This general nutrition guide is meant to help you understand how your diet affects your ostomy and what you can do to properly care for it. Most individuals with ostomies return to a normal diet within 6 weeks of surgery, but food tolerances can vary from person to person.

These suggestions will make it easier for you to care for your ostomy:

Eat meals regularly - Aim for eating three or more times a day to optimize ostomy function and reduce gas.

Chew your food well – this will help to avoid stoma site blockages. If you have an ileostomy, be especially careful when chewing foods that may be hard to digest or foods that are high in fiber.

Try new foods one at a time - learn which foods may give you unpleasant side effects such as excess gas, constipation, a looser stool, or odor. If a new food seems to give you problems, eliminate it for a few weeks, but try it again later to be sure something else wasn’t causing the problem.

Avoid gaining excess weight - once you’re on the road to recovery, avoid gaining excess weight. Extra weight may harm your ostomy.

Drink a lot of fluid daily - You may lose more body fluids than usual through the stoma, so it is important to drink a lot of fluid. Ileostomy patients and colostomy patients will notice more fluid loss because most of the body’s fluid is normally reabsorbed in the large intestine.

Remember that no two people will react the same to foods - you will learn through experience which foods, if any, you should avoid. It may be helpful to keep a record of foods that you try and how they make you feel.

Preventing Blockage: Use caution when eating the following foods, because they are not completely digestible and could cause blockage:

Nuts & SeedsPopcornDried Fruit

CoconutRaisinsPeas

Chinese VegetablesVegetable skinsSalad Greens

CeleryColeslawRaw Pineapple

MushroomsRelishesCorn

Reducing Odor: If you experience a problem with odor, you may try making some changes to your diet. Remember to always experiment before cutting out your favorite foods. The following are known to produce odor:

AlcoholCauliflower & Broccoli

FishBrussel Sprouts & Cabbage

AsparagusOnionsBaked Beans

CheeseEggs

Handout created by Chelsea Hayes, September 2015

NUTRITION CARE FOR YOUR OSTOMY

Reducing Gas: The below foods and beverages may cause excess gas. If you are bothered by gas, you can try eliminating these foods altogether or you can try to avoid having more than one of them at a meal. Only eliminate these foods if you are sure they are responsible for these side effects:

AsparagusBeerBroccoli & CauliflowerBrussel Sprouts

CabbageCucumbersDried Peas and BeansFish

MelonsMilkNutsOnions

RadishesSodaSweets

Increase the amount of liquids you drink. Drink extra water, juice, tea or coffee.

Eat high-fiber foods, like bran cereals, fresh fruit, vegetables, whole wheat breads & whole grain cereals.

Some people find that coffee, chocolate, lemon juice, licorice, or prune juice help their constipation.

Exercise often helps—even a little extra walking.

Relieving Constipation: Constipation (small, dry, and/or hard to pass stools) is a different problem from blockage. If you have a colostomy, a certain amount of fiber in your diet is needed to add bulk to your stools and make them easy to pass. Mild constipation can be treated by adjusting your diet in the following ways:

Diarrhea: When the stoma is higher up in the GI tract, the stools tend to be looser. In some cases, a loose stool may be the result of eating certain foods. The following foods can cause loose stools:

Baked BeansBeerBroccoli

ChocolateDried BeansLicorice

Prune JuiceSoupRed Wine

Hot BeveragesHeavily Spiced FoodsVery Large Meals

The following foods may help when you are experiencing diarrhea:

ApplesauceBananasBoiled Milk

Cream of RicePeanut ButterRice

TapiocaWeak Tea

References: UPMC Staff. Ostomy Nutrition Guide. UPMC. http://www.upmc.com/patients-visitors/education/nutrition/pages/ostomy-nutrition-guide.aspx. Revised September 2013. Accessed September 9, 2015.

Handout created by Chelsea Hayes, September 2015