Diet
A healthy balanced diet is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle.
For most people a healthy balanced diet includes:
- Fruit and vegetables - at least five portions per day
- Limited food high in fat
- Protein rich foods such as meat, fish, nuts and lentils
- Milk and dairy food each day
- Limited alcohol - not exceeding the national recommendations
which are currently 14 units for women and 21 units for men per
week.
Some people may struggle with their diet/food on a day to
day basis due to breathlessness or loss of appetite for example.
Please read leaflets, link. You do need to be at your best
physical health as you can be for your treatment. If your BMI (body
mass index) is low you may need to have extra support. So if you
need specialist advice your clinical nurse specialist can refer you
to a dietician. This will be discussed at your hospital
appointment.
If you are overweight you can greatly improve the speed of
recovery after your operation and your long term health by losing
weight.
Your clinical Nurse specialist will be able to provide further
support and information regarding diet and healthy eating please
ask if this hasn't been discussed with you
Please remember every individual is different so information
will be tailored to your needs.
It is important that you are aware of your drinking and how it
can affect your body. Drinking too much alcohol can damage you
heart and your overall health by increasing your blood
pressure.
The current guidelines for safe drinking suggest up to 14 units
of alcohol for women and 21 units of alcohol per week for men.
One unit of alcohol is equivalent to:
- Half a pint of normal strength beer or lager
- One small glass of wine
- A single pub measure of spirits (25ml)
Your clinical nurse specialist will be able to talk through this
with you and provide any information or support you may need.
Please see here
for a leaflet on healthy eating.
Smoking Cessation
Please see here
and here for
information and guidance on stopping smoking.
