Best Foods for Ileostomy That Are Unprocessed

What is the most nutritious combination of food types for ileostomy types that doesn't include processed foods and the least problematic?

For instance I have unseasoned grilled, yet tender and juicy, chicken, pork and steak (usually ground). Lite on starches like rice, potatoes and wheat as they just fill my bag with a lot of water.

For seafood only cooked unseasoned (butter okay) salmon. Also raw tuna. 

Vegetables I drink V8 juice as nothing veggie seems to break down. Also fruit juice as ditto with fruits not completely digesting like apples and bananas. Canned peach slices and seedless oranges seem fine though.

Coffee is out for increased leak burn pain, so I drink tea now. But it and chocolate make my bag run and run and run. 

Take a multivitamin with B every few days if needed.

So what is your balanced meal routine that causes you the less issues?

I eat a lot of low sodium Progresso soup. You can make your own soup if you want to have no processing. You can cook noodles, carrots, chicken, and whatever else you want to put in your soup. Pureed soups are good too. Squash and zucchini soup, pumpkin soup, butternut squash soup, it's a soup time of year here in Illinois. It's cold out and wet. We are expecting snow flurries this coming week. So, soup is a good option. And if you puree veggies, they are better for an ileostomy. Just don't add corn. If you can handle beans, lentil soup is good. If you puree your soups, you don't have to break down the veggies; they are already broken down. I eat a lot of mandarin oranges in juice, not syrup or artificially sweetened water. I buy canned pears; they are softer than trying to eat a raw pear. Canned fruits are generally better than fresh. They have the same nutrients in them. Look for ones not in syrup. Apple sauce is good too. Not much to break down in apple sauce. You can get unsweetened apple sauce. Tea is good; herbal teas and green tea are the best. Naturally decaffeinated, so it won't excite your system. I occasionally eat pasta with red sauce. Pasta is actually low fat if you don't get, say, a ravioli that is filled with cheese. Like linguini, you can buy fresh and that is low in fat. Ragu traditional sauce doesn't have chunks in it, so it's easier to digest. Adds veggies too. Tomato anyway. It's good you drink V8 and can digest it. I can in small servings, but sometimes it gives me heartburn. You can poach chicken and make chicken salad. Bake turkey breasts with seasonings on it. Comes out pretty tender. Bake chicken. There are a few ideas for you.

My diet hasn't really changed much since my ileostomy, but then, I always was a pretty healthy eater.  I haven't had to eliminate anything, still eat mostly whole grains, lots of vegies and fruits, good protein, ie, poultry and fish/seafood, as I don't eat red meat (nothing to do with having an ostomy).  I have increased my liquid intake of course, and not just water.  I have a glass of V8 daily, and take some supplements.  I also have increased my sodium intake (add it to the water I drink daily.  I have my micronutrients checked from time to time, and everything has been good.

Terry

Soup is definitely good, especially chicken noodle. Oh yes, I avoid corn, but lentil I tried and it's a no-go also. Any veggies unless they are a juice or close to it in small quantities.

Yes, my V8 is low sodium; got to keep the salt down but not out, or high volume occurs trying to flush out the extra salt.

My balanced meal... whatever sounds good at the time.

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Pureed soups are close to a juice in consistency; they are like V8. I understand veggies can be a challenge; they are for me too. Chicken noodle soup is good, but you have to be careful about the sodium content in those.

Hi all, toast with peanut butter and a single serving cup of applesauce with coffee, and what was leftover from yesterday for lunch, and tacos for dinner with a side of nachos with cheese and salsa. Later, I had tea and yogurt.

Let's see, for an ileostomy the peanut butter should be creamy or risk a nut clog. Too much of it makes my skin very oily, which could jeopardize putting a bag on. So I tend to avoid it.

Applesauce is good, excellent thickener.

Coffee makes my leak burns worse as the body just flushes stomach acid out the stoma. So I've quit that. Tea can make for high flow sometimes but doesn't burn as bad as coffee.

Tacos the corn doesn't digest and just comes out in the bag, so I have flour tortillas instead. The tomatoes, lettuce, and onions don't digest and risk a clog. Cheese and hamburger meat are usually fine.

Salsa same as tacos, chunky veggies don't digest and are a clog hazard. Seeds, if any, also are bad.

Tea can be fine or not, depends. Yogurt is never a problem and a good source of probiotics and calcium.

Hi Shamrock, since I had resection surgery 6 years ago, I can eat almost anything, but I am mindful of chewing because before I had surgery, my stoma was almost collapsed due to scarring from Crohn's and adhesions.

I bless the team tat came up with V8! I've recently been adding a half scoop of Unjury unflavored protein powder to a 6oz serving, just to get the boost I need since starting chemo (unrelated to colon surgery). Also like the  beef flavored powder for a near-bloody-mary. 

If you eat dairy, I'd suggest adding a good quality cottage cheese to your regimen. An excellent, minimally process brand is Good Culture. Same goes for a high protein yogurt. Cabot of Vermont has a plain Greek yogurt with 16Gm protein per serving. 

Interesting how differently each of us responds to foods. Example: i can usually slow down the liquid output with a good dose of mashed potato, no skins. Same effect with saltines and a few other starches. Sometimes feels like my kitchen is a lab scene from an old timey horror movie, just mixing things up and testing to see what happens. 

Yep, cottage cheese is one of my favorites. Easily digestible. Sliced canned peaches. Potato salad. Spaghetti (small portion) with sauce sans the chunks, pizza, grilled or baked chicken, chocolate chip cookie, Mac and cheese, hamburger with cheese on a bun san veggies. Even jello. 

But so much I have to pass on. 🙄

For turkey day I can have turkey, lite on the mashed potatoes, candied yams, stuffing and no veggies. Cranberry sauce as long as it's the jello type and no chunks.

Pumpkin pie most certainly. 😋 

Turkey sandwiches afterwards, oh yea. 

Hi all

I have had my stoma for 4 years now. I eat everything and still enjoy my alcohol. I have been lucky so far with no blockages. I do exercise regularly and surf when I can. I would say just keep trying different foods and go slow.

Cheers

Some very good suggestions here. But, I have never heard of coffee burn. What is that? I drink 2 cups of coffee every morning and occasionally have one in the afternoon. Maybe something is happening that I don't know about?