Our bodies have incredible ways of healing themselves however it’s important to prepare yourself for surgery with herbs, nutrients and lifestyle choices to maximise the quickest recovery time.
First and foremost you need to build up your immune system to discourage any infections post surgery! Eating nutritious food and maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle will help with healing and reduce inflammation.
Pre & post surgery tips:
- Eat antioxidant rich food: Organic fruit & vegetables (especially orange coloured), berries, legumes, seeds, broad beans, soybeans, oats, corn, kale, peppers, parsley, ginger.
- Vitamin C: This nutrient has a huge list of health benefits and should be a staple in every household! Vitamin C is an antioxidant, maintains connective tissue, helps with brain and nerve function, stimulates the immune system and research suggests that it has the ability to assist in wound healing.
- Zinc: A trace element that is an essential cofactor for many chemical reactions. Zinc protects cell membranes from oxidative stress therefore is an antioxidant as well as an important nutrient for growth and development, immune responses and reproduction. Research into zinc has found that it improves wound healing therefore it should be part of your pre/post surgery care.
- Bromelain: A mixture of proteolytic enzymes that are found in pineapples! It has been used for centuries to treat inflammation and swelling associated with surgery. Studies into bromelain have found it is an effective way to help heal wounds, burns and physical injuries.
- Arnica: Take arnica homoeopathically pre and post surgery to assist with swelling and bruising as well as help the body deal with the trauma and shock of the surgery. One study using 227 patients in 3 separate trials, measured the outcome of homoeopathic arnica vs. placebo on postoperative swelling and pain. The end result showed patients who took arnica had far less postoperative swelling compared to patients receiving placebo!
- Probiotics: If you are taking antibiotics post surgery then it’s important to rebuild the healthy bacteria in your gut. Not only do probiotics improve your immune system, they also treat antibiotic related diarrhoea (a common side effect of antibiotics).
- Topical creams: Don’t forget about healing properties for your skin/scar. Topical applications can reduce the appearance of your scar and speed up the recovering time of your wound. Two brilliant herbs to use in an ointment preparation are – Calendula officinalis (calendula) and Centella asiatica (gotu kola).
Make sure you speak with your healthcare professional pre-surgery before taking any herbal medications and nutritional supplements.
