If you’ve been scrolling the net for all the top tips on recovering from dental implants and come across needing to avoid dairy, then you aren’t alone. It’s been reported that you should avoid dairy products post-surgery and that’s not just after having dental implants Nottingham, that’s whenever you have any surgery ever. Here we set out to find the facts of surgery and dairy, here’s what we have discovered.
Why would I need to avoid dairy?
As you probably know, dairy products are a fantastic source of all important protein for our body. Protein is such an essential part of our diet, as it contributes to the development and maintenance of our muscles and thus is essential to any healing post-surgery. However, some patients have reported consuming dairy post-procedure has caused a stomach upset. But why might this be? Well whichever way you look at it, surgery is a big stress on the body, and even if it’s just that you’ve had one implant fitted, your body doesn’t understand that it’s not necessarily as major as it thinks and can cause large amounts of stress that you won’t even consciously realise you’re feeling. Our gut and brain are intricately linked together, in recent years there’s been a huge amount of evidence shown supporting this. But why is this important?
Stress, digestion and dairy
When we’re stressed our bodies find it harder to digest food, our tummies can swell up and bloat, and digesting food can be a little tricker than usual. It’s not unrelated that more and more of us are being diagnosed with IBS than ever before, given that we have felt serious subconscious stress during the pandemic. But what this means is that food products like dairy which contain lactose can be harder for our bodies to break down, and if you’re feeling stressed and your body isn’t working at full capacity this can impact how you’re feeling. It’s really important to note here that everyone is different, I'm sure there are people who can have serious surgeries and head home to a delicious plate of cheese on toast with no problem. But there are those of us who struggle and so laying off the ice cream in recovery might not be such a bad idea after all.
So what helps recovery?
So if we’re avoiding dairy, what else can help with recovery? Focus on your whole foods and lean protein and anything you can keep nice and soft. Dental implant patients should recover quickly, but you will probably be in some discomfort, particularly in the first few days, so easing this for yourself is kind. You need to make sure you’re getting plenty of fibre in your diet as this will help aid any stress-related digestive issues you could be having. Great sources of fibre include wholemeal bread, whole grains, fruit, vegetables and cereals. And try to opt for your whole grains over refined, as whole grains are a fantastic source of the vitamins and minerals needed to aid your recovery naturally.
