids recommended are:
- Water
- Plain tea
- Strained fruit juices
- Soup broth (must be clear)
- Apple or white grape juice
- Coffee
- Ginger ale
- Sports drinks such as Gatorade( not red) or Lucozade
- Oxo, Bovril, Marmite (weak)
Foods and drinks to avoid
Avoid foods that contain too much fiber. Stay clear of dark colored beverages. They can stick to the walls of the digestive tract and make it difficult to differentiate from blood. Some of these foods are:
- Red meat, rice, nuts and vegetables
- Milk, other milk based fluids and cream
- Most fruit and puddings
- Whole grain pasta
- Cereals, bran and seeds
- Colored beverages, especially those that are red or purple in color
- Red colored Jell-O
On the day before the colonoscopy, continue to drink plenty of clear fluids. It is important to keep yourself hydrated before the exam. However, do not drink any fluids four hours before the procedure.
When it is finally over
Preparing yourself for a colonoscopy is taxing for your body. Your diet before a colonoscopy bowel preparation needs to be monitored carefully to avoid dehydration. When it is over, you will be happy that you went through the exam.
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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