Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet isn’t just sound advice from personal trainers and fitness enthusiasts. Some experts suggest that a healthy diet can also help the healing process after cosmetic or plastic surgery. Nutritious meals and healthy snacks can help ward off disease, improve skin tone, and keep off those extra pounds – they also play an important role in recovery.  

Recovery and Your Diet

Making sure the body gets enough energy throughout the day helps keep the metabolism running at peak efficiency, and also promotes healthy cell growth and production. When you experience stress, trauma or injury, the body needs even more high quality sources of energy to repair and restore itself. Eating properly after cosmetic or plastic surgery is essential for recovery, and there are specific foods you can add to your plate in order to prompt the healing process.  

Best Foods That Promote Healing After Surgery

Researchers and nutritionists at The Harley Medical Group recently released their Cosmetic Surgery Diet, a healthy eating plan for patients undergoing cosmetic or plastic surgery. The plan encourages eating a variety of nutritious, unprocessed foods that provide essential macronutrients the body needs. Lean protein to prevent muscle loss, freshly squeezed juice to up your vitamin and mineral intake, and amica supplements to reduce bruising and inflammation are just a few ways to speed up the healing process after surgery. 

Here are some key recommendations from the researchers’ findings:  

Liquid amino acids – most amino acids can be found in day-to-day foods, but if you’re not eating a balanced diet, you could be missing some essentials. A liquid amino acid supplement can help fill any gaps in your diet, and this can be taken early in the morning or immediately after breakfast for maximum absorption.

Probiotics – fermented foods such as yogurt and kefir can increase levels of healthy bacteria in your stomach and improve digestion. This may help increase the absorption rate of other nutrients from your diet, helping to improve health overall.

Essential fatty acids – eating enough healthy fats reduces cravings and keeps the appetite under control. Eating foods such avocadoes, brazil nuts and Omega-3-rich fish such as salmon can also improve the skin tone and keep the metabolism in check.

Zinc – eating lean protein such as turkey increases your daily zinc consumption, and this is valuable for tissue healing.  Any trauma or injury to tissues, even from simple treatment such as skin tightening or dermabrasion, will require a few weeks of extensive healing. Making sure you have enough zinc in the diet can help improve this process.

Niacin and B-vitamins – if you’re not already taking a multivitamin with a B-complex, post-surgery may be a good time of start. Niacin helps increase circulation which also promotes healthy healing, and B-vitamins are necessary for increasing cellular energy.

Coenzyme Q10 – taken as a supplement, coenzyme Q10 can promote healthy healing, improve skin elasticity and help with the recovery process.

Antioxidants – foods such as berries, leafy green vegetables and other fresh fruits are rich in antioxidants, the key to preventing free radical damage. An antioxidant-rich diet can also promote healthy healing after injury or stress, and can help restore your body to good health.  

Whether you’re pursuing Thermage skin tightening treatments or face lift surgery, knowing how to eat before and after your treatment can help you maintain good health and speed ahead to a healthy recovery process. 

Learn more about healthy eating and nutrition in our nutritional counseling section, or consult with your dermatologist to find out how to prepare and get through your treatment with the right diet plan.