After major or total gastrectomy for gastric cancer patients, attention should be paid to nutritional supplementation, and at the same time, the amount and type of food should be adjusted according to the patient’s tolerance of diet and stomach capacity. In short, the diet should be nutritious and easy to digest, and in general, patients should follow the following principles.
Less food and more meals
Because only a small part of stomach remains after radical resection of gastric cancer or the inter-jejunal replacement stomach after total gastrectomy, the eating capacity is obviously reduced compared with the original one, and only by increasing the number of meals can make up for the lack of food quantity and meet the body’s demand for nutrients. Therefore, patients should develop good eating habits, eat at regular times, eat regularly and quantitatively, and insist on eating less and more meals, with 5-6 meals per day being appropriate. The main food and side dishes should be soft and easy to digest. Do not overeat.
Eat more fish and meat
In the early postoperative period, you should eat according to the order of water, clear liquid, liquid food, semi-fluid, soft food and general food. The liquid diet should be rice soup, egg soup, vegetable soup and lotus root powder, and foods that will induce intestinal flatulence should be avoided. The semi-liquid diet should be high in protein, high in calories, high in vitamins, low in fat, and fresh and easy to digest. The best source of animal protein is fish, because fish is not only rich in protein, the composition of amino acids and the ratio between each other are similar to the human body, the utilization rate of fish protein can reach 96%, the fat of fish contains high unsaturated fatty acids, and easy for the body to digest and absorb, so we encourage more fish, such as yellow croaker, carp, etc. After entering the general diet should eat more vegetables, fruits and other foods containing high fiber, in order to keep the bowels open and promote the excretion of toxins.
Eat less sweets
(1) Excessive sugar intake can easily cause hyperosmolar dumping syndrome (discomfort symptoms after eating caused by gastrectomy). Therefore, sugar should be controlled appropriately, and sugar energy supply should account for 50% to 60% of the total calories, avoid intake of too sweet food, and starchy food should be the mainstay.
(2) Fat energy supply should not exceed 35% of the total energy, avoid eating animal fat, and choose fats that can be easily digested and absorbed, such as vegetable oil, cream, egg yolk, etc. If steatorrhea occurs in a few patients after surgery (referring to diarrhea when pulling out a lot of fat particles), fat intake should be reduced.
(3) should be supplemented with a high-protein diet, choose easily digestible, essential amino acid variety of food, such as fish, eggs, shrimp, lean meat, soy products, etc., protein energy supply accounted for 15% to 20% of the total energy, such as a person weighing 70 kg, daily intake of protein 70 ~ 140 grams.
Food taboos
1, avoid eating cold, too hot, coarse and hard food;
2, avoid eating spicy and stimulating spices, such as pepper, mustard, etc.;
3, strictly forbidden to drink strong wine, strong tea and other stimulating food;
4, avoid excessive oil and too coarse food, such as fried chicken, doughnuts and other fried food;
5, should not eat coarse grains, dried beans, hard fruits, vegetables with high crude fiber content (bamboo shoots, celery, etc.), spicy and stimulating and gas-producing foods (such as radish, garlic, white potatoes, etc.). It is not that these foods are not allowed to be eaten at all, but the amount and personal tolerance of these foods should be considered.
These are the basic principles of postoperative diet for gastric cancer patients, and there is no need to be too taboo in other aspects. After patients are discharged from the hospital, they can resume eating together with their family members. The amount of food they eat is generally based on their own feelings, but if they feel full, bloating, diarrhea, dizziness, palpitations and other symptoms, they should stop eating to prevent complications.
Prevention of anemia
Animal liver and fresh vegetables should be used appropriately to increase the amount of various vitamins and minerals. It should be noted that after gastric cancer surgery, patients are prone to iron deficiency anemia, so they can eat lean meat, fish, shrimp, animal blood, animal liver, egg yolk, soybean products and foods rich in protein and iron such as dates, green leafy vegetables and sesame paste to prevent anemia.
Chew carefully and swallow slowly
After surgery, the grinding function of the stomach is lacking, so the chewing function of the teeth should play a more important role. For coarse and indigestible food, chew and swallow slowly. If you want to eat soups or drinks, you should pay attention to the separation of dry and thin, and try to eat soups 30 minutes before or after meals to prevent food from being excreted too quickly and affecting digestion and absorption. After the meal, the patient should rest in the lateral position to prolong the emptying time of the food so that it can be completely digested and absorbed.
Patients will be limited in eating after surgery, and the most important thing is not to panic too much based on understanding the changes in their bodies, keeping their spirits happy and enjoying food to the fullest.