Diet for hemorrhoids

Needless to say, it is difficult to fight a disease such as hemorrhoids, but it is necessary to do so. And in order for the effect of treatment to be more noticeable, a special diet for hemorrhoids will be required.

Hemorrhoids are an unpleasant disease when, due to a weakened vascular wall, the veins of the rectum enlarge and bulge. All this is accompanied by symptoms of pain, itching, and bleeding.

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What is the diet for hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids are often treated conservatively or surgically, with sitz baths or warming compresses, suppositories, and stool softeners prescribed. However, nutrition is also important in hemorrhoid therapy. A properly selected diet can reduce painful symptoms, restore bowel disorders, achieve complete digestion of food, and reduce the load on the venous network and rectal mucosa.

A diet for internal hemorrhoids implies, first of all, an increase in the amount of fiber consumed - fibrous tissue of plant origin, which is resistant to the enzymes of the human digestive tract, and is extremely important for normalizing the act of defecation. Fiber is contained:

• in cereals (whole grain breads, durum wheat pasta, any cereals (except rice and semolina) and legumes);
• in fruits (both in the skin and in the pulp of the fruit);
• in dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots, figs, dates, prunes);
• in vegetables (both raw and cooked);
• in root vegetables (beets, potatoes, carrots).

Fiber can also be consumed in the form of separate dietary supplements, which are sold in pharmacies. However, it should be remembered that it can be consumed no more than 50 g per day. As for fresh fruits and vegetables, they can be consumed in sufficient quantities.

How does fiber work? It is able to absorb liquid and change the structure of feces: the stool softens and moves through the intestines more easily. In addition, thanks to fiber, the volume of feces increases significantly.

Timely bowel movements and absence of constipation reduce pressure on the vessel walls. As a result, pain subsides, the mucous membrane is restored, and swelling disappears.

The diet for acute hemorrhoids should include a sufficient amount of fluid. If there are no kidney or thyroid diseases that can cause swelling, it is recommended to drink 1.5 to 2.5 liters of fluid per day, and most of it should be drunk in the first half of the day. This can be clean water (not tap water), freshly squeezed juices, herbal tea or dried fruit compote. By the way, prunes are also very appropriate in the diet, as they have good laxative properties. However, water should be drunk no earlier than an hour after eating, or half an hour before eating.

It is necessary to follow the meal schedule. The digestive system, like the entire human body, also has its own specific habits. Unbalanced nutrition, "when you have to" and "where you have to", is not acceptable for normal digestion processes. Eating at the same time disciplines the gastrointestinal system, improves its functioning, ensuring regular daily bowel movements.

Diet for hemorrhoids with bleeding is carried out against the background of mandatory therapeutic measures. Elimination of bleeding of hemorrhoidal veins is possible only by medication. The purpose of the diet in this situation is to reduce the load on the veins, thus influencing the fastest healing of the damaged vascular wall.

To reduce the likelihood of stagnation of fecal matter in the lower areas of the intestine, it is recommended to consume fermented milk products in sufficient quantities. Such products are extremely important for the body: they contribute to the process of restoring the optimal composition of intestinal microflora, which, in turn, creates a favorable environment for healing mucous and vascular damage.

A diet for hemorrhoids and constipation also involves refusing to eat certain foods or limiting their consumption:

• sugar, sweets, buns, pies, white wheat bread, white flour noodles, cookies, candies, cakes, etc.;
• meat dishes;
• hard, sausage, processed cheeses;
• alcohol in any form;
• coffee, strong black tea, chocolate;
• salt (including chips, salted peanuts, croutons, marinades, pickles, and preparations with a lot of salt).

Remember: you cannot expect a positive effect from treating the disease without changing your previous daily diet. Fighting constipation and general health improvement are the main components of the new diet.

A diet for hemorrhoids and anal fissures should be aimed at softening the stool and facilitating its passage through the intestinal tract. To do this, you need to include unrefined vegetable oil in your daily diet, adding it to all kinds of salads and pouring it over side dishes. It is even better if you train yourself to drink a spoonful of oil every morning, preferably olive or flaxseed, with a small amount of water. Vegetable oil is an excellent stimulant for bowel function. If you cannot force yourself to swallow the oil, you can mix it with a cup of kefir or yogurt. Remember that to loosen the intestines, you should drink only fresh yogurt or kefir that is no more than three days old. Otherwise, instead of a laxative effect, you can get, on the contrary, a constipating effect.

The diet during an exacerbation of hemorrhoids should be relatively strict. It is imperative to give up any alcoholic beverages. It is necessary to drink pure mineral water without gas, eat a lot of vegetables and various fruits. If the doctor has decided to remove hemorrhoids surgically, then he will tell you about your diet on the day before the operation individually. In the future, it is necessary to follow general recommendations for nutrition for hemorrhoids. However, do not think that if the problem is removed surgically, it will not recur. If you return to your previous lifestyle, where there was overeating, poor nutrition, constipation, hemorrhoids may recur. Therefore, try to accustom yourself to eating right - this will be the best prevention of a relapse of the disease.

Strictly speaking, a diet after hemorrhoids is a normal, but rational and balanced diet, with regularity of food intake, without overeating and fasting. It is necessary to avoid eating dry food - this can lead to the formation of a chronic form of constipation, which will significantly worsen the prognosis of hemorrhoids.

If you have a tendency to diarrhea due to hemorrhoids, consult a doctor: you may need correction of the bacterial flora of the intestine.

Diet for hemorrhoids during pregnancy

Unfortunately, expectant mothers can often become victims of hemorrhoids in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. The cause may be the pressure exerted by the enlarged uterus on the venous network of the small pelvis, including the hemorrhoidal veins. Sometimes the disease manifests itself after childbirth, which is associated with the load on the vascular system when the child passes through the birth canal.

The disease can develop gradually, without showing itself. For this reason, many doctors recommend following a certain diet during pregnancy, which primarily serves as a preventative measure against hemorrhoids and, if the disease is present, will alleviate the symptoms. Changes in a woman's diet should be aimed at improving bowel function and normalizing stool.

Spicy seasonings, salty foods, sweets, flour, heavy protein products are cancelled. The food we eat should support and direct the work of the digestive system, and not create obstacles in digestion. It is necessary to refuse rich broths, eating instead vegetable soup, stewed vegetables, dark bread, cereal porridges on water. Instead of whole milk, it is better to eat fermented milk products. Your menu should include dried fruits, bananas and other fruits, oatmeal, salads with the addition of unrefined oil.

Try to eat slowly, chewing each bite well. Choose fresh, just-cooked food. Do not use products with an expired shelf life: do not risk your health or the health of your future child.

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Diet menu for hemorrhoids

For informational purposes, we will provide a sample of such a menu:

• Breakfast: oatmeal with water, honey and washed raisins, whole grain bread, green tea.
• Snack – fruit salad with Greek yogurt.
• Lunch – bean soup, baked fish with buckwheat porridge, dark bread, rosehip infusion.
• Afternoon snack – banana.
• Dinner: vegetable stew with carrots, zucchini and eggplant, a piece of Borodinsky bread, prune compote.
• A cup of kefir at night.

Second option:

• Breakfast: cottage cheese with raisins, prunes and nuts, whole grain bread, freshly squeezed fruit juice.
• Snack: baked apple with nuts.
• Lunch – lentil soup, steamed meatballs with barley garnish, a piece of black bread, green tea.
• Afternoon snack: tomato juice with whole grain bread.
• Dinner: vegetable salad with a piece of boiled chicken breast, Borodinsky bread, dried fruit compote.
• Yogurt at night.

Make a menu based on your own tastes and needs, not forgetting to include the doctor's recommendations on proper nutrition. Perhaps, following good and useful advice, you will forget about such an unpleasant disease as hemorrhoids.

Diet for hemorrhoids is important, otherwise all attempts to get rid of the disease may be in vain.