Diets for ileostomies and Colostomies

For those who experienced either an ileostomy or a colostomy, you may wonder what your diet should be. 

There is definitely more fluid los because water is normally absorbed via your colon, so you may need to drink more than you did before, and also limit anything high in caffeine since that makes you dehydrated. You should also not limit your salt, since it is normally absorbed within the colon, and if you are actually at risk of dehydrating in some cases. 

Those who have ileostomies should have extra salt, and colostomies still should have a moderate amount, but not try to have excess. You should take supplements, specifically vitamins B12, D, A, E and K, and you should make sure to have this especially if you’ve had more than 100 cm of your terminal ileum removed, but that’s a question for your physician. 

It is common to have diarrhea, odor, constipation, gas, and blockage, but there are a few dietary changes to make for each. 

Constipation 

Constipation is common especially for those with colostomies. 

Minimally, have 10 cups of fluid a day, and eat foods high in fiber such as fruits, veggies, bran, and grains. Prunes along with prune juice also might help too. 

Diarrhea 

Diarrhea is another common one, and usually is considered as more than 1000 mL of loose stool that’s liquid each day.  Usually it tends to be more watery. 

The best way to help with this is to have up to 10 cups of fluid a day, and then have foods which thicken your stool including apple sauce, yogurt, bananas, oatmeal, and rice. You should also limit foods that aggravate this including prunes and prune juice, alcohol, cauliflower and broccoli, sprouts, and cabbage too. You should also eat saltier foods, and also have foods higher in potassium including bananas, tomatoes, oranges, meats, potatoes, and also fruits that are dried. 

Odor 

Odor is caused by foods that increase this. Limit it including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, turnips, garlic, onions, and legumes. You also should have more parsley, yogurt and buttermilk since that reduces the odor as well. 

Gas 

Gas is usually caused by high acidic foods, and those that are high fiber. If you still have gas after limiting this, then you might want to stop chewing gum or swallowing air since usually gas is caused by this. 

If you still have issues with this, you might want to talk to your doctor and see if there is anything that you can do to change this. Your diet might not be that different from what you’re normally used to, specially if you’ve done this sort of change to your dietary habits before. Which if that’s the case, you probably just need to do a little bit of adjustment. 

If you haven’t yet, you should make sure your drinking enough salt and fluid.  You should make sure that you’re careful with adding new foods too, since they can cause gasses and odors. If you do decide to add new foods that may cause problems, eat it, and hen see how you feel over time. If your body can handle it after a little bit of adjustment, then great. If you notice that it’s causing you a whole lot of problems, then you probably should make sure that you don’t’ eat a whole lot. The best thing for an ostomate to do is to become aware of the different types of foods, and the problems that they might cause down the line if you’re not careful so you can prevent them right away.