Knowing what to eat with gastroparesis can really affect your day to day life and weight, especially
when you are first diagnosed. You could end up with malnutrition and this will lead to a lot of
weakness which affects your ability to work, go outside, or anything in general. This should be very
beneficial to newly diagnosed sufferers of gastroparesis.
We will start with two very simple things to avoid, high fat, high fibre foods. Why should you avoid
these? Well... Fat can slow down digestion which may make your symptoms more severe. Plus the
last thing you want is your food taking longer to digest. High fibre food can be hard to
digest and food may remain in your stomach to long and cause bezoars or even bacterial
overgrowth. I would also like to add something else that is very important and will help manage your
gastroparesis. If you are eating just 2-3 big meals a day then it may be a good idea to change that
and have 5-6 smaller meals a day. This will help as you are eating less and your stomach may not get so
full. I must state that this may not work for every gastroparesis sufferer; it depends on how severe
your gastroparesis is.
What I learnt suffering with gastroparesis is one food can work for you and not work for another person
and vice versa. This may be due to the severity of the illness, I had to learn the hard way and test
a lot of different foods. That way you can find what is best for you; Just make sure you avoid high fat
high fibre foods. Once you have found the foods best for you make sure you write them down and
keep them somewhere safe.
If you are having problems eating anything solid then it would be best if you liquefied the food (high
fat should be OK but for some it is not). This will be a lot easier to digest and you will still get the
vitamins and nutrition you need. I also suggest you get some sort of supplement drink to help,
I got ensure myself (banana, yum!).
If you do not want to find out what foods are best for yourself then here are some foods that may be
good for you.
- White milk
- yogurt
- Soup
- White rice
- Noodles
- Well cooked tomato's no skin
- Well cooked potatoes no skin
- Well cooked carrots no skin
- Milkshake
- Canned fruits without skins
- Custard
- Jelly
- Honey
- Coffee
- Tea
That is just a few of the things you may eat, I strongly suggest asking your specialist/doctor
for a dietitian if he/she has not already referred you to one.
Here are some foods you should avoid:
- Apples
- Berries
- Potato skin
- Other vegetable skins
- Green beans
- Oranges
- Brussels sprouts
- Corn
- Coconuts
- Most meats
- Broccoli
Stick to some of these tips and find what foods are best for you and your gastroparesis should be a
lot more manageable. I hope this information is helpful for you, Good luck.
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