What foods should you avoid after thyroid surgery to recover quickly?

After thyroid surgery, for the wound to heal quickly, the patient needs to use medication as prescribed by the doctor, as well as combine it with a reasonable daily diet. So what foods should you avoid after thyroid surgery to recover quickly?

1. Overview of thyroid surgery

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ composed of two left and right lobes and is located below the larynx and above the trachea. This is an important endocrine gland for the body, directly affecting the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, proliferation of mammary glands, gonads, brain and nervous system development, etc.

The thyroid gland consists of two lobes located in the neck.

Some common thyroid diseases include hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. In treatment, surgery is indicated when the patient is diagnosed with thyroid cancer. For cases such as benign tumors, goiters, benign tumors increasing in size, etc., thyroid methods can also be considered.

2. The role of nutrition after thyroid surgery

Post-thyroid patients need more time to recover from their wounds. At the same time, after removing the part of the thyroid gland containing cancer cells, it can cause endocrine deficiencies, directly affecting health. Therefore, in addition to maintenance treatment with thyroid drugs, nutrition plays an important role for post-surgery patients, specifically:

• Heal wounds, restore physical health.
• Prevent tumor recurrence: supplement adequate nutrition, vitamins, and essential minerals to help the body fight cancer cells.
• Maintain thyroid function by strictly controlling nutrients, especially iodine, after surgery.
• Control your body weight to maintain a suitable weight, avoiding the risk of complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc. after surgery.

3. What foods should you avoid after thyroid surgery to recover quickly?

It can be seen that nutrition plays an important role not only in the wound healing process but also helps protect health during chemotherapy and radiation treatment after surgery, especially for people with cancer. Therefore, what to avoid eating after thyroid surgery is a topic that many patients and their families are often interested in. Below are foods to avoid for patients with thyroid surgery:

What to avoid eating after thyroid surgery to recover quickly is a common question.

3.1. Hot and spicy spices

Thyroid surgery using open surgery technique often leaves a large wound of about 10 - 15 cm in the neck area. Therefore, during the recovery process, patients should limit eating spicy foods such as chili, satay, pepper, etc. to avoid burning the mucous membrane, irritating the esophagus and affecting the wound. In addition, the digestive system after surgery needs time to return to normal, spicy foods can cause irritation leading to stomach pain, indigestion, digestive disorders, etc.

3.2. Hard, chewy food

It can be seen that the wound of thyroid surgery directly affects the esophagus. Therefore, in the daily diet, patients need to completely avoid hard and chewy foods. This helps limit the difficulty in swallowing, choking when swallowing, if the food is too hard during swallowing, it can cause damage to the esophagus and the risk of affecting the surgical wound. You should choose soft, easy-to-swallow foods such as porridge, thin soup, minced meat, boneless fish, stewed meat, etc.

Hard, chewy foods are difficult to swallow and limit digestion.

3.3. Foods containing iodine

A low-iodine diet is often prescribed for patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, including papillary, follicular, and poorly differentiated types. This is to reduce the risk of cancer cell recurrence as well as ensure the effectiveness of post-operative radiation therapy.

Foods high in iodine should be limited in the patient's daily menu such as:

• Iodized salt, sea salt.
• Seafood group.
• Egg yolk.
• Soybeans and beans.
• Potato.
• Milk and dairy products.
• Prepared condiments such as dipping sauce, cooking sauce, tomato sauce, bean sauce, etc.

Iodine restriction is an important factor in protecting the health of thyroid tumor patients.

3.4. Canned and processed foods

Canned or processed foods always pose many potential health risks to users, especially for patients after cancer surgery. The nutritional content of these dishes is often not guaranteed, and they contain many preservatives, food additives, salt, sugar, saturated fat, etc.

Canned foods not only increase the risk of cancer recurrence but also cause digestive diseases, blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and decreased resistance during the recovery process after surgery. If you are wondering what foods to avoid after thyroid surgery , this is definitely a special food to avoid to protect your health.

3.5. Do not drink alcohol

Alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer contain ingredients that directly affect the functioning of the thyroid gland and the body's immune system. Therefore, patients after thyroid surgery need to completely eliminate alcohol from their diet to restore cells, limit wound infections, avoid cancer recurrence, etc.

In addition, during chemotherapy after surgery, alcohol should be completely limited to ensure treatment effectiveness and better health protection.

3.6. Animal organs

In Asian countries, animal organs such as heart, liver, intestines, stomach, etc. are often processed into many delicious dishes. However, the lipoic fatty acid content in this food is the leading active ingredient that hinders thyroid function. This fatty acid can also reduce the effectiveness of thyroid medication. At the same time, the cholesterol content in animal organs also causes weight gain, obesity, excess fat accumulation, etc., affecting health.

3.7. Foods high in sugar

Foods high in sugar such as cakes, candies, milk tea, chocolate, etc. should be limited as much as possible in the daily diet of post-operative patients to avoid indigestion. In addition, cancer patients should also limit foods high in sugar, starch, and gluten to avoid creating conditions for cancer cells to develop.

Avoid foods high in sugar to limit the growth of cancer cells.

Hopefully the detailed information in the above article has helped you better understand what to avoid eating after thyroid surgery to recover quickly and prevent the risk of recurrence. More importantly, you should choose to visit reputable medical facilities such as the Endocrinology Department of the MEDLATEC Healthcare System to be examined and consulted in detail by doctors. In particular, the high-frequency radio wave ablation method to treat benign thyroid tumors at MEDLATEC is highly appreciated for its good treatment effectiveness, quick recovery time, and no scarring. If you need to make an appointment at MEDLATEC, you can contact MEDLATEC's hotline 1900 56 56 56 for support.