Pre-surgical Nutrition

An unfortunate part of a dancer's life is dealing with surgical repairs of the body. Ballet is unforgiving to the body, so from time to time joints need cleaning out. One of the most important parts of the surgical process is your pre-surgical diet.

Nutrition plays a huge role in the healing from surgical procedures because surgery poses a catabolic stress on the body. The catabolic process is when the body breaks down complex molecules to form simpler ones, essentially it is a destructive metabolism. The body’s reaction to surgery produces lots of inflammation and depletes the body’s nutrients; without proper nutrition, the immune system is impaired and the patient can be susceptible to infection.

For a pre-surgical diet you should eat a diet that is rich in protein, whole grains, vegetables, and dairy leading up to surgery, with a special emphasis on ensuring that three full meals are consumed each day. A pre-surgical nutrition plan should also recommended foods that are rich in protein with each meal; cheese, eggs, nuts, milk, yogurt, fish, beans, poultry, etc. are all foods that you should include in each meal. The importance of hydration should also be stressed; I recommend that you consume at least sixty-four fluid ounces a day, to ensure proper levels of hydration going into surgery. In addition to my consumption recommendations, you should take “IN” supplements, Impact Advanced Recovery and Nutren Optimum vitamins. The main ingredients in this cocktail of vitamins are omega-3s, prebiotics, vitamin E, arginine, nucleoids, and high-quality protein. Of these ingredients, I must stress the importance of arginine for bolstering the function of immune cells, enhancing the function of proline and polyamines, which are essential to the process of lesion healing and tissue repair. I must also stress the importance of omega-3s, which help to reduce inflammation, which is part of the inflammatory reaction to surgical intervention.

I hope that all of you avoid surgery down the road but in case you have a procedure, don't forget your nutrition!