Overview of Clear Liquid Diet
A clear liquid diet is a diet plan that only includes liquids or semi-liquids that are totally see-through. This can include things like water, ice, fruit juices without any bits, sports drinks, fizzy drinks, jelly, tea, coffee, clear soups, and clear ice pops. A drink or food can have a color, it just needs to be see-through. Drinks like milk and orange juice aren’t counted as clear liquids because you can’t see through them and they take more work for your body to digest. But something like grape juice is allowed because even though it’s colored, it’s also see-through. Some people may have restrictions on their diet which might let them eat things like honey and clear hard candies.
The main reason for a clear liquid diet is to keep your body hydrated, give your body electrolytes and calories and make you feel a bit full when eating a regular diet isn’t suitable. However, if you’re on this diet for more than five days, it might not give your body all the calories it needs to function properly.
Anatomy and Physiology of Clear Liquid Diet
The process of digestion starts in the mouth. When we smell or taste food, or start to chew, our mouths produce saliva. This saliva helps in many ways, including making it easier to swallow our food. Swallowing liquids is a more straightforward process than swallowing solid foods because it requires lesser effort from the tongue and cheeks. Liquids are voluntarily moved to the back of the mouth for swallowing.
When we swallow, the soft part of the roof of our mouth (or soft palate) instinctively closes. This separation prevents the food from going to the nose. Then, the voice box (or larynx) lifts and gets covered by a flap called the epiglottis. This safeguard protects the airway, or windpipe, from any incoming food or drink.
The upper part of the food pipe, known as the upper esophageal sphincter, relaxes to allow the food (also known as the bolus) to enter the esophagus. From there, automatic muscular contractions start moving the food down towards the stomach. These rhythmic, wave-like motions, called peristalsis, guide the food into the stomach.
In the stomach, special enzymes work to break down the food further. Proteins are broken into smaller parts called amino acids, fats into fatty acids and glycerol, and carbohydrates into simple sugars. The stomach does this more when it detects proteins, fats or carbohydrates in the foods we eat. Clear liquids are easy for the stomach to process because they usually have minimal proteins or fats and mostly contain easy to digest carbohydrates. This causes less work for the stomach. The resulting, partially digested food mix in the stomach is known as chyme.
This chyme then moves into the small intestine. Here, tiny projections on the walls called villi help to absorb the nutrients and water from the broken-down food. The partly digested food then moves into the large intestine, which absorbs the remaining water and turns the chyme into stool. Finally, the stool reaches the rectum and is passed out of the body through the anus.
Why do People Need Clear Liquid Diet
A clear liquid diet is recommended in certain medical conditions or surgeries. It’s often used:
* Before medical procedures to reduce stomach activity and its contents
* Following surgery to lessen stomach stimulation and feelings of sickness
* For a condition called diverticulitis, in order to lessen the amount of poop in the colon
* If you’re experiencing nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
When a Person Should Avoid Clear Liquid Diet
A clear liquid diet doesn’t typically have any major negatives. However, some important points should be noted if you’re choosing this diet.
A lot of the foods you can consume on this diet contain high levels of carbohydrates and simple sugars. This can be a problem for those with diabetic conditions, as it can raise or lower blood sugar levels too much. For these people, it’s very important that blood sugar levels are checked regularly and any doses of insulin are properly adjusted.
Many common clear liquid foods are thin liquids. Some people might have difficulty swallowing these without choking or “aspirating,” which is when liquid gets into the lungs. Thankfully, these liquids can usually be made thicker quite easily. However, the type of thickening agent used matters as some are based on starchy food products. Consulting a speech and language therapist can be useful in these instances.
This style of diet can make it difficult to get all the nutrients and calories your body needs, so transitioning to solid foods as quickly as possible is usually the best approach. Great results are often achieved by discussing your diet with various health care professionals who communicate with each other.
Who is needed to perform Clear Liquid Diet?
If you’re staying in a hospital, a nurse will discuss with you, your food options. Every person taking care of you needs to know what foods are okay for a clear liquid diet. They will explain this to you in detail. Also, they will frequently talk to the whole care team about whether or not you’re ready to start eating other foods.
If you’re following a clear liquid diet at home, it’s crucial that you’re shown properly how to do this. This type of diet can be hard and annoying, but the healthcare professionals will ensure that you understand it properly.
How is Clear Liquid Diet performed
Before any surgery where you will be put to sleep, it’s commonly advised that you reduce the amount of food and drink you consume beforehand. This is because if food or drink is left in your stomach, it could potentially be harmful if swallowed unconsciously while under anesthesia. Different types of foods and drinks exit the stomach at different speeds and affect your stomach acids differently. This is why it’s usually suggested to avoid solid foods for eight hours before your surgery, and you can still have clear liquids until two hours before your procedure.
Before procedures that examine the inside of your stomach or intestines (like endoscopies or colonoscopies), you’ll usually be put on a diet that only includes clear liquids. This is important because it allows the doctor to clearly see your digestive tract during the procedure. As a bonus tip, some doctors suggest avoiding red and orange drinks and foods as they can leave coloured bits in your digestive system that could confuse your doctor.
Additionally, after a procedure in which you’ve been sedated or put to sleep, you may be advised to follow a clear liquid diet as part of getting back to your normal eating habits. Starting with simple items like ice chips, doctors can assess your ability to swallow properly again after the anesthesia. Once you can swallow ice chips without troubles like coughing, you might try to sip some water. If you’re able to swallow water comfortably, you can then gradually start to consume other clear liquids. However, if you find it hard to swallow, feel drowsy, or are coughing, it’s important to notify your doctor so they can check if additional recovery time or a swallowing test is necessary.
A clear liquid diet is also useful in treating a variety of gut issues like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and diverticulitis. It allows your gut to rest and recover, while still allowing you to stay hydrated and get some essential nutrients, but with less strain on your digestion system.
