Ostomy News Dietitian

Top tips for a healthy summer

At least I think it’s supposed to be summer soon. This weather has me really confused; one day I’m in flip flops, the next I’m back in my boots. The porch looks like a shoe shop!

Often, we notice our food tastes change with the seasons too. Many of my clients over the years have said how much easier they find the warmer months to make healthier choices. Out go the roasts and in come the salads and quiche. 

The sun is in fact shining as I type this so let’s roll with that for now and think ahead to our nutrition in the coming months.

Preparing for foreign holidays
You may well have some travel back on the agenda, how exciting! As it may have been a while remember the following:

• Different climates will alter your fluid needs – it will be easier to slip into mild dehydration if you’re sweating more, or perhaps not drinking as much if you’re out of your usual routine. Keep an eye on the colour of your urine (pale straw colour is what we’re aiming for).
• If in doubt as to the water quality use bottled water. You should also use this for irrigating your colostomy.
• You may want to keep a supply of anti-diarrhoeal medications and rehydration salts with you. Often holidays bring with them some unwanted shifts in our bowel habits. Our bodies like predictability and changes in stoma output are common when we’re eating and drinking different things and travelling.
• If you’re unsure what would suit you best, seek advice from your healthcare team.

Enjoying a nutritious summer on home soil
Back on home soil, we have been celebrating all things British recently, and have an excuse to dine like the Queen!
The traditional cream tea can be quite high in fat and sugar. White bread sandwiches, scones with lashings of jam and cream and cakes; it all sounds delicious but not so good for our heart or gut health sadly.

I’m not a party pooper though and believe in simple tweaks making a big difference. Always look at what you can add into your diet to get additional health benefits, rather than feeling frustrated that there’s a whole list of foods you ‘should’ avoid, or attaching guilt to these foods when you do have them.

Let’s look at how we can nourish ourselves, whilst enjoying some social time and tea in the garden. 

Simple tips for healthy entertaining
Try these ideas:

• Make a loaf cake, such as banana or carrot with wholemeal flour. This will boost your fibre intake and wholemeal flour tends to work well in these denser cakes. If you’re unsure of your individual fibre tolerance and want to take things a bit slower, then use half and half white and wholemeal.
• Use wholemeal bread to make some finger sandwiches. Some brands have ‘thins’ which provide a little less bread, but still plenty of fibre. Wraps would also work well, and you can get some lovely ones made from spinach or beetroot to add some colour.
• Add a little bit of crunch into sandwiches – watercress and egg for example adds so much more iron to your diet than the traditional cress we usually use.
• Grated carrots, radishes or cabbage could add some wonderful crunch in the form of a homemade slaw to accompany any meat filling really well. 
• Dips with added nutrition benefits include hummous and tzatziki. Dips have been shown to increase vegetable consumption. If you’re not confident with raw vegetables, try crackers or breadsticks with a topping or dip instead such as cream cheese, avocado or a smooth nut butter.
• Introduce some fruit alongside the scones or cakes. Purple and deep coloured berries are particularly good for our moods and cognitive function so brighten the spread up with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
• Biscuits that are oat based will contain beta glucan which is a special type of fibre shown to lower cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, oats are often combined with butter, so if you’re in charge of the flapjacks, use vegetable oils instead.
• Interestingly biscuits with more of a ‘snap’ when you bite them have less fat in them, so seek out the crunch in amongst the treats.

A note on fruit, veg and fibre: Everyone will have a different tolerance to fibre, and this will depend on your stoma site and how long it’s been since your operation. Do keep trying things that you may well have avoided initially as the gut is constantly adapting. Raw veggies are generally better tolerated with a colostomy as opposed to an ileostomy but one size doesn’t fit all.

Chewing all food well will make a big difference so take your time and savour foods as you socialise.

Lastly, I thought I’d touch on something a little more holistic to support wellbeing in the warmer months – sleep.

Sleep and appetite
Interestingly, our appetite is regulated by how much we’ve slept. The hormone that tells us we’re hungry, ghrelin, goes up and the hormone leptin, which is responsible for fullness goes down. As little as 1hr 20 minutes less per night can impact our appetite. What do you notice in your body?

You may already be conscious of your caffeine intake – it does increase transit time through the gut for some. It can also have a dehydrating effect, hence the need to be more aware of this in warmer months. 

Its link to sleep relates to how it is broken down in the body. It also has a half-life of six hours, which means half of it will still be in your system six hours after you’ve drunk it. For this reason, it can be helpful to keep caffeinated drinks to before lunch.

You may still fall asleep without problems, but it seems to have an impact on the quality and duration of sleep. 

As the night’s feel warmer, remember simple routines can really help with a good night’s sleep. Avoiding screens for about one and a half hours before bed, and book ending your day, with a chance to unwind and tell your body it is safe to sleep. 

You may notice you suddenly feel very productive before bed, as you experience a second wind and whizz through that to do list. This may be in part due to our ancestry where we would have to get our caves safe for sleep.

No reason why you can’t enjoy this flurry of activity but remember there’s value in then telling your brain it is safe to switch off. 

Ways to bookend your day to support a restful night:

• Listening to a short meditation 
• Do some deep breathing 
• Complete a body scan to relax
• Write a gratitude diary or do some general journaling. 

Whatever the summer has in store, I hope it’s a happy and healthy one.
Fingers crossed for that sunshine. We can top up our vitamin D levels and enjoy the warmth. 

😊