close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffHere are some dietary treatment strategies that your doctor may recommend and that you can do on your own:
- Eat smaller meals. Try consuming about six small meals a day rather than three larger ones.
- Avoid fluids with meals. Drink liquids only between meals. Avoid liquids for a half-hour before eating and a half-hour after eating.
- Change your diet. Consume more low-carbohydrate foods. In particular, concentrate on a diet low in simple carbohydrates, such as sugar (found in sweets like candy, cookies and cakes). Read labels on packaged foods, and avoid foods with sugar, including glucose, sucrose, fructose, dextrose, honey and corn syrup. Consume more protein. It may help to see a registered dietitian.
- Chew well. Chewing food thoroughly before you swallow can ease digestion.
- Increase fiber intake. Psyllium, guar gum and pectin in food or supplements can delay the absorption of carbohydrates in the small intestine. Pectin is found in many fruits, such as peaches, apples and plums.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Stay away from acidic foods. Tomatoes and citrus fruits are harder for some people to digest.
- Use low-fat cooking methods. Prepare meat and other foods by broiling, baking or grilling.
- Consume adequate vitamins, iron and calcium. These can sometimes become depleted following stomach surgery. Discuss this nutritional issue with a registered dietitian.
- Lie down after eating. This may slow down the movement of food into your intestines.
Even with dietary changes, you may continue to experience symptoms associated with dumping syndrome.
References
- Rapid gastric emptying. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/rapidgastricemptying/. Accessed Feb. 18, 2010.
- Tack J, et al. Pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of postoperative dumping syndrome. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2009;6:583.
- Mun EC, et al. Complications of bariatric surgery. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 22, 2010.
- Mun EC, et al. Medical management of patients after bariatric surgery. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 22, 2010.
- Deitel, M. The change in the dumping syndrome concept. Obesity Surgery. 2008;18:1622.
- Hejazi RA, et al. Dumping syndrome: Establishing criteria for diagnosis and identifying new etiologies. Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2010;55:117.
- Dumping syndrome. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. http://www.uwhealth.org/healthfacts/B_EXTRANET_HEALTH_INFORMATION-FlexMember-Show_Public_HFFY_1104449365863.html. Accessed Feb. 27, 2010.
- Pectin. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Feb. 27, 2010.
- Guar gum. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Feb. 27, 2010.
- Black psyllium. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Feb. 27, 2010.
- Blond psyllium. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Feb. 27, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on