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What is a bland diet? Foods that are low in fiber, cooked, not raw or spicy, mild in flavor, easy to chew, and easy to digest can be a bland diet1. Eating small meals slowly are good ways to make it easier on your stomach than having three large meals.
Gastrointestinal Disease Management helps when deciding on nutrition if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease2, have undergone intestinal surgery, or have clinical trials. Their advice is to eat small meals, follow low-fiber diets, and reduce foods with too much fiber so that it is easy for the digestive tract to digest.
If you want to know what is a bland diet and how it works to give good relief to your gut problems, here are some tips and suggestions that will be of help while you decide on your meal plan.
1. What is a Bland Diet? Why is it Good to Follow a Bland Diet?
You get to hear of different diet plans, and that will make you curious to know what is a bland diet and why it is good to follow a bland diet. A bland diet is good to follow if you have underlying conditions like:
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Heartburn
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Ulcers
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Nausea
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Pancreatitis
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Diverticulitis
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Gastroenteritis
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Peptic ulcers
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Ulcerative Colitis
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Crohn’s Disease
Following a bland diet tend to help with these above-mentioned conditions. You can enhance the taste of the bland foods you eat by adding healing herbs and spices that are easy on the digestive tract, like cinnamon, ginger, oregano, turmeric, etc. That takes you back to the topic of what is a bland diet and what types of foods come under bland foods.
2. Foods You Can Eat on a Bland Diet
This must be on your mind if you are suffering from a lot of gastric problems and think it is better to have a bland diet to feel healthy and good. Eating healthy foods is one way to feel good, and you can eat certain bland foods to feel healthy.
It is better to have a healthy diet or an eating plan to start eating healthy foods and know what foods to avoid. Let us look at the foods you can eat if you want to follow a bland diet.
2.1 Certain Vegetables
What is a bland diet, and what are the vegetables to include while planning your foods? Beets, carrots, green beans, peas, pumpkin, spinach, white peas, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes are vegetables in your bland diet menu. It is better to steam the vegetables and have them keep the nutrition content in them. Cook them to a soft consistency so they are easy on your gut.
The fiber in pumpkin is good for gut bacteria, and the antioxidants help cell regeneration3. Likewise, potatoes and sweet potatoes, mashed and boiled, are good to include in your bland diet.
2.2 Fat-Free or Low-Fat Dairy Products
Low-fat dairy products like cheese, milk, yogurt, and other dairy products are good to have if you are on a bland diet. Cottage cheese is low fat, yet at the same time has a high calcium content. The soft texture of cottage cheese makes it easy on the digestive tract. Low-fat milk is a good source of calcium if you are following a bland diet.
Almond milk is easier to digest than normal milk. Opt for unsweetened almond milk as it is loaded with sugar. You can avoid milk if you are lactose intolerant or milk protein intolerant. There are also suggestions to avoid milk if you have peptic ulcers4.
Plain yogurt is good to add to a bland diet plan as it is rich in probiotics and helps ease digestive problems. Go for low-fat yogurt, skimmed milk, soy milk, and low-fat cottage cheese, and feel the change in your body.
It is better to consult a nutritionist 5or a healthcare professional to chart out a good diet plan for you so that you know if milk and cheese can be included in your diet.
2.3 Eggs
Eggs can add flavor and a better taste if you are on a diet of bland foods. Anyone on a bland diet can add eggs to their meal plans to make it taste better though it is better to make sure you do not have high cholesterol6.
If you have high cholesterol, it is better to limit your intake of eggs to six to seven a week. Have them boiled, poached, and scrambled; they are all good for the stomach.
2.4 Fish
Salmon is the perfect addition to your bland diet, and if you are prone to acid reflux, this will help.
2.5 Fluids
Fluids like broth, weak tea foods, and water help you stay hydrated, and these hydrating fluids are good while opting for a bland diet.
2.6 Low-Fiber Fruits
See what is a bland diet and what to eat if you are following a bland diet. Either cooked or canned fruit that is not seeded or fibrous can be included if on a bland diet. Fruits that are canned or stored without their peel are good because eating seeded fruits and fruits with their peel can irritate the digestive tract.
Bananas, apple sauce, canned fruits, and melons are good choices to include in your bland diet regime. Though they have high fiber, avocadoes are good to include in bland diets.
2.7 Poultry
You can eat boneless and skinless chicken and turkey on its own or other foods if you are following a bland diet. If you want to know what is a bland diet and what foods to eat if you are on a bland or soft diet, then you can go for skinless and boneless chicken or turkey. Trim the fat off and serve it with mild seasoning or no seasoning. A mildly seasoned chicken or turkey is a meal to add if you want a good eating plan.
3. Different Foods to Avoid in a Bland Diet
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Caffeinated Beverages
- Caffeinated Tea
- Citrus Fruits
- Fatty Dairy Foods
- Fried Foods
- Garlic Foods
- Highly Seasoned Cured or Smoked Meats and Fish
- Highly Seasoned Foods
- Hot Pepper
- Hot Sauce
- Raw fruits and Vegetables
- Raw Foods
- Spicy Foods
- Strongly Flavored Cheeses
- Whipped Cream
- Whole Grain Bread, Crackers, Pasta, Whole Grain Cereals, and Whole Grains
- Weak Tea Foods
4. In The End
After reading the post, you must be aware of what is a bland diet and what types of food can be included in your diet plan so that you can avoid medicine and add foods that will help you well after eating a meal.
The foods listed above are not only easy on your stomach, but they also give you enough protein to stay healthy.
In a nutshell, if you have gastro problems, it is better to have smaller meals, start eating food slowly, drink fluids slowly, and choose a low-residue diet.
- Uktamovich, Kadyrov Oybek. “Diets of Altered Consistency.” AMALIY VA TIBBIYOT FANLARI ILMIY JURNALI 2.3 (2023): 81-84. ↩︎
- Maret-Ouda, John, Sheraz R. Markar, and Jesper Lagergren. “Gastroesophageal reflux disease: a review.” Jama 324.24 (2020): 2536-2547. ↩︎
- Michalopoulos, George K., and Bharat Bhushan. “Liver regeneration: biological and pathological mechanisms and implications.” Nature reviews Gastroenterology & hepatology 18.1 (2021): 40-55. ↩︎
- Kamada, Tomoari, et al. “Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for peptic ulcer disease 2020.” Journal of gastroenterology 56 (2021): 303-322. ↩︎
- Barrea, Luigi, et al. “Mediterranean diet as medical prescription in menopausal women with obesity: a practical guide for nutritionists.” Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 61.7 (2021): 1201-1211. ↩︎
- Luo, Jie, Hongyuan Yang, and Bao-Liang Song. “Mechanisms and regulation of cholesterol homeostasis.” Nature reviews Molecular cell biology 21.4 (2020): 225-245. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Suchi