Printable Liquid Diet Food List (PDF)

Liquid Diet Food List

There are two kinds of liquid diets that you may need to follow before or after a medical procedure, they are clear and full liquid diets.

While it can be restrictive to cut out solids, there are still a variety of liquid diet foods to include in your meals.

A clear liquid diet is where you only drink things like broth, coffee, tea, and water.

A full liquid diet is similar, but it comprises all foods that are liquid or will become liquid at room temperature or melt at body temperature.

A full liquid diet offers more than a clear liquid diet. It also allows your body to recover from a medical examination or procedure. Your physician may recommend a liquid diet:

1. After breaking bones in the jaw or mouth.
2. After a gastrointestinal operation.
3. Following dental surgery as an intermediary between clear liquids and soft foods.
4. Following the loss of several teeth.
5. To ease the symptoms of a digestive disease.
6. When a doctor or dentist wires the jaw shut.
7. When recuperating from pancreatitis.

Most people only need to follow liquid diets for short periods, between five to 14 days. That said, let’s look at how the diet works and what you can and can’t eat on both liquid diets.

How Does a Liquid Diet Work?

As illustrated above, you can eat foods that are liquid or become liquid at room temp on a full liquid diet. These food comprise little to no fiber, so they make it easy for your digestive tract.

You might need to take more than the three usual meals a day to get in all your calories and nutrients on a full liquid diet.

Instead, try taking food six to eight times a day with a variety of blended or strained foods and liquids.

To boost your caloric intake, include full-fat dairies such as butter, high-calorie supplement shakes, or whole milk.

A liquid multivitamin is another incredible option if you’re worried about getting full nutrition on this diet.

What Can You Take On a Full Liquid Diet?

Liquid Diet Food List

Milk Alternatives

If you’re lactose intolerant or vegan, you can still get the energy-promoting benefits of liquid dairy products by taking milk alternatives instead.

In addition, some of these liquids can be significant sources of additional nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D.

Milk alternatives include:

1. Almond milk
2. Cashew milk
3. Coconut milk
4. Hemp milk
5. Oat milk
6. Rice milk
7. Soy milk

Nutrition Supplement Drinks

Add nutrients to your liquid diet, especially proteins, by consuming nutrition supplement beverages. Some of the nutrition supplement beverages you can take include

1. Boost
2. Ensure
3. Resource

Oils

Add useful calories, fat, and flavor to all your meals with the help of oils. According to some health professionals, a liquid diet allows nutritious oils such as:

1. Avocado oil
2. Canola oil
3. Cashew oil
4. Corn oil
5. Olive oil
6. Soybean oil
7. Sunflower oil

Soft Dairy Products

Soft dairy products include:

1. Butter
2. Ice Cream
3. Milk
4. Milkshakes
5. Sour cream
6. Yogurt

Soft Grains

In specific instances, your physician may allow you to eat mushy grain foods when you’re on a liquid diet. Some of these delicacies include:

1. Cooked and refined cereals such as cream of rice, grits, or oatmeal.
2. Pureed foods such as potatoes.
3. Strained meats.

Ensure that your healthcare provider grants you the go-ahead before you start taking these foods. The reason is that not all liquid diets permit these foods.

Soups

1. Beef, bone, chicken, or vegetable soups.
2. Cream soups.
3. Pureed vegetable soups.

What Can You Take On a Clear Liquid Diet?

Broth

Drink clear and fat-free broth or bullion for calories and taste. However, it would be best if you forewent any broths that seem cloudy or creamy because they could leave unwanted refuse in your system.

Coffee or Tea

Get your caffeine fix when you’re on a clear liquid diet by taking black coffee or tea.

However, you need to keep off caffeinated beverages if you usually experience heartburn or stomach upsets because caffeinated drinks can aggravate these issues.

Pulp-Free Fruit Juice

1. Apple juice
2. Lemonade
3. White cranberry juice
4. White grape juice

Sports Drinks

It’s possible to be dehydrated before a colonoscopy because you can drop lots of fluids and electrolytes as you undergo the pre-colonoscopy laxative preparation.

However, when you take sports drinks, you can rehydrate and replenish any electrolytes that were lost.

Foods to Avoid on both Full and Clear Liquid Diets

You should stay away from solid foods while on a clear or full-liquid diet. This means staying away from canned, cooked, or raw fruits or vegetables with seeds or skin.

Other foods you should avoid while on both these diets include:

1. Bread
2. Carbonated beverages such as soda and sparkling water.
3. Hard and soft cheeses.
4. Ice cream with solids inside.
5. Mashed fruits and vegetables such as avocado or mangoes
6. Meat and meat substitutes.
7. Nuts and seeds.
8. Soups with noodles, rice, or other kinds of chunks.
9. Whole grains and other cereals.

Persons who have undergone stomach surgery should also avoid taking orange and any other acidic fruit or vegetable juices.

Such juices can cause burning, so consult your physician about liquid vitamin C supplements if you’re concerned about your vitamin C intake.

Final Thought

Your doctor may prescribe a liquid-only diet if you are recovering from an injury or illness that makes it hard for you to chew, swallow, or digest food.

Talk to your doctor if you are having trouble maintaining your liquid-only diet for any reason.

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