IBD Diet: What to Eat After Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis Surgery
Health ConditionsDigestive HealthIBD

What to Eat After IBD Surgery: Your Guide to Safe, Healthy Eating

What to Eat After IBD Surgery: Your Guide to Safe, Healthy Eating
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Published on September 19, 2025
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If you’re recovering from surgery for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis — you’ve probably got questions about what you can (and should) eat.

The right nutrition after surgery is about more than comfort; it can help you heal faster, feel more energetic, and avoid complications down the road.

Here’s a clear, step-by-step guide to nutrition after an IBD procedure.

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Take it one meal at a time — you’re healing, and your nutrition is a powerful tool to get back to living fully.
— Rachel Dyckman, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and professional member of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation

What Should I Eat the First Few Days After Surgery?

Those first days after surgery are all about gentle meals and smart hydration. You may actually be able to eat as soon as 24 hours after your procedure, but only if your medical team approves.

If your care team thinks you need extra nutrition after surgery, such as total parenteral nutrition (TPN) or enteral nutrition, they’ll work on this toward the end of your time in the hospital, ensuring you have the right medical formulas to aid your recovery. (TPN and enteral nutrition involve delivering nutrients directly into the bloodstream or intestines, respectively.)

After those first careful steps in the hospital, knowing which foods to start with at home can make all the difference in how smoothly your recovery goes. Here’s what often works best.

  • Soft, Cooked Foods Think mashed potatoes, peeled and steamed carrots, pureed soups, applesauce, bananas, and smoothies.

     Avoid raw fruits and vegetables, chewing gum, and odor-producing foods like asparagus, eggs, fish, garlic, and onions.

  • Low-Fat, Low-Sugar Meals These can help your digestive tract rest and lower the risk of cramps, diarrhea, and blockages.
  • Hydration That Really Works You need plenty of fluids. If you’ve had an ostomy or part of your colon removed, oral rehydration solutions (ORS) are more effective than sports drinks because they’re specially formulated to help your body absorb sodium and water more efficiently.

Here are some special tips by surgery type.

  • Diet after ileostomy or colectomy: Stick to “white” carbs (think white bread, pasta, rice); skinless chicken, turkey, and fish; soft fruits like applesauce; cooked veggies like mashed potatoes; and smooth nut butters. Eat small meals throughout the day to help you heal.

  • Diet after J-pouch surgery: Focus on staying hydrated. That’s essential because post-surgery, you lose more fluid and electrolytes than usual because of watery bowel movements. Drink plenty of water to ensure you’re getting enough fluids. If you want to make water more palatable, try adding lemon, lime, or other flavors to your water. You can also add electrolyte tablets to your water to add flavor and electrolytes that you may be losing when you have a bowel movement.

What Should I Eat in the First Few Weeks?

Once you’re past the early recovery period, you can get a little more adventurous with your meals — just go slowly.

Start introducing a wider variety of peeled and cooked fruits and veggies, tender meats, and easy-to-digest grains. If you notice your digestion isn’t happy with a new food, it’s okay. Just go back to the basics and ask your clinical team for guidance.

Some key tips as you expand your diet:

  • Still keep it soft and gentle for a bit. Cook veggies and peel fruits. Try new foods slowly, one at a time.
  • Keep an eye on hydration, especially with an ostomy or J-pouch. As mentioned, ORS solutions (not just sports drinks) can help you maintain your electrolyte balance.
  • Fiber is not the enemy. Unless your healthcare team says otherwise, evidence suggests you don’t need to restrict fiber forever. Start low and add more as your gut tolerates it.

     In particular, gentle sources of soluble fiber can be ideal after surgery, as they tend to be soft and easy to digest — for example, oatmeal, bananas, peeled and cooked zucchini, and butternut squash. Including these foods can help you meet your fiber needs while minimizing discomfort for sensitive digestive systems.

Some additional considerations:

  • Diet after J-pouch surgery: Fruits may help prevent pouchitis, a kind of inflammation that can happen as a complication of J-pouch surgery.

     Some probiotics help chronic pouchitis but only introduce these if your clinical team gives the okay.

  • After bowel resection: Your care team may check your B12, vitamin D, and iron levels regularly, since these can dip after surgery.

     Foods like lean meats, salmon, fortified cereals, and nutritional yeast can help rebuild your stores.

What and How Should I Eat During the First Year?

This is the time to aim for a varied, Mediterranean-inspired diet with lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats like olive oil. But everyone’s path is different, so make adjustments with your dietitian as needed.

What does “eating well” look like in the first year?

  • Gently increase plant foods and dietary fiber. Your gut may tolerate raw fruits, leafy greens, and beans again over time. Go slow and listen to your body. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids (preferably water) as you slowly increase your fiber intake. This will reduce the risk of bloating, gas, and other issues.

  • Variety matters for a healthy gut. Incorporate many kinds of fruits and vegetables to cultivate healthy microbes and lower inflammation; this is especially true for people who’ve had J-pouch surgery.
  • Regular check-ins for nutrients. As mentioned, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and iron are common shortfall nutrients after surgery. Ask your care team to keep these on their radar.

  • Hydration for the long haul. Your gut might not absorb fluids as well as it did before surgery. Keep up with ORS beverages and avoid sugary drinks or undiluted sports beverages.

Your healthcare team, especially a registered dietitian, should be your go-to resource for making these transitions smooth and safe. Take it one meal at a time — you’re healing, and your nutrition is a powerful tool to get back to living fully.

The Takeaway

  • Start with gentle foods and fluids, then slowly reintroduce variety as you feel better. Watch symptoms and ask for help if your digestion doesn’t cooperate.
  • Don’t forget about nutrients and hydration: Ask your healthcare team for regular checks on vitamin D, B12, iron, and electrolytes, especially after a major surgery.
  • Partner with your dietitian and healthcare team at every step. Their guidance will help you personalize your recovery and get back to eating well.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Nutritional Support Therapy. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
  2. Gastroenterologist and Registered Dietitian: Eating After Surgery for Crohn's or Colitis. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. January 31, 2025.
  3. Diet Guidelines for People With a Colostomy. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. September 14, 2021.
  4. Aghsaeifard Z et al. Understanding the use of oral rehydration therapy: A narrative review from clinical practice to main recommendations. Health Science Reports. September 11, 2022.
  5. Ostomy Diet After Surgery. Cleveland Clinic. May 18, 2019.
  6. Nutrition After Ostomy Surgery. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
  7. J-Pouch Surgery. Cleveland Clinic. July 26, 2023.
  8. Godny L et al. Fruit Consumption Is Associated With Alterations in Microbial Composition and Lower Rates of Pouchitis. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. October 2019.
  9. Barnes EL et al. AGA Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Pouchitis and Inflammatory Pouch Disorders. Gastroenterology. 2024.
  10. Fornals AU et al. Metabolic and Nutritional Issues after Lower Digestive Tract Surgery: The Important Role of the Dietitian in a Multidisciplinary Setting. Nutrients. January 2024.
  11. Surgery and Nutrition. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
  12. Dharia I et al. Iron Deficiency Is Common after Restorative Proctocolectomy with Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis. Inflammatory Intestinal Diseases. October 2023.
  13. Monitoring Hydration With Your Ileostomy. UCDavis Health.
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Reyna Franco, RDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.

In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.

Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.

She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.

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Rachel Dyckman, RDN

Author
From Crohn's & Colitis Foundation

Rachel Dyckman, RDN, is the New York City–based owner and founder of Rachel Dyckman Nutrition, a private practice providing one-on-one nutrition counseling, nutrition writing, consulting, and corporate wellness services. She has particular expertise in weight management, cardiovascular health, blood sugar control, and digestive conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux, diverticular disease, and food intolerances.

She earned a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from New York University, where she also completed her dietetic internship in affiliation with Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. 

Her nutrition philosophy is centered around optimizing the gut microbiome, the trillions of microorganisms inhabiting the gut. In applying this, she helps others improve their health and prevent or manage chronic conditions.

Her writing has been featured on Well+Good and Fig. She is a medical reviewer for HealthCentral and frequently contributes her nutrition expertise in interviews with media outlets, including U.S. News & World Report, Women's Health, Healthline, Parade, and Eat This, Not That.

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