Food is an essential part of our everyday health habits. It not only satisfies our craving but also supplies us with the nutrients our body needs to get through the day. Specifically, Filipino food is the right balance of delicious flavors, jam-packed with nutritional value.
A healthy meal plan is most especially needed during recovery from plastic surgery, including breast augmentation. If you’ve already undergone or still planning to have breast surgery, you might have searched for recommended diets during your recovery. Many internet sources are available for this type of information. However, most items included in these lists are expensive or hard-to-find items for Filipinos.
It doesn’t mean that there’s no Filipino food that can help you through plastic surgery recovery. Here are some local items and produce that you can stock in preparation for your post-surgery recovery period.
Filipino Food to Eat During Recovery
Vegetables
Vegetables contain vitamins and minerals that are essential during the healing process. Vegetables are a rich and healthy source of carbohydrates, which helps you regain the strength you might’ve lost during surgery. Carbohydrates also help provide the brain energy to let it inform the muscles to relax.
Furthermore, veggies help you get a boost of vitamin A and C. Also, pain medications and the lack of activity during recovery may lead to constipation, a common side effect. The high fiber content of a vegetable-filled diet can help you reduce the instance of constipation.
Some of the healthy vegetables that are easy to access include carrots, onions, eggplant, squash, sweet potato, cabbage, bell peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower. Good vegetable-rich Filipino dishes include Pinakbet and Chopsuey.
Leafy Greens
Aside from vegetables, leafy greens are one of the types of Filipino food that’s a staple during recovery. It serves as a multivitamin for how much nutrients it gives the body.
A hearty serving of greens in your meals gives you a good dose of vitamin A, C, E, and K, which helps to prevent blood clotting. You’ll also get B-complex vitamins that help your body absorb energy. Lastly, leafy greens are rich in fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
Some of the local greens include malunggay, kangkong, sayote tops, dahon ng sili, ampalaya tops, saluyot, and alugbati. It’s not only served as a side dish, some of them you can include in treats like green smoothies.
Fruits
Instead of unhealthy snacks, munch on fruits instead. Remember that the more colorful your diet is, the more nutrients you provide your body. So, adding an assortment of vegetables and bright-colored fruits makes a healthy recovery diet with Filipino food.
Fruits are rich in vitamin A and C, carbohydrates, antioxidants, and nutritious calories. The fiber content helps to ease constipation, as mentioned earlier, and boost energy from carbs. Fruits are also light on the stomach, so you can consume them in regular portions.
Nutritious fruits include mango, papaya, melon, and apple. Local produce such as mangosteen, guyabano, and atis are also considered superfoods for their nutritional value.
Fats
Not all fats are bad for your health. In fact, healthy fats are an essential part of your recovery diet. Following your surgery, it helps the body absorb vitamins from the fruits and vegetables you eat. Fat also strengthens the immune system, decreasing the risk of infection. Furthermore, it provides you with a long-lasting source of energy.
While many local delicacies are oily, some Filipino foods are rich in healthy fats. Local nuts and beans such as kasoy, pili, peanuts, and munggo are great snack alternatives. Nuts are also rich in vitamin E, which helps with faster wound healing and reduction of scar appearance.
Other local sources of healthy fats include avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, tofu, and other soybean products.
Meat
During recovery, you need an ample amount of protein and iron. As you’ve undergone an invasive surgery, you need nutrients to repair affected muscles. Amino acids in protein help regenerate tissues and speed up wound healing, while iron helps with regaining energy and blood flow.
White meat, such as poultry, are more recommended during recovery rather than red meat. Fish and seafood are also great sources of protein, though be wary as some of them may affect the healing of your wounds.
After surgery, it may be hard for you to digest tougher meats. It helps to slow cook them or use ground cuts for meals. With that said, there are healthy local alternatives like tofu and eggs. Specifically, eggs are staples in any recovery diet. They are rich in not only protein but also vitamins, folic acid, calcium, iron, and zinc.
Probiotics
Anesthetics, antibiotics, and painkillers from surgery may upset your gut, which leads to digestive upsets, constipation, and nausea. A dose of probiotics can help regulate your digestive system during recovery. Probiotics are healthy bacteria needed to digest food. It also fights off germs and infections in your body.
Yogurt is the most common probiotic-rich food on the market. Filipino food rich in probiotics includes fermented products like atchara or pickled papaya. There are also a lot more local fermented products you can check out.
Whole Grains
You will feel worn out right after surgery, and the carbohydrates from whole grains help you gain energy and stop muscles from breaking down. Also, it’s a great source of fiber.
Wheat bread and oats are easily accessible in any grocery. For Filipinos, rice is a staple for any meal. However, during recovery, you might want to go slow in consuming white rice, which can spike up blood sugar levels. You may want to opt for brown rice instead.
Water
It might be obvious to hear but water is one of the most crucial parts of your recovery diet. Dehydration is common after surgery. Remember to keep hydrated to help you recover quickly. Depending on the surgery and medication you have, your fluid requirement may need to be higher than usual.
If you get tired of just plain water, you can flavor it with citruses such as lemon, lime, or calamansi. Also, you can alternate regular water with coconut water from time to time.
Those are only some of the healthy Filipino foods that you can incorporate into your meals during breast augmentation recovery. Remember, choosing healthy food options is not enough. Make sure to portion your meals to keep them balanced and make sure you don’t overeat.