Gastrointestinal Soft Diet

Description
The Gastrointestinal Soft Diet limits most raw, highly seasoned, and fried foods. The diet contains only moderate amounts of fiber.

Indications
This diet is used as a transitional diet for patients who have undergone surgery that irritates or causes major discomfort to the gastrointestinal tract.

Contraindications
The diet does not necessarily limit fat or the size of meals and may be counterproductive in patients with gastro- esophageal reflux (see Gastroesophageal Reflux).

The diet is low in fiber and may be contraindicated in disorders, such as diverticulosis, requiring a liberal fiber intake. See Fiber-Restricted Diets and High-Fiber Diet.

The diet may inappropriately limit mealtime variety and thereby limit enjoyment and oral intake.

Nutritional Adequacy
The diet can be planned to meet the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) as outlined in the Statement on Nutritional Adequacy.

How to Order the Diet
Order as “Gastrointestinal (GI) Soft Diet.” If between-meal feedings are required, they should be specifically ordered.

Since the food tolerances of patients with gastrointestinal disorders and symptoms can vary considerably, attention should be given to individual food tolerances.

FOOD GROUP	FOOD ALLOWED	FOODS EXCLUDED
Beverages and Milk	Milk and milk drinks Cereal beverages Carbonated beverages Coffee, tea	Alcohol
Breads and Crackers	White, seedless rye, fine whole-wheat bread Plain crackers Graham crackers	Coarse whole-grain breads Breads with seeds, nuts, or raisins Highly seasoned crackers
Cereals and Grains	Cooked and dry cereals unless listed as excluded Plain spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, rice	Bran cereals Cereals with raisins Brown or wild rice
Desserts	Plain cake, cookies, pudding, custard, ice cream, sherbet, gelatin, fruit whips	Pastries, pies, desserts containing nuts, coconut, dried fruits, fruit with seeds or tough skins
Fats	Butter Cream; cream sauce Bacon Margarine Mayonnaise; mild salad dressing	Fried foods Gravy Nuts Olives Spicy salad dressings
Fruits and Juices	All fruit juices Avocado Banana Grapefruit and orange sections without membrane Baked peeled apple; applesauce Canned: apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, pineapple Peeled ripe peaches or pears	Raw fruit not listed as allowed Dried fruits Fruits with edible seeds or tough skins
Meat, Fish, Poultry, Cheese, Eggs, Legumes	Meat, fish, or poultry, not fried Plain cheeses Eggs, except fried Smooth peanut butter	Fried meat, fish, or poultry Highly seasoned cold cuts or sausage Fried eggs
Soup	Cream soups made from foods allowed; meat, rice, noodle soups	Vegetable soups unless made from foods allowed
Sugar and Sweets	Sugar, syrup, honey, clear jelly; plain, sugar candy in moderation	Jam, marmalade, and candies that contain tough skins, seeds or nuts
Vegetables and Potatoes	Tomato juice Cooked asparagus, beets, carrots, green or wax beans, green peas, mushrooms, potatoes, spinach, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, winter squash	Raw vegetables All other cooked vegetables Deep-fried vegetables
Miscellaneous	Salt, allspice, cinnamon, paprika, herbs, flavoring extracts, ketchup	Red, black, white pepper; horseradish, mustard, pickles, popcorn, potato chips

SAMPLE MENU
Breakfast	Noon	Evening
Orange juice	Roast beef	Cream of tomato soup
Oatmeal	Whipped potatoes	Baked chicken
Scrambled egg	Cooked carrots	Steamed rice
Toast	Plain roll	Green beans
Margarine	Margarine	Plain roll
Jelly	Sugar cookies	Margarine
Milk	Iced Tea	Sliced peaches
Coffee		Milk