Full Liquid Diet

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is it? A full liquid diet means eating or drinking foods that are liquid. It also
means eating foods that will become liquid at room temperature. You may need to
eat a full liquid diet after surgery or if you have problems chewing or swallowing. This
diet should be used only if you are having problems eating because it does not
supply all the nutrients you need. You may need to take liquid vitamins or minerals if
you are on this diet more than 3 weeks. This diet should not be used if you are trying
to lose weight.

Care:

• The foods you should eat and drink are listed below. Try to eat the number of
servings listed for each group every day. Call your caregiver if you start losing
weight. He can work with you to choose foods that are higher in calories and
protein.
•

• Eat 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks every day. Small amounts of meat, fish, or
poultry may be pureed and added to soups. Puree soups in a blender until
there are no pieces left. Pour soups through a strainer before drinking. You
should be able to swallow all foods and liquids without chewing. It is OK to add
a small amount of herbs and spices to foods in this diet. Call your caregiver if
you have any questions about your injury, illness, medicine, or diet.
•

SERVING SIZES:

• 1 cup is the same as 8 ounces of liquids.

•

• 1/2 cup is the same as 4 ounces of liquid.

•

• 1 tablespoon (Tbsp) is about the size of the tip of your thumb (from the last
crease).
•

• 1 teaspoon (tsp) is about the size of the tip of your little finger (from the last
crease).
•

• 1 cup of food is the size of a large handful.

•

• 3 ounces of cooked meat, fish, or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards.
•

BEVERAGES: Drink 3 to 5 servings a day from this list. A serving is 8 ounces or 1

cup.
 • Coffee, tea, cocoa
•

• Nutrition supplement drinks (like Ensure™)

•

• Soda pop
•

• Water (drink 6 to 8 soda pop can size glasses a day)

•

CEREALS / STARCHES: Eat 3 to 4 servings a day from this list.

• 1/2 cup cooked baby cereal

•

• 1/2 cup cooked cream of wheat or rice

•

• 1/2 cup pureed potato which has been added to soup before straining
•

• 1/2 cup cooked pureed oatmeal

•

DESSERTS: Eat 1 to 2 servings a day from this list.

• 1/2 cup fruit ices

•

• 1/2 cup gelatin dessert without fruit

•

• 1/2 cup ice cream or ice milk without fruit or nuts

•

• 1 whole Popsicle™ or frozen pudding pop

•

• 1/2 cup sherbet

•

FATS: Eat 2 to 3 servings a day from this list. These may be added to or mixed into
other foods.

• 1 tablespoon (Tbsp) butter

•

• 2 tablespoons (Tbsp) cream

•
 • 1 tablespoon (Tbsp) margarine
•

• 2 tablespoons (Tbsp) non-dairy creamer

•

• 1 tablespoon (Tbsp) oil

•

FRUITS / VEGETABLES: Eat 2 to 4 servings a day from this list.

• 1 cup fruit or vegetable juice

•

• 1/4 cup pureed vegetables in soups

•

• 1/2 cup strained and cooked fruits or vegetables

•

MEAT / MEAT SUBSTITUTES: One or two servings a day from this group are
optional.

• 1-2 ounces tender meat, fish, or poultry pureed in soup before straining
•

MILK / DAIRY: Eat 3 to 5 servings a day from this list.

• 1/2 cup eggnog

•

• 1 cup any kind of milk

•

• 1 cup milk drinks, such as Ovaltine™

•

• 1 cup milkshake
•

• 1 cup powdered milk mixed with water

•

• 1/2 cup pudding or custard

•

• 1 cup yogurt without fruit or nuts

•

SOUPS: Eat 2 to 3 servings a day from this list.

 • 1 cup bouillon or broth
•

• 1 cup strained blended soup

•

• 1 cup strained cream soup

•

SWEETS: Eat 2 to 3 servings a day from this list if you feel you need more calories.
These may be added to any of the foods listed above.

• 1 to 2 pieces hard candy

•

• 1 to 2 tablespoons (Tbsp) honey

•

• 1 to 2 teaspoons (tsp) sugar

•

• 2 to 3 tablespoons (Tbsp) syrup

•

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn your
injury or illness and how it can be treated. You can then discuss treatment options
with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care will be used to treat you.
You always have the right to refuse treatment
Definition

Liquid diets is a term that encompasses a wide range of diets that serve a variety of
functions. It can mean either partial or full meal replacement by either clear or non-
clear fluids. Doctors often prescribe a liquid diet for before or after certain surgeries,
or for patients who are medically obese. People also use them for fasting or weight
loss.

Origins

The first uses of liquid diets date back centuries because ancient religious
ceremonies often involved fasting, and many cultures served only broth to sick
patients. Doctors have been prescribing a liquid diet to patients before they were to
undergo surgery for decades. Only in the past few decades have several medically
monitored weight loss programs, such as Optifast, and commercially available
weight loss programs, such as Slim Fast, become available.

Description

Liquid diets is a broad category of diets that can be used for a number of different
reasons. In essence, it means any diet which replaces regular meals of solid foods,
with fluid drinks. For many medical procedures it is helpful, or even necessary, that
patients consume only liquids before or after the operation. People also consume
only liquids during periods of fasting. When a person is diagnosed as seriously obese,
a physician may decide that he or she should undergo a medically observed weight
loss program, like Optifast. There are also several programs like Slim Fast, that mimic
the medically-observed programs, but in a less severe way that can be followed
without supervision.

Liquid Diets For Medical Procedures

Before patients undergo certain medical procedures a physician may recommend a

liquid diet. This is done to clear out the digestive system and decrease the strain on
the digestive organs. It allows a patient to acquire the necessary calories, nutrients,
and fluids, while minimizing the digestive impact. Tests which might require this
include sigmoidoscopy, colono-scopy, MRI, and certain x-rays. Surgical procedures
that can require a liquid diet include most types of serious oral surgery as well as
almost any stomach or bowel surgery. Many surgical procedures, such as bariatric
surgery, may also require that a patient follow a liquid diet after the operation, while
they regain the ability to digest solid foods.

Though guidelines will differ depending upon the procedure, following a liquid diet in
preparation for a medical procedure will generally mean drinking only liquids that can
be seen through at room temperature. This means that water, juice, broth, water
ice, and gelatin are usually acceptable. Soups that contain vegetables, noodles,
meat, or rice are generally not allowed. While milk is usually acceptable, yogurt is
usually restricted. When a physician prescribes a liquid diet he or she will tell the
patient the specific guidelines, including a time period during which the diet must be
followed, and often provide literature that will describe the types of fluids that are
allowed.

Fasting

Many people carry out periods of fasting for a variety of reasons. While some fasts
require the faster to only drink water, or to consume no liquid at all, fasting typically
means to refrain from eating food, but not drinking liquids. Most of the world’s
popular religions call for periods of fasting at certain times for tradition, for reasons of
atonement, to clear the mind, as a way of mourning, for purification, as well as for
other spiritual reasons. Jewish tradition says that fasting should be done during Yom
Kippur. Many Christians fast during Lent. Muslims traditionally fast during the days of
Ramadan. Many ascetic Buddhists and Hindus also practice periodic fasting. Many
people also fast for health-related reasons, because they believe that it can cleanse
the body of toxins and some even believe it can cure disease. Historically, fasting has
also been used for political reasons, as a form of

KEY TERMS

Diabetes mellitus—A condition in which the body either does not make or cannot
respond to the hormone insulin. As a result, the body cannot use glucose (sugar).
There are two types, type 1 or juvenile onset and type 2 or adult onset.

Fast—A period of at least 24 hours in which a person eats nothing and drinks only
water.

Mineral—An inorganic substance found in the earth that is necessary in small

quantities for the body to maintain a health. Examples: zinc, copper, iron.

Obese—More than 20% over the individual’s ideal weight for their height and age or
having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater.

Vitamin—A nutrient that the body needs in small amounts to remain healthy but
that the body cannot manufacture for itself and must acquire through diet.

protest, like those carried out by Mohandas Gandhi in the 1920s and 1930s.

For whatever reason it is done, fasting should never be used for weight loss. Medical
professionals disagree about whether fasting should be used for other reasons, but it
is overwhelmingly accepted that fasting is not an effective way to lose weight and
that it can be very dangerous. Not only does fasting slow down the metabolic
processes, meaning that it can actually result in overall weight gain, it also weakens
the immune system and can make people vulnerable to many serious diseases and
conditions, including liver and kidney failure. People considering a fast should always
consult with their doctor to make sure that they will not be risking their health.
Liquid Diets for Medical Weight Loss

When a person is extremely obese, a physician may prescribe a medically monitored

weight loss program that will usually involve replacing solid foods with a liquid
substitute. The liquid substitute will usually supply between 500 and 800 calories
each day, which means that it qualifies as a very low calorie diet. The liquid
substitute will also supply all of the necessary vitamins and minerals that would
normally be provided by solid food. Typically the liquid substitute comes in the form
of a shake. Patients are told to drink a certain number of shakes every day, rather
than eating, and to use that time period to break with old eating habits. After a
number of weeks of rapid weight loss and frequent meetings with a physician, who
monitors the health and progress of the patient, solid foods may be slowly
reintroduced. The entire process is difficult and risky. It should only be undertaken
when prescribed by a physician and it must be monitored by a medical professional! .
Usually, this sort of liquid diet is only prescribed when serious health risks, caused by
obesity, outweigh any risks from the program.

One popular medically observed liquid diet is called Optifast. It is produced by the
Swiss company, Novartis Medical Nutrition Corporation, that is also known for making
Gerber baby food. They report that, in a study of 20,000 people who used the
Optifast program for 22 weeks, the average person lost 52 pounds and decreased
their blood pressure by 10 percent. The Optifast system is extremely expensive and
not intended for the typical dieter.

Commercially Available Liquid Diets

Possibly because of the reputation for rapid weight loss in seriously obese patients,
several less expensive, liquid meal replacements have become commercially
available for weight loss without medical supervision. These products are not usually
intended to replace every meal or all solid foods. These products are intended to help
dieters lose weight quickly, though they often do little to affect long term lifestyle
changes.

One of the more popular commercially available liquid meal replacements is called
Slim Fast. The Slim Fast plan says dieters should eat one regular meal during the day
and replace the rest with low-calorie shakes. The shakes each provide one-third of
the daily recommendations for a healthy diet. Slim Fast is one of the few liquid
replacement plans that defends its plan with controlled clinical studies. In a study
done at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, 300 patients
followed the Slim-Fast diet for 12 weeks. They lost an average of 15 pounds and 76%
were able to keep at least 80% of the weight off by one year later. However, most
dieticians still maintain that a liquid replacement diet is not an appropriate substitute
for a healthy lifestyle.

Function

Benefits

The possible benefits to a liquid diet depend upon which sort of liquid diet a person is
considering. A patient that is told by a physician to refrain from eating solid foods can
prevent everything from vomiting during surgery to an ineffective test. Some people
believe that fasting can have spiritual benefits and others, including some health
professionals, believe that fasting can help to remove toxins from the body.
The greatest health benefits of a liquid diet however, are probably experienced by
extremely obese patients who lose weight on a medically supervised meal
replacement liquid diet. Obesity has been linked with many serious diseases and
such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, liver failure and cancer Obese
individuals who lose weight can drastically reduce their risk of getting these diseases
and even reduce the severity of their symptoms if they already suffer from them.
Health benefits can also be gained by people who lose weight using a commercially
available meal replacement liquid diet.

Precautions

Anyone who has been prescribed a period of liquid diet because of a medical
procedure should get as much information as possible about the specific guidelines
and follow those guidelines precisely. Doing so will give the procedure its greatest
chance of success. Anyone considering a fast should consult their physician and
describe the nature of the fast to him or her so that it can be determined if the fast
will carry serious risks. People with health problems should not engage in prolonged
fasting.

Very low calorie liquid diets should not be undertaken without close medical
supervision. These are only intended for people that have large amounts of weight to
lose, generally over 50 pounds, and are experiencing health risks because of their
obesity. People considering any kind of meal replacement liquid diet should consult
their physician to be sure the diet is safe for them.

Risks

Short term liquid diets for use before or after a medical procedure carry few risks and
are generally considered safe if the patient follows the prescribed guidelines and is
sure to get enough caloric intake

QUESTIONS TO ASK THE DOCTOR

• What sort of liquids should I drink on this diet?

• How long should I go before I can eat solid foods?
• Is fasting safe for me?
• How will I know if my liquid diet is causing a problem?
• Will I get proper nutrition from my liquid diet?
• Is this liquid diet the best way for me to achieve my health goal?

through juice, broth, or other clear liquids. Longer fasting carries many risks including
possible damage to the intestinal tract, impaired liver or kidney function, and
hypoglycemia. Fasting also impairs the body’s immune system which makes the
body more vulnerable to communicable diseases such as influenza or streptococcus.
Gaining fat is also a common risk of fasting because, though the body may use stores
of fat during the fast, once the fast is over the body usually rebuilds these stores
quickly and often rebuilds more than was originally available.

Medically supervised meal replacement diets can carry their own risks, though these
are usually outweighed by the benefits of weight loss for the extremely obese. Side
effects can include gallstone formation, nausea, fatigue, constipation, and diarrhea.
Commercially available liquid diets also have many risks depending on the brand.
Some are considered very low calorie diets which are likely to result in malnutrition.
Many do not adequately replace the vitamins and minerals that would usually be
supplied by solid foods. This can result in deficiencies that can cause problems. For
example, if the body does not get enough calcium, the risk of osteoporosis and
rickets increases.

Research and general acceptance

It is generally accepted that, for certain medical procedures, it is necessary for

patients to refrain from eating solid foods for at least 24 hours before the procedure.
Most hospitals have prepared patient literature about the precise guidelines that
should be followed for the most procedures.

Most medically supervised meal replacement liquid diets are generally accepted.
Some doctors question whether more traditional weight loss methods are better in
some cases of less extreme obesity, but it is generally believed that the risks and
side effects of these programs are outweighed by the benefits for those for whom
they are usually prescribed.

There are many commercially available liquid diets for weight loss and their
acceptance depends upon the brand and its program. Brands that include regular
food, at least 1200 calories each day, and some kind of exercise recommendations,
like Slim Fast, are more accepted than programs that are very low in calories and do
not include exercise, such as the Hollywood Celebrity Miracle Diet.

Resources top

BOOKS

The New Liquid Diets - For Oprah, maybe, but probably not for you Indianapolis, IN:
Benjamin Franklin Literary And Medical Society, 2005.

Shannon, Joyce Brennfleck ed. Diet and Nutrition Source-book Detroit, MI:
Omnigraphics, 2006.

Willis, Alicia P. ed. Diet Therapy Research Trends New York: Nova Science, 2007.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Dietetic Association. 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, Illinois
60606-6995. Telephone: (800) 877-1600. Website: <http://www.eatright.org>

OTHER

“Liquid Diet” The Diet Channel 2007. <http://www.thedietchannel.com/Liquid-

Diet.htm> (April 3, 2007).

Helen Davidson.

Low-carb diets see High-fat/low carb diets.