Patients often ask us after surgery, “Doctor, is there anything I need to abstain from after surgery?” At this time, I usually pause for a moment and say to him seriously, “No poison. Some patients also ask: “What “tonic” can I take after surgery to make my body recover as soon as possible?” At this time, I would think about it and then answer: “White tiger with cordyceps”. Many kind and lovely patients would reply, “Cordyceps is easy to find, but where can I find white tigers?” I stared into his eyes and let my thoughts fly for a while before saying, “There are a few of them at Changlong.” (This may seem like a joke, but it really happened in my daily medical work, which shows two things: the majority of Panyu people are so simple and kind; the traditional Chinese medical theory of abstaining from mouth after surgery has taken root. So let’s talk about whether you need to quit your mouth after surgery or not today. There are many sayings about abstaining from mouth, traditional medicine in China says to eat light, to serve warm, avoid eating soup with chicken, ham and various vegetables, avoid “hairy things”, such as allium, ginger, pepper, mutton, goose meat, etc. for hairy things; such as shrimp, crab, etc. for hairy things; such as caramel, glutinous rice, mash, rice wine, etc. for hairy wet things; such as pear, persimmon and A variety of cold products for the development of cold accumulation of things. Even eggs are considered to be “hair-prone”, and eating eggs can lead to wound inflammation; eating soy sauce can deepen the color of surgical scars. There is no scientific basis for these statements about abstaining from eating after surgery, but there is absolutely no fear of “hair”, rather, from the perspective of promoting wound healing and restoring the body as soon as possible, there is no big difference between the diet and the healthy diet required of normal people. The most common abstention is to eat light, avoid greasy, which has nothing to do with whether or not to do surgery. Eating more fruits and vegetables and coarse staples and less fried and stir-fried and meat is a diet that everyone should try to follow. Those who do not have surgery should eat this way, and those who have surgery should also eat this way. From the perspective of Western medicine, the recovery period after surgery is like building a house, this is actually the time when the most nutrition is needed, as if the wall needs bricks and sand and gravel, where does the nutrition come from, it can only be eaten through the mouth, and then digested and absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, if this can not eat, that can not eat, where does the nutrition come from, how the wound grows. Patients often feel a lack of appetite in the early postoperative period, this is because the anesthesia and gastrointestinal function after surgery has not yet fully recovered, this time we generally encourage patients to move more or walk on the floor to promote the gastrointestinal tract peristalsis, generally speaking, if the patient has a sense of hunger, it means that the upper gastrointestinal tract to resume activities; if there is anal exhaust (fart), it means that the intestines also resume work, this is the time to resume eating. (Surgeons are very concerned about when the patient “farts”, we call it “a spring thunder”.) At the beginning, we eat liquid food (milk, porridge, soup, etc.), and then gradually transition to semi-liquid (noodles, porridge, etc.) and then to a normal diet according to the gastrointestinal function. After surgery, it is generally recommended to eat more high-protein foods, because wound healing requires a lot of protein, such as eggs, meat, beans, milk, which are good sources of protein, and often in the Chinese medicine theory of abstinence, these are not allowed to eat. Patients usually feel tired after surgery, people may think that the surgery has hurt their vitality, but in fact, it is because of poor appetite, little food and dehydration of the body after surgery, dizziness and nausea after surgery are also due to dehydration of the body, so it is important to pay attention to replenish enough water after surgery. After surgery, it is recommended to eat more foods rich in dietary fiber because such foods contain both vitamins and minerals that the body desperately needs. Fruits are a good source of these dietary fibers, vitamins and trace elements, so it is beneficial to eat fruits after surgery, not because they are “cold” as Chinese medicine says. Another problem is that Chinese medicine requires a light diet after surgery, but the patient’s taste has become lighter after surgery, so if he still eats “light” things, he will lose his appetite even more, so eating some chili peppers and dipping some vinegar after surgery is not a big problem. Eat something fragrant, drink something spicy to increase appetite and replenish electrolytes at the same time. Unless it is oral and throat surgery, these patients should not eat spicy or other stimulating things, and should not eat too salty or too hot food to avoid irritation. Post-operative patients should not touch things that normal people should not be involved in, such as alcohol and tobacco. You can take a multivitamin (e.g., Centrum) every day to supplement your nutrition needs, but do not take more than you need. If you have liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, etc., there are some dietary considerations that you should consult your physician about. Therefore, for most post-surgical patients, there is nothing to abstain from eating, as long as they can digest it and do not feel uncomfortable. Other nutritional products, supplements and Chinese tonic are not recommended, as they are often not beneficial and may be harmful to post-operative recovery. So if you really want to quit, then quit the “poison”.